Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
safe; sex; youth; condoms; hepatitis; herpes; HIV; AIDS; crabs; scabies; thrush; trichomonas; balanitis; molluscum; contagiosum; gonorrhoea; syphillis; urethritis; PID; herpes; genital; warts; chlamydia; sexually; transmitted; disease; safer; sex; infection; STD; STI; rape; sexual; assault; report; reporting; mandatory; testing; test; swab;
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If you have had unprotected sex at some time it would be a good idea to have a check to see if you have picked up a sexually transmitted infection (STI). An STI is an infection that is passed from one person to another during sexual contact, including vaginal, oral and anal sex. Some, such as crabs can even be passed on just by having close body contact.
Some STIs have symptoms which suggest that you might have an infection, such as:
- an unusual discharge from the penis or the vagina
- rashes, blisters, lumps or sores in the genital area, or sometimes in the mouth if you have oral sex
- pain low down in the tummy
- pain when passing urine.
However some do not have symptoms, or there are symptoms only some of the time even while the infection is still there. You may not know if you have an infection, and your partner may not know.
Common STIs
There are many different STIs, and many of them have topics on this site - they are listed in the 'Related topics' section at the top of this page.
In Australia, chlamydia is a common infection and there is a lot of concern about the long lasting effects it can have on the health and fertility of women. HIV is an uncommon infection in Australia, but it is common in many places that Australians visit on holidays or for work.
If you suspect you have an STI, don't give it to others! Get tested and treated quickly.
See the section below on 'Ways to avoid STIs' and the topic 'Safer sex' for more ways to protect yourself from STIs.
Testing
Why get tested?
Go for a check-up to keep yourself healthy – not just because you’ve already got an infection.
- Some STIs have no symptoms – chlamydia is one. In NSW in 2004, 53% of people diagnosed with chlamydia were under 25 years old.
- Another good reason is that most STIs are very easy to treat early, but if left for a long time will be more difficult to treat. Worse still, if left untreated, some STIs can make men and women infertile (unable to make babies).
- Knowing that you’re healthy through regular testing will also allow you to enjoy worry-free sexual contact.
- Finally, passing on an STI can have unwanted social effects – such as embarrassment – as well as being an unnecessary and disrespectful thing to do to a lover.
So find out what’s going on on the inside – get tested!
Where to get tested?
Testing can be done at your doctor's clinic (GP), a special STI clinic, sexual health clinics, many community health centres and youth health centres. See the 'Resource' list down the page for some addresses.
Each service will have confidentiality rules, and this means all information will be only available to the client and clinic staff, but some STIs need to be reported to health departments (see the section 'What the law says in South Australia'.
If you have one type of STI such as crabs you might have caught something else as well, so it's always best to be tested for a range of STIs at the same time just to make sure you stay healthy.
About testing
The health practitioner will take a medical history from you – including questions about any health problems you have had in the past - and asking about your concerns. He or she will also ask you about your sex life. The doctor should only ask relevant questions and it will be helpful to answer them. However, if a question is really embarrassing for you, ask the doctor to skip to the next question.
Tests may include blood tests, urine tests, having a swab taken or a genital examination.
- When doing a genital examination of men or women the doctor will look at and feel the genital and anal areas. The doctor will look for and feel for any lumps, rashes, warts, sores or tender areas.
- In men, the doctor will look for discharge from the penis. If there is any discharge a swab will be taken from the eye of the penis (a sample of the fluid or cells will be collected on a little stick with a cotton wool tip). If a man is uncircumcised, the fore-skin will be pulled back to check for any rashes or sores underneath.
- When a woman is tested, the doctor will insert two fingers into the vagina to feel the wall of the vagina, the cervix, womb and fallopian tubes to check for lumps or tenderness. The doctor might also insert a speculum in a woman. The speculum is a plastic or metal instrument that allows the doctor to see the cervix. The doctor will take swabs from the vagina, cervix and urinary opening with a little stick with wool on the end.
Doctors realise this could feel uncomfortable or embarrassing for you and will be gentle and understanding. If you feel discomfort you can ask the doctor to stop. You can also ask the doctor for an explanation as the examination goes along.
Some STIs (like HIV, hepatitis and syphilis) require a blood sample to be taken. Some tests can be done by collecting a urine sample.
Ways to avoid STIs
- Have a healthy attitude toward sex; always practice safer sex and get tested should anything interrupt your safe practices.
- Check out our topic on 'Safer sex'. This tells you all about how to use a condom as well as negotiating safer sex. Condoms will give you some protection from most sexually transmitted infections, but some, like herpes and genital warts, can spread through contact with skin that is not covered by the condom. It is a good idea to explore the genital area of a new partner to look for any outward signs of STIs (such as sores, lumps or a discharge). This can be done in loving or sexually arousing ways.
- You could choose not to have sex at all and this is OK for some, but not realistic for all people. Remember, sexual contact without penis/vagina or penis/anus penetration can still pass on some STIs such as crabs.
- For information on an STI, choose from the list of sexually transmitted infections in our 'Sexual Health' section.
- Have sex in relationships of communication and honesty. Learn about and stay up-to-date with your partner’s activities, and share your own. If you make a decision to have sex without protecting against STIs, make sure you’ve both had a recent STI test and that both you and your partner do not have unsafe sex with others. You could get tested together and make it a nice ritual.
What the law says in South Australia
Some diseases have to be reported to health departments by law. The reason for this is to try and stop them spreading.
- One way to stop the spread is to keep records of the way people get or pass on diseases. In South Australia the Communicable Diseases Control Branch can then plan programs, like education programs, posters and advertisements to run to try and stop the spread.
- Another way to stop the spread is to let people know they may have the disease and ask them to be tested. Some diseases show no signs of infection in some people and they wouldn't even know they had the infection. If people test positive for a particular disease, their partners (and their partners' partners) are told so they can be treated too and stop the spread.
The name of the person is passed on to a communicable diseases control service which is extremely careful about privacy and confidentiality. In Australia the STIs that doctors have to let the Communicable Diseases Control Branches know about include chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, HIV and viral hepatitis.
Resources
South Australia
Several services in South Australia offer free and confidential clinics for testing. The health practitioner can give you advice, tests and provide treatment.
Australia
General
SHine SA pamphlet - 'Sexually transmitted infections'
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Service, Clinic 275
Royal Adelaide Hospital
http://www.stdservices.on.net
Related topics
Look at all the topics in the Sexual Health section for specific diseases.
The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Youth Healthline on 1300 13 17 19 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).