A Christmas present you’d rather not have this year…

At Christmas time, we are told more than ever to love thy neighbour. But with the string of alcohol-fuelled festive parties about at this time of year, some take this biblical teaching a little too literally. And because of that, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), like Slade and Wizard, seem to do their very best at Christmas time.

Most people know about HIV, the ‘big STI,’ and slowly that level of public awareness is being paid off. Recently the UN revealed that rates of AIDS infection and related deaths worldwide have fallen by 21 per cent since 2000. This is a fantastic result and means that in 2010 alone, 700,000 more people are alive and infection-free than expected.

In the UK however, HIV should not be the first STI you think of. Why? Well, although approximately 83,000 people in the UK live with AIDS, in the last year alone 186,753 people were diagnosed with chlamydia. This makes chlamydia top dog in the UK STI rankings and by a long way (second place goes to genital warts at 79,000 new cases/year). If this was not a concerning enough statistic, over 80 per cent of those new chlamydial infections (~150,000 people) were from patients aged 16 – 24. That is 1 in 40 of all 16-24 year olds. (And remember we’re only thinking about one STI here).

So what is chlamydia? Quite simply, it is a bacterial infection of predominantly the genitals that spreads through intimate contact between partners. Thankfully it responds very well to antibiotic treatment, if the infection is found. The difficulty arises in knowing whether you are infected however because only 50 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women develop any symptoms at all. The danger with chlamydia comes if there has been long-term infection because it can commonly cause both male and female infertility. In fact, long-term chlamydial infection is the number one reason why couples have difficulty conceiving in the UK.

So if you do have symptoms, you can (in a weird sort of way) count yourself the lucky ones because you can seek medical attention you need early. Common symptoms to look out for in men are penile discharge, pain on urination and testicular pain; women may suffer abdominal pain, pain on urination, during sex or unusual vaginal bleeding.

So to put it simply, if you suspect an STI, see a doctor. Either your own GP or one at a Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinic will suffice as both will be able to treat you. Both types of doctor also treat STIs regularly – so don’t feel embarrassed going to them! Many patients prefer using GUM clinics because of the associated anonymity (not even your GP will know you have been to one!) but both settings are perfectly appropriate.

So what sort of draconian, horrific tests will your soft squishy parts be subjected to? Panic not, chlamydia is usually detected from a simple urine test and (for women) a self-conducted swab of the internal genitalia; which is similar to a tampon. In fact, the chlamydia test is so simple to perform that GPs can provide under 25 home test kits for free.

Due to the way chlamydia spreads, the safest option to prevent infection is to refrain from sex before both partners have been tested. This advice, although scientifically correct, can be felt by some to be of little practical use. If therefore you find this advice simply not to your liking this holiday, then having sex whilst using a ‘barrier’ can significantly reduce the transmission risk. Suitable barriers include condoms, femidoms and dental dams (used for oral sex) as these devices sufficiently protect potentially infective sites between partners. Other forms of contraceptives should not be considered suitable.

So next time the drop-in GUM clinic comes to campus, why not go along? The worst case scenario is that they find an infection you already have. Here’s hoping that you get everything you want this Christmas… and nothing more!