So things have been getting more heated with your latest beau and you think you’re ready to move to the next level. But you’ve recently noticed something not quite right in your nether regions that might be cause for concern.

Naturally, you assume it could be a razor burn or an allergic reaction to that new lotion, but what if it’s something more serious?

Luckily for UW students, there are several places to go. At Hall Health for instance, you can easily meet with one of the triage nurses for a drop-in appointment.

“Our mission statement is to be a welcoming and safe place for students to come and other people who wish to come,” Ingrid Helsel said, a nurse from the Women’s Health Clinic. “Sometimes you don’t even know how to ask a question. [We] hope students know that they are welcome to come and talk to the nurses.”

If you have an urgent need, the nurses can try to get you in for a more thorough exam either in the same day or the next morning, Helsel said. You can also call an after-hours hotline.

The Women’s Clinic, located in the basement of Hall Health, routinely screens for chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, HPV and HIV. Although this clinic is for women, men are allowed to come with their partners if they have similar concerns and questions. For men, the Primary or Family Health clinic can do screenings.

Those without insurance may be referred to Harborview if they cannot afford STD testing, Helsel said.

Hall Health also offers Gardasil, the HPV vaccine that protects women from the HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18, which causes cervical cancer and genital warts. The cost without insurance is $160 per injection, and you need three of them, Helsel said.

For students who just need an open ear, U-TYPE.org was recently launched by the Hall Health Wellness Center, located on the second floor.

“U-TYPE.org [is] an anonymous, confidential, nonjudgmental listening service for UW students,” said Christopher Chan, program assistant and U-CALL manager. “Because of the anonymity factor, people use U-TYPE and U-CALL as places where they can feel safe speaking about their frustrating relationships, bad days or their stress.”

Students may also join the Condom Club, located in room 213 in Hall Health.

“The Condom Club isn’t an official ‘club’ in the sense that members have meetings or even meet each other,” Chan said. “It’s more of a ‘condom of the month club,’ a chance for people to get a good deal on a fun variety of condoms. The Condom Club is operated by UHELP, the University Health Education Leadership Program, which does STD and safe sex education.”

Membership cards are $10 and can be used up to 10 times. You may present the card to the Wellness Resource Center and receive five condoms of your choosing. Members also receive a starter pack, which includes five condoms and condom use directions, lubricant and candy along with their membership.

There is also a Wednesday special where you can buy five condoms for $1.

Planned Parenthood, located above the Metro cinema on 45th or on Roosevelt and 50th, will also provide low-cost screening for students without insurance or low-income.

“I went to Planned Parenthood to be tested for STDs because I had never been tested before,” said Kyle Vierling, a U-District resident. “It was $150 and I had several tests done. It took like an hour. They gave me free condoms and pamphlets.”

Another option is Gay City, located on Capitol Hill. They offer free HIV and STD testing, with donations welcome, to gay or bisexual men. Walk-ins are welcome on certain days on a first come first serve basis.

Chlamydia is one of the most common STDs in the United States with a recent increase in the reported incidences of STDs. This bacterial infection causes burning with urination, pain and discharge; however, people with the infection may be asymptomatic, which means they have no symptoms.

“No symptoms does not mean no STD, especially for chlamydia,” said Mark Shaw, director of health promotion.

If left untreated, it can cause infection of the prostate gland in men and scarring and infertility in women. This makes yearly testing for those who have been or are currently sexually active important.

The most common STD among college students is the human papilloma virus, or HPV. Approximately 75 percent of men and women will at one point have HPV. Luckily, the virus is eventually suppressed by the immune system after an average of two years.

According to the Hall Health brochure on HPV, a study done at UW showed that 38.8 percent of young women who did not have the HPV were infected by 24 months into the study. The same was true for those who became sexually active.

HPV will cause an abnormal Pap smear, so yearly screening for women is especially important as certain types of HPV are “high risk” and can cause cervical cancer if left untreated.

Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to test for HPV in men unless they have visible warts. Partners will not transmit the same HPV strain back and forth and both partners will eventually suppress the virus.

To prevent the spread of STDs, condoms are the most effective and widely used forms; however, you can still transmit certain STDs.

A common misconception is that oral sex is safe sex. You can perform oral sex on someone and still transmit herpes. The chances of getting an STD from a toilet seat also extremely small, Helsel said, but you should not share towels when you have symptoms.

There are two types of herpes: Type I causes cold sores and can be transmitted to the genitals through oral sex; Type II causes genital sores and can be transmitted to the mouth and throat.

During any kind of outbreak, you should refrain from oral sex or intercourse to prevent transmitting the infection.

Since so many STDs can be asymptomatic, getting tested yearly and having new sexual partners tested is extremely important. However, talking about this may be awkward.

“Be as honest as you can, and seek the same from [the] other person,” Shaw said. “Even with that, use protection until both individuals are in [a] monogamous relationship and have been tested or the STD has been treated. Love the one you’re with, with care.”

This may sound easier than it is, but doing so will help ensure that both of you are healthy.

“It is important to get tested because you may not show symptoms of having an STD, but you can still transfer the infection to your partner,” said Nathan Ma, a senior pursuing a degree in psychology. “That’s why people want STD to be changed to STI for sexually transmitted infection so people understand that you may not have it but can still pass it on.”

This is one of the points stressed in the Psychology 210 class, Human Sexuality, taught by Lois McDermott. This class provides a comfortable learning environment, different from high school sex education, where students can learn about sexuality in different cultures, the LGBT community, STDs, sexual biology and basically anything else related to sex.

“I decided to take [the class] because I went to a Catholic school growing up and thought I did not get the best information on stuff related to human sexuality,” Ma said.

The class introduces various speakers and shows informative videos on Fridays. McDermott also keeps the students interested by adding tidbits of information such as the caloric intake of sperm.

“I did not expect to learn about the different uses of saran wrap,” Ma said.

[Reach reporter Doris Wu at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]