National STI Awareness Day brings the nation’s Sexual Health under the microscope

In little over a week’s time will see the annual National STI Awareness Day take place, held every January 14th – exactly two weeks after New Year.

Two weeks is the timeframe after which the common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, can be detected with a simple STI test kit. One popular example of such a test kit is the Clamelle chlamydia one, available from Medical Specialists® Pharmacy and can be used in the comfort of one’s own home.

Sexually active people should be both knowledgeable and careful when it comes to sexual health throughout the whole year however. Failure to use condoms – especially with new sexual partners – can lead to an unwanted pregnancy or one of a number of serious STIs.

The awareness day was launched back in 2010 as a method of getting people to think more about their sexual health – it is a day to ask questions about sexual health, and for people to begin to question their own sexual health.

Right now, many reading this could be thinking ‘I’m perfectly healthy!’ This may indeed be the case, but is worth remembering that some STIs often don’t display any external symptoms initially for some length of time. Therefore, getting a STI assessment is the only way of finding out.

This is particularly crucial in regards to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Unfortunately, HIV does not have a cure. The majority of those infected with HIV will experience a short, flu-like illness which will begin 2 to 6 weeks after infection. There are usually no further symptoms for several years.

The next period is known as the asymptomatic HIV infection, an approximate 10 year process where the virus continues to be active and will cause progressive damage to the immune system. Once the immune system is severely damaged, common symptoms include: night sweats, skin problems, chronic diarrhoea, life-threatening illnesses, and more.

However, an earlier HIV diagnosis and subsequent treatment is imperative to stopping the serious symptoms from beginning after the virus reaches an advanced stage. It is important that anybody who has put themselves at risk in the past should have a HIV test, even if there are no symptoms of the virus evident.

Moreover, it is debatable how many sexually active people are aware that around 70% of women and 50% of men will display absolutely no symptoms at all after contracting chlamydia. Chlamydia remains the most common STI condition in the UK, with the prevalence of infection being the highest in young sexually active adults aged between 15 and 24. Without sufficient chlamydia treatment, the sufferer is at risk of becoming infertile or developing pelvic inflammatory disease.
There are other conditions – hepatitis being one – that may be life-threatening in the long-term. So why delay getting an STI assessment…is it really worth leaving it up to chance?

It could be easy to adopt a flippant attitude to historical sexual activities…After all nobody wants to imagine that they may have a contracted a STI, but the fact remains that anyone who has previously engaged in unprotected sexual contact (including oral sex) could be at risk.

In fact, approximately 1-in-12 who get tested discover they are infected. Although this sounds an alarming statistic, as mentioned previously, many common STIs (i.e. chlamydia) often don’t show any signs or symptoms.

Over 95% of people with chlamydia can be cured providing they take antibiotics correctly. There are two antibiotics commonly prescribed for chlamydia treatment, these being a single dose of the azithromycin or doxycycline, taken for one week.

If STIs are left untreated, they can become extremely painful or uncomfortable, and even lead to long-term problems such as infertility.

If you show signs of any of the following symptoms, then you should seek help:

. Unusual vaginal discharge.
. Discharge from the penis.
. Pain and/or bleeding during sexual intercourse.
. Bleeding following sex.
. Bleeding between periods.
. Blisters, itches, lumps or rashes around the genitals or anus.
. Pain in the testicles.

Medical Specialists® Pharmacy provide treatments for many of the more common STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital herpes.

In addition, Medical Specialists® can provide almost 100% accurate pregnancy tests to be used in the privacy and comfort of a woman’s own home, a wide variety of condoms to suit different preferences, emergency hormonal contraception (morning after pill), other contraceptive pills, and the previously mentioned chlamydia test to be taken at home and posted off for a quick analysis and result, avoiding the time and embarrassment of having to personally attend a clinic for a check-up.

To obtain any prescription or antibiotic or contraceptive treatment, all patients must first undergo an online consultation with one of the GMC-registered doctors at Medical Specialists®, or send in a private prescription by post, obtained from the patient’s own doctor.

Revolutionary ‘VivaGel’ condom that kills HIV could be available in months

An Australian company have made ground-breaking progress in the fight to combat the worldwide problem of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), after gaining approval for their revolutionary new type of condom.

Australian bio-tech firm Starpharma have crafted a condom lubricated with antiviral ‘VivaGel’ which is able to destroy sexually transmitted infections, and the condom has now been given the green light by Australian Regulators.

The condom has been issued with a receipt of Conformity of Assessment Certification by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – like the CE mark certificates in Europe – and this could now lead to a huge mass production of the product.

Starpharma are now joining forces with Australian condom maker Ansell – the company that own an estimated 70% of Australia’s condom market – to produce the prophylactics, which are currently being analysed by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a potential future release in the US.

For those who are unfamiliar with VivaGel, it is a nanotech antiviral compound that contains 0.5% astodrimer sodium – a non-antibiotic, antimicrobial drug that is made purposely to combat a wide range of sexual infections such as HIV, herpes and human papilloma virus.

Dr Jackie Fairley, the chief executive of the company which created VivaGel, said: “Condoms are not 100 per cent effective in preventing either pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections and so anything that you can do to reduce the number of virus particles by inactivating them with a substance like VivaGel would reduce overall viral load.”

The condom’s TGA approval was given after the product was thoroughly tested in accordance with certain requirements relating safety and performance, and its release cannot come quick enough for Australians.

