“I’ve got to bring out the big ammunition on sex education. The bra and girdle section of Sears just isn’t doing it.”
– Erma Bombeck
An Alarming Increase:
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are on the move in Canada, and the numbers are shocking. As STIs fall off the public radar and people engage in riskier sex, they’re getting themselves and their future partners sick.
- Gonorrhea, which used to be called ‘the clap,’ was up 53% in Canada between 2001 and 2010. It’s spread by unprotected vaginal, anal, and oral (yes, oral too) contact.
- Syphilis, which can also be spread through any kind of contact, was up 456% in the same time period. This disease can also be passed from mother to child in the womb.
- Chlamydia, the most common STI, has gone up every year since 1997. It’s tell-tale sign is burning, painful urination.
STIs hit young women the hardest. Men are catching up, though, with a higher rate of increase than women in the three disease categories mentioned above.
So why the increase? There are a number of reasons:
- Lack of awareness: with HIV largely out of the headlines, STIs aren’t top of mind anymore.
- Lifestyle changes: condoms have become unsexy in a culture saturated with porn and messages about “just go for it” sex
- No symptoms: often people spread these diseases without knowing they have them, and without being tested
- Priorities: young people are becoming more interested in avoiding pregnancy than STIs, so the pill is becoming more popular and condoms less popular.
What do these STIs look like:
Alarmingly, the majority of people with chlamydia have no idea they have it, and can keep spreading it to other partners. 70% of women and 50% of men don’t show symptoms, which is probably why it’s so common.
It’s especially dangerous for women, and can lead to infertility if left untreated. While chlamydia’s tell-tale symptom is painful, burning urination, it has many other symptoms. For women who know they have it:
- Abnormal, often smelly, vaginal discharge
- Bleeding between periods
- Painful periods
- Painful sex
- Itching or burning around the vagina
- Painful, burning
And for the men who know they have it:
- Clear, cloudy discharge from the tip of the penis
- Burning and swelling at the tip of the penis
- Pain and swelling around the testicles
If you have these symptoms, or to get tested, see a doctor. It’s bacterial, so antibiotics typically clear it up.
Gonorrhea is potentially very serious. Left untreated, it can lead to infertility, long-term abdominal pain in women, and even death if it spreads to the blood or joints.
Also called the ‘clap’, or ‘drip’, it’s most common among men and women with many sex partners. It’s easily spread via bodily fluids (so unborn babies can get it). For women, the symptoms may be so subtle that you don’t notice them. They can include:
- Greenish yellow or whitish vaginal discharge
- Lower abdominal pain
- Burning urination
- Red, itchy eyes
- Spotting after intercourse and bleeding between periods
- Burning in the throat or swollen glands (if caught from oral sex)
For men, symptoms include:
- Greenish yellow or whitish discharge from the penis
- Painful urination
- Painful, swollen testicles
- Burning in the throat or swollen glands (if caught from oral sex)
Syphilis is a deceptive and dangerous disease. There are 4 stages. The first is a small, painless sore, which is often taken for an ingrown hair or just nothing, in the mouth or around the genitals. A rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet develops after that and more sores.
The third stage, which can last forever if untreated, is when the disease goes dormant and symptoms cease. It’s not contagious in this stage.
Untreated, about 15% of cases progress to a fourth and devastating stage, wherein severe heart, brain and nerve damage can lead to paralysis, dementia, blindness, and ultimately death.
In the US and Canada, most syphilis cases affect gay or bisexual men. But cases are on the rise in the heterosexual community as well.
What you Can Do:
The first step to protection is to avoid contracting the disease. Limit your number of sexual partners and wear a latex condom. If you use lubricant, make sure it’s water based.
Wear a condom through the entire sex act. STIs spread freely via oral sex, so use an oral condom until you’ve both been tested.
Wash before and after intercourse and avoid sharing towels or underwear. STIs don’t need direct sexual contact to travel; sometimes bodily fluids alone can do it.
If you have any of the symptoms above, see your doctor right away. These 3 STIs can all be cured with antibiotics, but you have to catch them first.
http://globalnews.ca/news/2364590/growing-sti-rates-call-for-renewed-concerns-in-canada/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/std-rates-rise-among-young-canadians-1.331218
http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/chlamydia
http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/understanding-stds-prevention
http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/gonorrhea#1