Common STIs
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Chlamydia
The most common infection between the ages of 15 – 25 year olds.
Often it has no symptoms, but if left untreated, can cause serious problems such as Pelvic Inflammation, ectopic pregnancy or rarely, infertility. Chlamydia can be passed on easily thorough sexual contact:
- Vaginal, penile, anal, oral sex
- Sharing sex toys
- Pregnant women can pass the untreated infection to their baby at birth
The symptoms are rare.
70% of females have no symptoms. 50% of males have no symptoms.
If you do notice symptoms, they are likely to be:
- Pain when urinating
- Discharge from the penis, vagina or rectum (back passage)
- Women may experience lower abdominal pain, bleeding between periods, bleeding during sex, pain during sex
- Men may experience pain or swelling of the testicles and painful sex
Testing is free easy and simple.
If you have a vagina, a self-taken swab is done. If you have a penis then a urine sample is collected. If you have ever had anal sex, a self-taken swab is done.
It can take up to 2 weeks for the infection to show up in your body, after the sex you are concerned about. This is called the window period.
If you have symptoms then a trained and qualified Nurse or Doctor will examine you and likely recommend some other tests. The Nurse or Doctor will discuss these with you.
Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea are both bacterial infections so are therefore treated with antibiotics.
You and your partner(s) should refrain from having sex for 7 days during treatment. This stops you both from being re-infected. This ensures enough time for the bacteria to be killed.
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Gonorrhoea
An infection that is very common between the ages of 15 – 25 year-olds, that can be passed on easily thorough sexual contact:
- Vaginal, penile, anal, oral sex
- Sharing sex toys
- Pregnant women can pass the untreated infection to their baby at birth
The symptoms are rare.
50% of women with gonorrhoea have no symptoms. 1 in 10 men with the infection have no symptoms.
If you do notice symptoms, they are likely to be within 1 – 14 days of sexual contact and include:
- Yellow/greenish discharge from the penis, vagina or rectum (back passage)
- Burning when urinating
- Infection in the throat may be indicated by a sore throat
Less common but some women may experience lower abdominal pain, pain during sex, bleeding between periods
Men may experience pain or swelling of the testicles and painful sex and the need to urinate more
Testing is free easy and simple.
If you have a vagina, a self-taken swab is done. If you have a penis then a urine sample is collected. If you have ever had anal sex, a self-taken swab is done.
It can take up to 2 weeks for the infection to show up in your body, after the sex you are concerned about. This is called the incubation period.
If you have symptoms then a trained and qualified Nurse or Doctor will examine you and likely recommend some other tests. The Nurse or Doctor will discuss these with you.
Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea are both bacterial infections so are therefore treated with antibiotics.
You and your partner(s) should refrain from having sex for 7 days after treatment. This stops you both from being reinfected. This ensures enough time for the bacteria to be killed.
For gonorrhoea, we will offer you a repeat test after 2 weeks to make sure the infection has gone and the antibiotics have worked.
If left untreated, long-term effects of gonorrhoea can include:
- Pain, discharge
- Male and female infertility
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Miscarriage
- Scarring of male urethra
- Can be passed to the baby during pregnancy which may cause eye infections or genital infections in the newborn
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Genital Warts
What is it?
Genital warts are small lumps on the skin, which can affect the vaginal area, the penis, testicles and the area around the anus (back passage). Less commonly they can be seen inside the rectum, in the vagina or cervix. Genital Warts are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).This is a common virus, but not everyone who has the virus develops genital warts. It is a STI that is passed on via skin-to-skin contact. You don’t need to actually have penetrative sex (vaginal, anal or oral) to pass it on. Most transmissions occur when warts are present, but it is still possible to transmit the virus when there are no visible warts.
Symptoms
Many people who get HPV don’t show any signs or symptoms (including genital warts) and over time the virus may go away on its own. If you do get genital warts they can develop from 3 weeks to many years after coming into contact with the virus, so it is impossible to say when and who you got it from. They look like small growths, bumps or skin changes that appear in the genital area that weren’t there previously.There can be one or several and usually do not cause any pain. They can occasionally itch or bleed depending on where they are. Testing There is no routine test for HPV (including genital warts). If you think you may have genital warts a doctor or nurse will examine you and confirm the diagnoses.
