Most of us would shy away from shaking the hand of someone who neglected to wash their hands after sneezing into them or using the restroom.

We do so because we don&t want what is on their intimate areas on our hands.

Why then would we go and throw our mouths in said areas without first knowing where they have been?

Yes, when it comes to scooping a potential partner, it&s buyer beware.

Taking time to get to know a suitor before jumping in their bed is a necessary step in ensuring your safety.

The days of guaranteeing your safety by going after virgins, and people whose sexual history could be traced through the tight linking of high school society are over. Everyone has baggage.

By now, even the good men and women have had a few partners who had a few partners.

The answer to keeping ourselves safe is simple, yet often not followed. If you are going to be sexually active, get tested.

There are so many health concerns with being sexually active, that not getting tested isn&t only irresponsible, it&s irrational.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, one in every five Americans 12 years or older have genital herpes. That number is higher in women, who carry the disease at a rate of one in four.

That&s 25 people in a larger lecture hall on campus, seven in your math class, 40 or so you will see while reading this article if you are in the union.

Worse than just the massive numbers is that many of them have no idea they are carriers.

The American Social Health Association estimates that at least 80 percent of people with genital herpes do not know they have it.

That&s just herpes, never mind chlamydia, syphilis and HIV.

Getting people to test is easy.

Women should use the sexual double standard to their advantage.

Of course that standard is that women who sleep around become sluts and a host of other not so endearing terms and men who do the same attain high social standing among their peers.

The pressure on men to have sex with as many females as possible means we will do anything to get lucky, even get tested.

This wouldn&t work the other way because there are too many men out there looking to have sex with anything that has a pulse who could care less about their own safety.

If men knew they weren&t getting any love unless they had taken a test to prove their cleanliness, they would carry a copy in their wallet, just in case.

Another answer would be to let people know that you do not intend on being exclusive if you in fact do not intend on being exclusive.

This beats the alternative of being accused of cheating when you never were together with the person in the first place.

The final answer is to get to know the person you are planning on being intimate with.

Oh and finding out that someone is a junior business major from Roseville does not constitute history.

At least wait until you have had that first real talk when you find out about their former relationships, how they ended, etc.

If done by phone, this conversation should be about $35 on your cell phone bill, unless made on the weekend or during the evening.

I know that week up until you get your results is rough. Thinking back to some dirt you may have done. You are not alone, everyone messes up some times.

Testing, along with the use of protection is the responsible way to lead a sexually active lifestyle.