STIs

STIs are passed from one person to another through unprotected sexual contact, including vaginal, anal and oral sex. Anyone can get an STI; the most affected groups are under-25s and men who have sex with men. After unprotected sexual contact, consider emergency contraception to protect yourself against pregnancy.

GET PROTECTED!

In order to protect yourself from STIs, you should use a condom (or internal condom) every time you have sex, even if using another form of contraception - for example the pill or implant. The most commonly diagnosed STIs in 2018 were:

If you find out you have an STI, your clinic will encourage you to notify any current, and sometimes previous, partners so they can get tested as well. They will help you find the best way to do this – some even do this for you anonymously.

Partner Notification Get Tested

Whether you have symptoms or not, if you have had unprotected sexual contact, it’s important to get tested for STIs.

1 Chlamydia: Sometimes described as a ‘silent’ infection due to the fact 75% of women and 50% of men don’t have any obvious signs or symptoms.

2 Genital warts: Caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), these are small growths or bumps that appear on or around the genital or anal area.

3 Gonorrhoea: The second most common bacterial STI (after chlamydia) which can lead to infertility if left untreated.

4 Genital herpes: Both of the two types can infect the genital and anal area, as well as the mouth and nose (cold sores).

Formore aboutinformation symptoms,STIsincluding treatmentsandvisitingaclinic, visitorg.uk/stiswww.brook.