Depending on the state you live in, your public health department may or may not offer partner services. With syphilis, they will ask who your partners are and will make a plan to either have you tell them they’ve been exposed and that they should come get tested and treated, or the health department will actually do it for you.
Most big/populated states only do this for syphilis and HIV, and don’t have the resources to do notifications for gonorrhea and chlamydia (so don’t just think you can depend on your health department).
Another great way to notify people is by using inSPOT. InSPOT is an anonymous online partner notification system. You can send e-card messages anonymously or from your email address and you can send a personalized message with the e-card if you want. The great part about it is that the recipient of the card is then connected with information about the infectious agent they may have been exposed to and also may be able to use the tool to find a clinic near them.
Q: What STIs require full disclosure for the first time? What ones could you disclose at a later date?
Andy: It’s not much of an overstatement to say that a lot of people have herpes and/or HPV. If you are symptomatic, you should definitely tell your partner. If you are having a herpes outbreak or have visible warts, then wouldn’t it be nicer to tell your partner before they find it themselves? As for the others—syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc.—the treatments are easy and you can be as good as new in a week or two. If you know that your partner isn’t already infected, it is wisest to just hold off [on sex] until you’ve been successfully treated. It would be terrible to give it to your partner, treat yourself, and then get re-infected again.
HIV disclosure is a whole other issue. The stigma is still so much greater than for other STIs. There’s controversy about whose responsibility it is to ask, to tell, etc. Another thing about HIV is that it is harder to transmit than all of the other STIs. Having protected sex and using condoms correctly is very good protection. If you are consistent with this, you are doing the best you can. I think that while telling your partner may be ideal, it certainly isn’t easy and can have significant consequences.
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