The Low-Down On Stds

With the holiday season upon us, don’t be foolish and take chances. Sexually transmitted diseases can be dangerous.

- Lungile Khumalo

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have been around for hundreds of years. However, during the past 40 years, they have been living in the shadow of HIV. Today, HIV is no longer life-threatening because it can be managed with medication. But STDs continue to spread, and still pose a threat to people’s health. This is possibly due to a lack of knowledge and unsafe sexual behaviour. The Department of Health confirmed that more than one million people were treated for STDs in the country in 2016. And, this did not include treatment at private practices. “Women have an increased risk of STDs compared to men due to biological and physiological factors,” says Dr Jireh Serfontein from My Sexual Health in Pretoria. She adds that chlamydia, especially, is a major concern for young women, and that this may be because they are often coerced into having sex with older men and have no power to negotiate condom use due to the age gap.

TRANSMISSION AND TREATMENT

STDs are spread through vaginal, anal or oral sex without the use of a condom. But, some (such as genital warts) can be transmitted by skin-toskin contact during sex. “Bacteria and viruses that cause STDs can be found in blood, semen, vaginal and anal fluids as well as breast milk. They are then passed on through sexual intercourse, direct contact with infected blood, needle injuries or from mother to child,” explains Dineo Moerane, marketing and communications coordinator at Marie Stopes South Africa.

While HIV takes years to manifest, symptoms for the other STDs take between a few days and weeks to appear. Many STDs have only mild symptoms or none, and can be mistaken for a yeast or urinary tract infection. “It is important for anyone who is sexually active to be regularly screened, so that the infection can be picked up and treated,” encourages Dineo.