Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are among the most common communicable diseases. According to the most recent statistics available from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), in 2017 South Africa had 7.9 million people living with HIV, and among men aged 15 to 49, there were an estimated 2.2 million new cases of gonorrhoea, 3.9 million new cases of chlamydia and 47,500 new cases of syphilis.
Could you be infected?
If you have unprotected sex (vaginal, oral, or anal), especially with more than one partner, you may be infected. Common signs in men are genital sores, discharge, or burning when you urinate, but many STIs don’t have signs, especially in the early stages, so you can harbour and spread them inadvertently.
“This makes it important to have an honest conversation about sexual health before starting a relationship, sharing your status, and going for health checks,” says Port Elizabeth relationship therapist and clinical sexologist Leandie Buys. “Then go once a year or if you change partners.”
Today most STIs can be cured or well-managed with medication, but left untreated they can cause serious, even deadly health problems for you – and for infected partners. “Some STIs are lifelong, for instance herpes, and HPV can cause cancer, depending on the strain.”
Signs of common STIs:
Chlamydia
Cause: A bacterium spread by having vaginal, oral, or anal sex without a condom or dental dam (which is a latex or polyurethane sheets used between the mouth and vagina or anus during oral sex).
Signs: Pain when you urinate; a white, watery or cloudy discharge; burning or itching of the urethra (the tube carrying urine from your body); pain in your testicles.
Genital warts/HPV
Cause: HPV (human papillomavirus), spread through skin-to-skin contact during vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Condoms/dental dams don’t offer total protection.
Signs: Most men who get HPV never have symptoms and the infection usually goes away by itself. If it doesn’t, warts can appear – small, painless, cauliflower-shaped bumps in your genital area.
Herpes
Cause: One of two viruses, herpes simplex type 1 or type 2.
Signs: Type 1 usually causes itchy or painful blisters (‘cold sores’) around your month, while type 2 causes sores in your mouth area and genital area. However, many people with herpes have no symptoms, or the virus can lie dormant and erupt if your immune system is later weakened by something like HIV.
Trichomoniasis
Cause: A parasite spread by unprotected sexual contact.
Signs: Trich is often asymptomatic, or you may experience itching or irritation inside your penis, a discharge, and burning after you urinate or ejaculate.
Gonorrhoea
Cause: A bacterium spread by vaginal, anal, or oral sex without a condom/dental dam.
Signs: Pain when you urinate, and an urge to pee more often; pus or a white, yellow or green discharge from your penis; swelling or discolouration at the opening of your penis; and swelling or pain in one or both testicles. Gonorrhoea may also affect your anus, causing itching, soreness, bleeding, or painful bowel movements; or your throat, resulting in swollen, burning or painful glands.
Syphilis
Cause: A bacterium spread by vaginal, anal, or oral sex without a condom/dental dam, or by sores caused by syphilis touching the skin of a healthy person.
Signs: Syphilis can be without symptoms, or in the early stage of the disease you may have painless open sores (chancres) in your genital or anal area or around your mouth. They usually heal on their own in three to six weeks. In later stage syphilis, you may develop a non-itchy rash, commonly on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet, and hair loss.
HIV
Cause: A virus spread in semen, vaginal secretions, or blood, through vaginal, oral, or anal sex without a condom/dental dam, or by sharing needles or syringes.
Signs: These vary depending on the stage of infection, and you may develop signs only in the last stage (though you can pass on the infection before then). First stage signs can be flu-like, and include a fever, rash, sore throat, swollen glands, headache, upset stomach or diarrhoea, and painful joints and muscles. Final stage signs can include weight loss, chronic diarrhoea, fever, night sweats, a persistent cough, mouth and skin problems, frequent infections, and serious illness.
If you notice any of these signs, see your health provider or clinic straight away. The earlier that STIs are diagnosed, the more successfully they can be treated and managed. “It’s not just HIV that can have a lifelong impact on your health,” says Buys. “Other STIs can too.”
Follow this link to book an appointment at a Clicks Clinic for HIV testing and councilling: https://clicks.co.za/clinicBooking
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