Last year, I caught gonorrhoea — my first ever sexually transmitted infection (STI). The moment I found out, I was panicked; I wanted to immediately find somewhere private, rip my clothes off, and check my body to see if my reproductive system was in the process of self-destructing.
Obviously, this was an overreaction. After a call to the doctor’s office, an antibiotic injection, and a week of abstinence, the problem was gone, and I never saw a symptom.
The most painful part was messaging the few people I had slept with in the previous two months to warn them about my diagnosis (and even they were relaxed about it).
This isn’t to say that, actually, gonorrhoea isn’t a problem — rather, it’s that I was a little naive about STIs. If I think back to high school sex ed, I remember being taught about symptoms in a way that was clinical yet pretty nasty and freaky— for example, that chlamydia would lead to gooey “discharge” from your genitals. Nobody wants that, so you’d better use protection, end of story.
The movie Mean Girls riffed on this attitude with bumbling sex ed teacher Coach Carr, who tells students, “If you do touch each other, you will get chlamydia. And die.” And while it’s played as a joke, this approach isn’t too far from the fairly unsubtle lessons I (and many others) learned in school — STIs are Very Bad (capital V, capital B), so you’d better unfailingly use protection, or screw up your life.
There are issues with this way of thinking. Protection is good, but unless you’re covering every square inch of your body in plastic wrap, it’s not perfect. Plus, nobody likes licking a condom or a dental dam, so let’s be realistic: few people use protection for oral sex (and that’s just one example).
As my old health textbook might have noted, “the safest sex is no sex at all”. But that’s no fun, so let’s get informed and take a spin through some misconceptions about STIs.
The most painful part was messaging the few people I had slept with in the previous two months to warn them about my diagnosis (and even they were relaxed about it).
First stop, and perhaps the most commonly misunderstood infection: herpes. After HIV, it’s arguably the most stigmatised STI out there. It’s easy to understand why: the thought of sores on one’s vagina or penis is a little unnerving. Plus it’s incurable, and people may not be aware when they’re carrying it.
The fact that people carry herpes without knowing seems scary, but it’s actually a sign that the infection isn’t something to freak out about. The World Health Organisation estimates that the majority of the world’s population already has one of two types of herpes (oral or genital). “Most” cases don’t have any symptoms at all, and if they do, they’re so mild they could be confused for a pimple or a mosquito bite. And, for what it’s worth, oral herpes are more likely to cause a problem than genital ones. In either case, serious issues are exceedingly rare, unless you’re pregnant or immunocompromised.
The same goes for other STIs that show up on your skin — crabs (or pubic lice) are itchy and creepy to look at, but treatable with a shampoo-like substance from the pharmacy. Genital warts may require medical attention (they’re linked to a strain of HPV), but long story short: they’re easily treated, and don’t have any link to the HPV strain that causes cervical cancer.
STIs inside the body are more complicated, and this column should not be taken as a substitute for professional medical advice — in most situations you should see a doctor, even if it’s just for a prescription.
First up, chlamydia (“the clam”), Australia’s most common STI. It’s particularly sneaky, since it can be transmitted from people without symptoms, via any of the mouth, penis, vagina, or anus, and without ejaculation. It can cause major problems right through to infertility in any gender (but especially women), if — and this is a big if — it’s left untreated. In its earlier stages, it might be painful to pee, and you might have some gunk coming out of your body, but a simple, cheap round of antibiotics will clear it up.
After chlamydia, gonorrhoea (“the clap”) is also relatively common. It can also go undetected, but is easily treated with antibiotics. Symptoms can be painful, particularly if you leave it untreated, but there’s a high chance they won’t show up at all. So for most healthy people, regular testing should protect against any kind of catastrophic gonorrhoea or chlamydia outbreak.
While the clap and the clam shouldn’t worry any responsible sexually active adult, there are a couple of nastier bugs out there, like syphilis. The good news is that it’s relatively uncommon in Australia. The bad news is that, untreated, it can lie dormant and lead to brain, nerve, and heart problems several years later. That said, early symptoms (sores or rashes) should be pretty noticeable, allowing you to get it treated well before it becomes dangerous.
Lastly, there’s HIV — arguably the scariest STI, especially for queer people. It’s a serious STI, but it’s no longer a death sentence and can be controlled. While HIV is too complex to boil down to a couple of sentences and deserves further reading, know that it’s certainly possible to have safe sex with HIV positive people, with the help of protection in the form of condoms, or medication like PrEP.
Of course, protection is useful against all kinds of STIs, not just HIV. But it’s not perfect, and it’s not everything. Knowing your body, knowing if you’re high-risk, and knowing when something is wrong are all important, and getting tested regularly is key.
