Here's what they didn't tell you in sex Ed
class (or what you missed while you were dreaming about Taylor Hanson): The
clap can make you infertile. Oral sex may cause cancer. And just because a
bloke works with your BFF doesn't mean he doesn't have cooties. Why the
lecture?
Because between new mutant strains and
rising contraction rates, STIs are turning sex into a dangerous contact sport
(and this is one time you don't want to be off under the blood rule).
STIs 2.0
Not sure how much you remember about the
sexually transmitted infection (STI) affectionately called 'the clap', but you
might as well forget it. There's a new strain of gonorrhoea in town, and it
doesn't do antibiotics. The next gen gonorrhoea is not yet in Australia, but doctors
are waiting like paparazzi at the airport when Kate Middleton's due in town.
Not
sure how much you remember about the sexually transmitted infection (STI)
affectionately called 'the clap', but you might as well forget it.
"It's definitely something we're
waiting for and watching to see what happens," says Dr. Kathy McNamee,
senior medical officer at Family Planning Victoria.
Essentially the bacteria have cottoned on
to how the going antibiotics work and decked themselves out in camouflage
suits.
"There's been a change in the
antibiotics we've had to use for gonorrhoea over a number of years. It's one of
those bacteria that are particularly smart in changing itself," Dr.
McNamee explains.
The result? The infection that can lead to
reduced fertility, or stop you having babies naturally altogether, is flying
under the radar.
"While nearly all cases of gonorrhoea
contracted in Australia remain treatable with an antibiotic injection as well
as oral antibiotics, resistance to these antibiotics is rising and there is a
real concern that we may be confronted with an untreatable strain in the
future," says general practitioner Dr. Sam Tormey. Official incidence
rates show that the incidence of gonorrhoea has increased by 50 per cent in the
past five years, with 12,000 Aussies carrying the infection in 2011.
Perhaps the scarier bit is that we can't
blame the Facebook party set. STIs in older Australians are rising faster than
a bloke with a Viagra overdose. So concerned is Family Planning NSW, it has
teamed up with dating site RSVP to launch Australia's first ever safe sex
awareness campaign targeting older Aussies. The Little Black Dress Campaign is
like a refresher class for over-40s, promoting safe sex and STI testing in the
case of an iffy shag.
The
Little Black Dress Campaign is like a refresher class for over-40s, promoting
safe sex and STI testing in the case of an iffy shag.
In a 2012 survey, RSVP found that singles
in their 50s were most likely to sleep with a squeeze on the first date, and
all age groups averaged two to four dates before fornicating.
Dr. Tormey says complacency and dwindling
condom use are among factors making us toxic. "I'm not sure if it's
blindness towards STIs or a general move away from the routine use of condoms.
Condom use has declined in the last few years and there has been an associated
rise in STIs.
"Compared to the 'shock and awe'
campaigns for safer sex in the 1980's aimed principally against HIV infection
but with great results in reducing other STIs contemporary campaigns do not
appear to be as effective."
Avant garde infections
True, it won't get you preggers, but oral
sex can cause a nasty kind of STI some studies have linked to oral cancer.
Scientists have confirmed that oral sex can lead to contracting human
papillomavirus (HPV), sometimes referred to as the wart virus. And malignancies
of the lower mouth and throat linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), are
increasing, according to the American Cancer Society. But Dr. McNamee says
there is no need to panic.
"Oral sex is something that is really
common and oral cancers aren't common," says Dr. McNamee. "So
although oral sex is a risk factor for oral cancer we wouldn't be recommending
that people don't have oral sex."
Another fashion-forward infection shows
similar signs of resistance to antibiotics as the new gonorrhoea. Mycoplasma
genitalium, a parasitic bacterium STI with some similarities to chlamydia, is
often symptomless.
"So
although oral sex is a risk factor for oral cancer we wouldn't be recommending
that people don't have oral sex."
"Most of the public aren't familiar
with it and even a lot of GPs may not have heard of it," says Dr. McNamee.
"We don't routinely screen for it and
there are often not any symptoms, but sometimes we do have someone who has
genital symptoms like a urethral discharge and we test for it. Although the
antibiotics are the same as what we use for chlamydia there's unfortunately a
higher chance that those antibiotics won't work."
Endangered species
The good news first: genital wart
infections are on the decline, thanks to a widespread Gardasil vaccination
program introduced for Australian females aged under 26 four to five years ago.
The vaccine is also being introduced for boys.
"HPV is one virus but there are a
whole lot of subgroups within it. There's a whole stack of them that infect the
genital area and the Gardasil vaccine vaccinates against the four most common
types." Gardasil takes aim at types 16 and 18, which are associated with
cancer of the cervix, and 6 and 11, which are associated with genital warts, Dr.
McNamee says.
The vaccine is credited with an early
decline in female wart infections and a small decline in heterosexual male
infections, who are not inheriting the virus from their female partners.
"We hope there will be a huge reduction in the risk of cervical
cancer," says Dr McNamee. "Studies and pap tests are really
encouraging but at this stage we can't put a figure on what the reduction will
be."
