STIs (sexually transmissible infections) are infections that affect your wellbeing through close body contact or the exchange of body fluids. One of the problems with STIs is that they often don’t come up with any obvious signs or symptoms, making them a major sexual health concern. Therefore, you need to know everything you can about how STIs can spread, how to avoid infection, the risks you face if you let an STI go untreated, and what to do if you think you may have one.
Let’s start with how STIs are caused. Much like any other infection or disease, STIs occur via the spread of organisms like bacteria, viruses or parasites. However, different STIs are caused by different organisms. If you contract chlamydia, gonorrhoea or syphilis, this will be caused by the spread of bacteria, while viruses are responsible for STIs like herpes, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), HPV (human papillomavirus) and hepatitis B. The unfortunate truth is that STIs occur more often than you might think. In Australia, for example, the total number of STIs reported in 2009 came to over 70,000, including HIV, which can cause AIDS. That number is even more shocking when you think that this is just the number of cases that went reported and treated; many people who have had unprotected sex haven’t been tested for STIs. Another shocking statistic to consider is that three quarters of reported STIs occur in people aged between 15 and 29 years.
But why do STIs pose such a threat to your wellbeing? If left undetected and untreated, an STI can cause you to experience serious and painful health consequences, ranging from infertility to cancer. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea, for example, can cause inflammation and scarring in a woman’s fallopian tubes which, as a result, could mean you can’t have children. In men, the same complication can occur in the tubes leading from your testicles and, again, could cause you to become infertile, although this occurs less often in men. Then you have an STI like syphilis, which can cause you to develop blindness, brain damage and even heart disease.
The three infections we’ve just discussed do come with some scary health consequences, but the good news is that they are all easy to test for and to cure. Therefore, if there’s a chance you may have one of these infections, it’s absolutely vital that you get tested and diagnosed as early as possible so that you can get the treatment you need to prevent ongoing health problems and spreading the infection. As we’ve already covered, many people with an STI have no symptoms whatsoever, and they can only be diagnosed through testing. However, there are a few signs and symptoms you can watch out for, so ask yourself the following questions
1. Men and women:
- Do you get a burning sensation when you urinate?
- Have you experienced itchiness around the genital area?
- Have you felt any pain during sex?
- Do you have any flu-like symptoms, such as a sore throat, swollen glands, fever and body aches?
- Have you had any unexplained fatigue, night sweats or weight loss?
2. Just men:
- Have you had unusual discharge from your penis or anus?
- Can you feel a rash, sores or small lumps on or around your penis or anus?
- Has there been any pain and swelling in your testicles?
3. Just women:
- Have you had unusual discharge from your vagina or anus?
- Can you feel a rash, sores or small lumps on or around your vagina or anus?
- Has there been any unusual bleeding from your vagina, such as after sex or between periods?
If you’ve answered yes to one or more of the above questions, or you’ve had unprotected sexual contact with someone, visit your GP immediately for an STI screening.
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