Student Union Campaigns: 12 Days of Christmas…Staying Safe Day 4: STIs, Gonorrhoea & Genital Herpes

Yesterday we looked at Chlamydia and Syphilis, and today, as part 4 of the HCA Student Union 12 Days of Christmas…Staying Safe campaign, I will be talking about two more STIs; Gonorrhoea and Genital Herpes. Both of these STIs are well known around the UK.

Gonorrhoea is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection. This specific STI can be very painful and can cause serious health problems, such as infertility in men and women. The bacteria is mainly found in the semen and vaginal fluids of men and women who have the infection, and it is easily passed from one person to the other through unprotected sexual contact.

With Gonorrhoea you may not get any signs or symptoms straight away; it could take between 1-14 days, a few months, or not until the infection spreads to the other body parts. When the signs and symptoms do occur, they might include:
(For women)
• Vaginal discharge (watery, yellow or green)
• Pain when passing urine
• Lower abdominal pain or tenderness
• Bleeding between periods/heavy periods (rare symptom)

(For men)
• Unusual discharge from the tip of the penis (white, yellow, or green)
• Pain when passing urine
• Pain or tenderness in the testicles (rare symptom)

If you think you may have Gonorrhoea, you will need to have a test. There are a few different ways to test for it. The test for a women may include a swab to collect cells from the vulva and inside the vagina. For men you may need to give a urine sample and a swab. One of the ways to ensure that you protect yourself from catching Gonorrhoea is to use a condom (female or male condom) when you have vaginal or anal sex, and if you have oral sex.

Now I want to talk about Genital Herpes. You may have already heard of Herpes, but I want to focus on Genital Herpes. This is a common STI, which is caused by a virus called Herpes Simplex. Most cases of Genital Herpes are quite mild but some people will have painful symptoms. This virus enters the body through small cracks in the skin or through the moist soft lining of the mouth, vagina, rectum and urethra. Genital Herpes can be passed on through sexual contact, which means both men and women can catch it. There are many ways for it to be passed on, these can be:

• From person to person during vaginal/anal sex or by sharing sex toys
• Skin to skin contact during sex (close genital contact)
• Receiving oral sex from someone who has a cold sore, or is just about to get a cold sore
• If someone has Herpes on their hand or fingers touches the vagina, genitals or anal area

But don’t panic too much; you can still hug, share baths or towels, swim in swimming pools, sit on toilet seats, and share cups/plates/cutlery, without catching Genital Herpes.
Most people will not have any signs or symptoms, but if you do it will be within 4-5 days of coming in contact with the virus. In some cases it can take several weeks, months or possibly years before any signs or symptoms appear. The symptoms or signs could be:

• Feeling unwell (flu like symptoms, fever, aches and pains in the lower back/legs or groin)
• Stinging, tingling or itching in the genital or anal area
• Small, fluid-filled blisters (in the genital or anal area) they burst within a day or two, which leaves small red sores
• Pain when passing urine

If you think you might have Genital Herpes, you can get checked as soon as you have signs or symptoms. The doctor or nurse will do a visual examination, then confirm with a swab.
As well as being able to go to Gaol Street Health centre (discussed in my previous blog), you can also go to some general practices, and even Morrisons down the road from Folly Lane to get some advice and treatment.

Click here for information leaflets on Gonorrhoea and Genital Herpes, both from the FPA.

Thanks for reading.
Emily (Campaign Officer)