The STIs Have It WORDS Ruby Ellam @ruby.ellam There are some things that are way more embarrassing than having an STI. Like shitting your pants twice. Thankfully, Azithromycin, a common antibiotic used to treat chlamydia, exists just to remind us how much worse it can get. Azithromycin causes side effects in about 1 in 100 people including diarrhoea, vomiting and thrush. And like Lady Gaga says, there could be 100 people in the room, but only one (me) will shit their pants after getting chlamydia. Since I became sexually active, I have been tested for STIs once every three or so months and have tried my best to always be protected — but shit happens, literally. To be completely honest, I’m not sure who I got chlamydia from. I’m about 90% sure, based on my highly scientific deduction, but that didn’t stop me from having an internal slutshaming spiral when I had to text my partners and recommend they get tested. Some of them reacted negatively, and the shame continued. I got my medication. And then I shit my pants, and realised that my shame was misplaced. There are more than 30 different diseases and bacterias that can be spread through sexual contact, and according to the World Health Organisation, in 2020 over 374 million new infections were recorded of the four most common STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis). STIs and STDs are much more common than we like to admit, and not talking about it opens us all up for bad sexual health. No matter your sexuality, gender or relationship status, heed my warnings (or prepare for antibiotic-induced diarrhoea)! 36
The Sex Issue
