Where Am I: Maxhim.co.uk | The Maxhim Institute of Learning | Guides to a Healthy Sexlife | Sexual Health and STIs

If you are sexually active you need to protect yourself, whatever your age! Wearing a condom and limiting your number of sexual partners can reduce the chances of contracting an STI. Later this year the government will be running a new campaign promoting safe sex to combat the current explosion of STI's, and Maxhim will be highlighting these health messages and products to help practice safe, but fun sex.

Chlamydia

Also known as the silent STI because its symptoms are mild to non-existent, chlamydia can have a serious effect on, and even permanently damage, a woman's reproductive and overall health.

It is vital it is not left untreated. One third of women with untreated chlamydia go on to develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) - the dominant cause of chronic pelvic pain, infertility and ectopic pregnancy. In severe cases, men and women with chlamydia can develop arthritis.

How do you catch it?
o Through unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex, or genital contact with an infected partner
o An infected person may not have symptoms of chlamydia, but can still infect a partner without knowing it
o Genital chlamydia cannot be caught by casual contact, such as sitting on toilet seats, swimming pools or sharing Jacuzzi's.
o Pregnant women can pass on the infection to infants during childbirth.

What are the symptoms?
o Most people are unaware of their infection. Up to 50 per cent of infected men and 70 per cent of women show no symptoms.
o Women may experience unusual vaginal discharge, bleeding between periods, painful urination and lower abdominal pain
o Men may experience discharge from the penis, burning and itching in the genital area and painful urination
o Symptoms may persist, but in some cases they may only last for a few days and then disappear. If symptoms do occur, they start around one to three weeks after infection

Will it affect my future fertility or childbirth?
Yes, if untreated one in three women will develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can reduce your fertility and hinder conception. Pregnant women can pass on the infection to infants during childbirth.

How can we protect against Chlamydia?
The use of condoms during vaginal or anal intercourse, or oral sex, and dental dams during oral sex can offer protection. Annual or semi-annual STI checks and celibacy with partners until they have been screened can be of help, Maxhim offer two effective and safe home testkits to detect if you have chlamydia - don't leave testing until it is too late it is vital it is not left untreated, all home test kits are available for next day delivery:

Syphilis

In 2004, the rates for Syphilis infections were up a whopping 80%.

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that can be caught from an infected partner through vaginal, anal or oral intercourse, or passed from an infected mother to her unborn child. The incubation period is 10 days to three months, but treatment with penicillin can prevent transmission of the disease.

What are the symptoms?
The first sign of syphilis is the appearance of painless, but infectious sores anywhere on the body. If the infection remains untreated during the next two years, the following symptoms progress:
o A non-itchy rash covers the body in patches
o A flu-like illness ensues
o Fatigue
o Loss of appetite
o Swollen glands
o White patches on the tongue and roof of mouth
o Patchy hair loss
o Left untreated, the infection can lead to brain damage, heart failure and can cause miscarriages, stillbirths and congenital defects

Will it affect my future fertility or childbirth?
No, not if you get prompt treatment, however left untreated, the infection can lead to brain damage, heart failure and can cause miscarriages, stillbirths and congenital defects.

How can we protect against Syphilis?
The use of condoms during vaginal or anal intercourse, or oral sex, and dental dams during oral sex can offer protection. Annual or semi-annual STI checks and celibacy with partners until they have been screened can be of help.

Gonorrhoea

A bacterial infection that sometimes spreads via the bloodstream.

Transmitted through vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected partner, gonorrhoea can be effectively treated with antibiotics. It is possible to be infected with the disease and have no symptoms.

How do you know that you have it?
o Men may experience a discharge from the urethra
o Symptoms in women include painful urination and yellow, bloody vaginal discharge
o Men and women can experience anal discharge and pain during anal sex

Will it affect my future fertility or childbirth?
No, not if you get prompt treatment.

How can we protect against Gonorrhoea?
The use of condoms during vaginal or anal intercourse, or oral sex, and dental dams during oral sex can offer protection. Annual or semi-annual STI checks and celibacy with partners until they have been screened can be of help.

Herpes

The herpes simplex virus causes herpes.