Oh, and just don’t freak out about herpes.
Article
How scary is it to get an STI, exactly?
Last year, I caught gonorrhoea — my first ever sexually transmitted infection (STI). The moment I found out, I was panicked; I wanted to immediately find somewhere private, rip my clothes off, and check my body to see if my reproductive system was in the process of self-destructing.
Obviously, this was an overreaction. After a call to the doctor’s office, an antibiotic injection, and a week of abstinence, the problem was gone, and I never saw a symptom.
The most painful part was messaging the few people I had slept with in the previous two months to warn them about my diagnosis (and even they were relaxed about it).
This isn’t to say that, actually, gonorrhoea isn’t a problem — rather, it’s that I was a little naive about STIs. If I think back to high school sex ed, I remember being taught about symptoms in a way that was clinical yet pretty nasty and freaky— for example, that chlamydia would lead to gooey “discharge” from your genitals. Nobody wants that, so you’d better use protection, end of story.
The movie Mean Girls riffed on this attitude with bumbling sex ed teacher Coach Carr, who tells students, “If you do touch each other, you will get chlamydia. And die.” And while it’s played as a joke, this approach isn’t too far from the fairly unsubtle lessons I (and many others) learned in school — STIs are Very Bad (capital V, capital B), so you’d better unfailingly use protection, or screw up your life.
There are issues with this way of thinking. Protection is good, but unless you’re covering every square inch of your body in plastic wrap, it’s not perfect. Plus, nobody likes licking a condom or a dental dam, so let’s be realistic: few people use protection for oral sex (and that’s just one example).
As my old health textbook might have noted, “the safest sex is no sex at all”. But that’s no fun, so let’s get informed and take a spin through some misconceptions about STIs.
First stop, and perhaps the most commonly misunderstood infection: herpes. After HIV, it’s arguably the most stigmatised STI out there. It’s easy to understand why: the thought of sores on one’s vagina or penis is a little unnerving. Plus it’s incurable, and people may not be aware when they’re carrying it.
The fact that people carry herpes without knowing seems scary, but it’s actually a sign that the infection isn’t something to freak out about. The World Health Organisation estimates that the majority of the world’s population already has one of two types of herpes (oral or genital). “Most” cases don’t have any symptoms at all, and if they do, they’re so mild they could be confused for a pimple or a mosquito bite. And, for what it’s worth, oral herpes are more likely to cause a problem than genital ones. In either case, serious issues are exceedingly rare, unless you’re pregnant or immunocompromised.
The same goes for other STIs that show up on your skin — crabs (or pubic lice) are itchy and creepy to look at, but treatable with a shampoo-like substance from the pharmacy. Genital warts may require medical attention (they’re linked to a strain of HPV), but long story short: they’re easily treated, and don’t have any link to the HPV strain that causes cervical cancer.
STIs inside the body are more complicated, and this column should not be taken as a substitute for professional medical advice — in most situations you should see a doctor, even if it’s just for a prescription.
First up, chlamydia (“the clam”), Australia’s most common STI. It’s particularly sneaky, since it can be transmitted from people without symptoms, via any of the mouth, penis, vagina, or anus, and without ejaculation. It can cause major problems right through to infertility in any gender (but especially women), if — and this is a big if — it’s left untreated. In its earlier stages, it might be painful to pee, and you might have some gunk coming out of your body, but a simple, cheap round of antibiotics will clear it up.
After chlamydia, gonorrhoea (“the clap”) is also relatively common. It can also go undetected, but is easily treated with antibiotics. Symptoms can be painful, particularly if you leave it untreated, but there’s a high chance they won’t show up at all. So for most healthy people, regular testing should protect against any kind of catastrophic gonorrhoea or chlamydia outbreak.
While the clap and the clam shouldn’t worry any responsible sexually active adult, there are a couple of nastier bugs out there, like syphilis. The good news is that it’s relatively uncommon in Australia. The bad news is that, untreated, it can lie dormant and lead to brain, nerve, and heart problems several years later. That said, early symptoms (sores or rashes) should be pretty noticeable, allowing you to get it treated well before it becomes dangerous.
Lastly, there’s HIV — arguably the scariest STI, especially for queer people. It’s a serious STI, but it’s no longer a death sentence and can be controlled. While HIV is too complex to boil down to a couple of sentences and deserves further reading, know that it’s certainly possible to have safe sex with HIV positive people, with the help of protection in the form of condoms, or medication like PrEP.
Of course, protection is useful against all kinds of STIs, not just HIV. But it’s not perfect, and it’s not everything. Knowing your body, knowing if you’re high-risk, and knowing when something is wrong are all important, and getting tested regularly is key.
Oh, and just don’t freak out about herpes.
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