Sexual Health is something that most of us don’t really want to think about and often keep very private. Which is always a bad thing but it is important to ensure that you are discussing the transmission of these infections with your teenagers as well as making sure that you keeping on top of your own sexual health. Most STIs don’t actually carry any outward symptoms and others don’t carry symptoms until well after you have become infected. This means that you can be carrying an infection and potentially passing this onto your sexual partners without realising it.
This is where companies such as bexley sexual health who offer Home StI kits can help. They offer testing for all the major STIs in the comfort of your own home via the home kits. You can return them and receive your results via email or text messaging. It means you can then visit your GP for any appropriate treatment. Leaving an STI untreated can lead to long term issues and infertility.
Here are some of the STIs that you need to be aware of:
- Chlamydia – this is the most common STI in the UK and carries no symptoms which is one of the reasons why it is often passed on from partner to partner without realising. There are some symptoms which may appear in some individuals but these are often mistaken for other common health issues. These include pain or burning whilst urinating, discharge and pain during or after sex. Chlamydia can be treated with a course of antibiotics.
- Gonorrhoea – this STI is caused by a bacteria that is passed on from an infected person to their partner through sexually intercourse and other sexual acts. Again symptoms are not always noticed and these are very similar to those occasionally experienced with Chlamydia. Gonorrhoea can be treated with antibiotics.
- Genital warts – this is probably the second most common STI in the UK and be spread through sexual intercourse as well as through other sexual acts. The warts themselves can be itchy or painful and are spread through skin to skin contact. Removing them can be tricky and consists of using specially designed creams or freezing the warts off.
- HIV – this is a virus that is transmitted through sexual intercourse as well as through sharing used needles. The virus attacks the immune system and can lead to AIDS in the future. The outlook for people with HIV has been dramatically improved over the years, although there is still no cure.