There are two types of herpes, HSV-type 1, which commonly causes fever blisters on the mouth or face (oral herpes, also known as cold sores), and HSV-type 2, which typically affects the genital area (genital herpes). Both types can cause either genital or oral infections. Most of the time, HSV-1 and HSV-2 are inactive, or 'silent' with no symptoms, but some infected people have sporadic 'outbreaks' of blisters and ulcers. Once a person has contracted HSV, it remains with them for life.
HSV-1 and HSV-2 are transmitted through direct contact, including kissing, sexual contact (vaginal, oral or anal sex), or skin-to-skin contact with an infected area.
Genital herpes can be transmitted with or without the presence of sores or other symptoms. It is often passed-on by people who are unaware that they are infected. Herpes can also be transmitted even when they have no symptoms.
Condoms are the best protection from herpes however; they do not provide complete protection, because a herpes lesion may not be completely covered by a condom and the infection may spread. If you or your partner has genital herpes, it is best to abstain from sex when symptoms are present, and to use condoms between outbreaks.

What are the symptoms?
o Itching or tingling sensations
o Painful blisters filled with fluid in the genital and/or rectal area
o Mild fever
o Lumps in the groin area
o Painful urination
o Difficulty urinating
o Urgent or frequent urination
o Painful sexual intercourse
o Incontinence
o Genital sores

Will it affect my future fertility or childbirth?
No, but if you have an outbreak at the time of birth, you doctor will advise you to have a Caesarean.

How can we protect against Herpes?
The use of condoms during vaginal or anal intercourse, or oral sex, and dental dams during oral sex can offer protection. Annual or semi-annual STI checks and celibacy with partners until they have been screened can be of help.

HIV/AIDS

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

Individuals diagnosed with AIDS have a severely weakened immune system and are susceptible to life-threatening diseases and infections. AIDS was first reported back in 1981 originally described as a "gay plague" however following huge efforts to educate gay men and encourage them to practice safe sex AIDS is most rapidly growing in the heterosexual population. New treatments have greatly improved the survival rates of people with AIDS.

How do you know that you have it?
The only way to determine for sure whether you are infected is to be tested for HIV infection. Many people who are infected with HIV do not have any symptoms for many years.
The following may be warning signs of an HIV infection, but do not guarantee that you are infected:
o Rapid weight loss
o Dry cough
o Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
o Profound and unexplained fatigue
o Swollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
o Diarrhoea that lasts for more than a week
o White spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth or in the throat
o Pneumonia
o Red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose or eyelids
o Memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders

Don't assume you are infected if you have any of the above symptoms, as each of these can be related to other illnesses. Again, the only way to determine whether you are infected is to be tested specifically for HIV.

Will it affect my future fertility or childbirth?
HIV can be passed from mother to child, a factor to consider when planning a pregnancy.

How can we protect against HIV?
The use of condoms during vaginal or anal intercourse, or oral sex, and dental dams during oral sex can offer protection. Annual or semi-annual STI checks and celibacy with partners until they have been screened can be of help.

Genital Warts

Doctors claim that more than 60 per cent of sexually active adults are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), and it is implicated in cervical cancer.

HPV, or human papillomavirus virus, causes unsightly warts in various parts of the body, especially around the genitals when it is more commonly known as genital warts. However, the types of HPV that cause warts to grow on hands and feet are not the same as those that form warts in the mouth or in the genital area.
Not all HPV viruses cause warts. Some are sub-clinical, which means the virus lives in the skin without any sign or symptom. This is why many people with HPV do not know they have it. Some forms of HPV can also cause cancers of the vulva in women, the penis in men and head, neck and anal cancers in men and women.
HPV is strongly implicated in cervical changes and the development of cervical cancer and it is important for women to maintain regular cervical smear tests. In the UK a test is offered to all women every three five years, from the ages of about 18, or two years after first sexual intercourse, to age 65.

How is it spread?
Through skin-to-skin or mucous membrane contact during oral, vaginal anal or manual sex.

What are its symptoms?
Small, cauliflower-like warts on the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, inside the urethra, or in the throat.

Is it curable?
No. Even when the warts are removed, the virus is still present in the body, and can be transmitted to partners when no warts are present, and cause long-term health problems like cervical cancer. Some people may, however, shed the virus over time.

Will it affect my future fertility or childbirth?
If HPV causes cervical cancer, yes your fertility will be affected. HPV can also be transmitted to an infant during childbirth. Worse still HPV can cause cervical cancer, which can be fatal.

How can we protect against HPV?
The use of condoms during vaginal or anal intercourse, or oral sex, and dental dams during oral sex can offer protection. Annual or semi-annual STI checks and celibacy with partners until they have been screened for HPV can be of help.