Do you have a sexually transmitted infection? If so, don't keep it to yourself.

• Survey: Ever Had STD?

Informing partners can help cut sexually transmitted infections.

A new study in the British Medical Journal said that doctors should encourage patients with STDs to tell their partners to seek treatment and, in some cases, provide home testing kits or drugs to help reduce infection rates.

Partner notification is an important part of managing most curable sexually transmitted infections, but the stigma attached to sexually transmitted infections often makes this difficult, according to the BMJ press release.

Researchers analyzed 14 studies involving 12,389 women and men diagnosed with a common sexually transmitted infection, including Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and non-specific urethritis.

Three new strategies were used in these studies that made it easier for patients to share responsibility for the care of their sexual partners. The first was patient delivered partner therapy, which is where a patient is given drugs or a prescription for their partners. The second was home sampling for partners, and the third was providing additional information for partners.

According to the survey, all three strategies were more effective than simple patient referral. The study said that is when a patient is simply encouraged to tell their partners to seek treatment.

However, the team found that simple patient referral, with extra information about the infection and its treatment that the patient can give to their partners, seemed to be as effective as patient delivered partner therapy.

Involving patients with sexually transmitted infections in shared responsibility for the care of their sexual partners improves outcomes, the authors said. The researchers suggest that health professionals should consider these three strategies for the management of individual patients.