Treatment
Treatment depends on what your warts look like, where they are and how they are affecting you. We will also consider your general health and immune system before deciding the best treatment for you.
Treatment usually involves creams at home or applying freezing therapy in clinic. Rarely they can be removed with surgery (using local anaesthetic).
A vaccine is available that protects you from getting the main types of HPV. This is now given to all girls and boys aged 12–13 as part of the national vaccination programme.
However the HPV vaccine is not something we routinely provide in our clinics for this age group.
Men who have sex with men aged 15-45 will be offered the vaccine at our clinics under the new HPV programme.
Long Term Effects
If untreated, genital warts may disappear, stay the same or grow larger in size or number. It is not usually harmful to your health if the warts are not treated but you may find them uncomfortable and may not like the way they look.
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Syphilis
An infection that is rising with more and more infections being diagnosed. Syphilis is a bacteria and can be passed on easily thorough sexual contact:
- Vaginal, penile, anal, oral sex
- Sharing sex toys
- Pregnant women can pass the untreated infection to their baby at birth
- Through direct skin to skin contact with someone with a syphilitic rash or sores
Many people don’t notice the symptoms in the early stages and only discover the infection from a routine STI blood test
If you do notice symptoms at the first stage, they are likely to include: Ulcers, often called Chancres on your genital area or mouth if you have had oral sex
If left untreated the infection will progress. If you do notice symptoms at the second stage, they are likely to include:
- A painless rash that is normally not itchy but can also be seen on palms or soles of feet.
- White patches on the roof of the mouth if you have had oral sex
- Patchy hair loss
- Flu-like illness including loss of appetite and tiredness
- Swollen glands
This can last weeks and months - Less common but some women may experience lower abdominal pain, pain during sex, bleeding between periods
- Men may experience pain or swelling of the testicles and painful sex and the need to urinate more
If left untreated for years, the infection can cause very serious damage to the brain, nervous system, heart and eyes. At this stage syphilis can be life threatening.
Testing is free easy and simple.
You can get tested at any time if you think you have been exposed to syphilis. A simple blood test is all that is required. If you have an ulcer then we may take a sample from that ulcer. Syphilis can take up to 3 months to show up in your body, this is called the window period.
You will be treated with antibiotics which will be injected into your glutes.
Once you have been diagnosed with syphilis you cannot be a blood donor.
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Hepatitis B
What is it?
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. It can be diagnosed by a blood test.
The virus is present in body fluids such as blood, saliva, semen and vaginal fluid. It can be passed on easily through unprotected sex (vaginal, anal or oral), sharing sex toys, rimming and sharing injecting drug equipment or through a pregnant mother during childbirth.
We recommend and provide a vaccination for people who are particularly at risk of catching Hepatitis B sexually. This includes men who have sex with men, and those who may have a high-risk partner, pay or are paid for sex, had sex in high prevalence countries or an injecting drug user.
Symptoms
Many people who get Hepatitis B notice no symptoms or they are so mild that they may not realise they have it.
Sometimes after initial infection people may experience some symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, itchy skin, diarrhoea, extreme tiredness, stomach pain, jaundice (where your skin and the whites of your eyes turn yellow, your urine turns dark and your faeces (poo) turn pale) or mild flu like illness.
Symptoms can last several weeks, taking months to get back to normal.
Testing
You can be tested for Hepatitis if you think you may have been at risk. A blood test is used to diagnose Hepatitis B.
Treatment
Treatment for Hepatitis B depends on how long you’ve been infected for –
• If you’ve been exposed to the virus in the last few days, emergency treatment can help stop you becoming infectedIf you’ve had the infection for more than six months (chronic Hepatitis B), you may be offered treatment with medicines that can keep the virus under control and reduce the risk of liver damage.
Chronic Hepatitis B often requires long-term or lifelong treatment and regular monitoring to check for any further liver problems.
Long Term Effects
Most people make a full recovery from Hepatitis B but up to one in 20 become ‘Carriers’ with chronic (long-term) infection.They usually feel fine but stay infectious to others, with a small risk of going on to develop liver disease. Around one in 100 people get a more serious illness which can be fatal if not treated immediately.