(U-WIRE) ATHENS, Ohio — The Internet dating Web site www.positivesingles.com is not a typical dating site.
Instead of browsing profiles for age, height and location, members of this dating site can filter profile results by sexually transmitted disease or infection.
STDs are the symptoms that result from a STI. Some infections, such as human papillomavirus, might have no symptoms but can be transmitted to a partner, according to The Medical Institute’s Web site, www.medinstitute.org.
With membership in the hundreds of thousands, www.positivesingles.com is the front-runner of a dozen or so dating Web sites that cater to the estimated one in four American adults diagnosed with an STD or STI. The appeal is that instead of nervously waiting to tell their partner about their disease, daters can be up-front and honest from the beginning.
Telling sexual partners about an STD or STI diagnosis can be one of the most stressful aspects of the disease, said Char Kopchick, director of health and wellness at Hudson Health Center.
Newly infected patients often feel betrayed that their sexual partner gave them a STD or STI, Kopchick said. At the same time, patients are hesitant to tell future partners of their infected status for fear of rejection.
“It’s ethical to notify people you’ve been involved with upon diagnosis,” she said, adding that the lifestyle management counseling offered at Hudson can give those diagnosed with an STD or STI information about how to tell a partner.
Ohio University students expressed mixed feelings about dating someone infected with an STD or STI. Some said they would end the relationship.
“I wouldn’t take it to the next level,” said sophomore Aaron Lemley. “It’s a big deal.”
Other students said they hoped their partner would be straightforward with them, but that their reaction would depend on the relationship.
“I would hope they would be up-front and honest. I don’t think it would change how I felt about them, though,” said junior Alex Moning. “It would probably depend on how serious we were.”
STD and STI diagnoses are more prevalent among modern college students, making them more open to dating a positive partner, said Kopchick.
Two-thirds of all STDs occur in people 25 years of age or younger, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Cases of STD or STI identifications at Ohio University seem to mirror national numbers, Kopchick said.
The high numbers could be explained by younger people being more sexually active and by the strong correlation of alcohol and casual sex, Kopchick said.
Many people are pleasantly surprised by how accepting their partners actually are, she said.
“The older population grew up with the stigma, but I don’t think it is as big of a case today,” she said.