Genital herpes, caused by the herpes simplex virus, is caught by a staggering one in eight Australians aged 25 and over. A good proportion of these people are probably completely unaware they even have the virus unfortunately as symptoms don’t always rear their ugly head. And worryingly, without sufficient chlamydia treatment, the person can be eventually left infertile.

Statistics show that by the end of 2012, newly diagnosed HIV infections in Australia had increased 10% over the previous 12 months, representing the largest increase for two decades.

Peter Carroll, Ansell president and general manager of the sexual wellness global business unit, claimed that the “ground-breaking new sexual health” product may be on the shelves sooner rather than later.

“Ansell looks forward to rolling out its marketing and sales campaign to support the launch of LifeStyles Dual Protect over the coming months with the first product expected to be available on shelves soon,” he said.

Chlamydia testing leads to safer sex amongst young adults

If young adults are offered the chance to undergo a chlamydia test, this has positive ramifications for their sexual health and motivation to seek out healthcare in the future, according to a new report by Public Health England.

Contraception schemes – such as the providing of condoms – in addition to chlamydia screening, apparently can encourage safe sex behaviour for the future in young adults.

Testing for the highly common sexually transmitted infection (STI) chlamydia is normally advised on a yearly basis, or for sexually active people upon meeting a new partner. Screening for the disease is often implanted through primary care (general practices and pharmacies), community sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services (including termination of pregnancy services) and GUM clinics.

Not many realise it but in fact pharmacies such as Medical Specialists™  are at the forefront of providing sexual health services to the millions who require it.

This is not only vital to adults in the UK, but indeed the world, and include things such as medicine supply; this could be chlamydia treatment, genital herpes treatment, or treatment for gonorrhoea.
Also Medical Specialists™ can provide almost 100% accurate pregnancy tests to be used in the privacy and comfort of your own home, a wide variety of condoms to suit different preferences, emergency hormonal contraception (morning after pill), other contraceptive pills, and even a chlamydia test you can take at home and post off for a quick analysis and result, saving you the time and embarrassment of having to personally attend a clinic for a check-up.

The PHE report showed positive findings, discovering that 62% of respondents to an anonymous web survey claimed they were more likely to use condoms with a new partner after previously having a chlamydia test, with 66% even saying they would probably get tested again for it in the future.
For those who answered the PHE web survey, nine out of 10 stated they have received sexual health advice when they had undergone their previous chlamydia test.

Dr Anthony Nardone, consultant epidemiologist at PHE, commented: “Our survey of young adults found chlamydia screening has a positive impact on both health-seeking and sexual behaviour, and provides an important channel for the delivery of safer sex messages to young adults. This enhances the cost effectiveness of chlamydia screening, offering value beyond that of the testing itself.”

Simon Blake OBE, chief executive of Brook, said: “Young adults remain the age group most at risk of STIs in England. C-Card schemes are an effective way to help young adults take responsibility for their sexual health; providing them with easy access to free contraception, education about sexual health and wellbeing, and are an opportunity to signpost to related services.”

Look after your sexual health on Valentine’s Day

The day of romance is upon us, known as Valentine’s Day. A day that has its roots in a variety of legends that has found its way through the ages to the present day where people now show their love to their ‘valentine’ by giving cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.

If you are expecting your Valentine’s Day celebrations and the following weekend to lead to passion, especially with an underlying theme of love and desire, it could be worth considering your sexual health not just during this time, but beyond too.

If you are not careful, presents and tokens of love may not be the only thing you receive this Valentine’s Day – failing to practice safe sex with condoms and other contraceptive methods could lead to an unwanted pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

You may not be aware but some people who test positive for certain STIs such as Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital herpes may not even show any symptoms at all. Symptoms may not arise for weeks and months, or can temporarily disappear, but you will still be able to transmit the infection to another person.

Unfortunately, some STIs such as HIV, genital warts and genital herpes, will forever be in the body once there, but there are some treatments available that can reduce the symptoms and slow the growth of the virus. The widely used Valtrex for genital herpes is just one example. If you have HIV, there are some drugs that can help to slow or prevent the complications that could occur.

If STIs are left untreated, they can become extremely painful or uncomfortable, and even lead to long-term problems such as infertility.

If you show signs of any of the following symptoms, then you should seek help:

. Unusual vaginal discharge.

. Discharge from the penis.

. Pain and/or bleeding during sexual intercourse.

. Bleeding following sex.

. Bleeding between periods.

. Blisters, itches, lumps or rashes around the genitals or anus.

. Pain in the testicles.

Chlamydia self-testing

Sexually active people should test every year and when they have a new partner. If you think you might have Chlamydia, it’s important to get tested quickly, regardless if you are showing symptoms or not. The Clamelle Chlamydia Test Kit can be used in the comfort of your own home and sent off for a quick result. It is also advisable for each partner to be tested.

Antibiotic Chlamydia treatment

Over 95% of people with chlamydia can be cured providing they take antibiotics correctly. There are two antibiotics commonly prescribed for chlamydia treatment, these being a single dose of the azithromycin or doxycycline taken for one week.

Over 5,000 under-16s diagnosed with STIs in 2012

Shocking figures released by Public Health England under the Freedom of Information Act show that children as young as eleven have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
If that isn’t bad enough, over 5,000 youngsters under the legal age of consent have been given diagnoses for a range of sexual infections in the last year alone.

The statistics show that 5,386 youngsters under 16 have required treatment for infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes and various other conditions. Moreover, in the last three years there has been a staggering 16,707 children under 16 that have been diagnosed as having an STI – the equivalent of 15 children receiving a diagnosis each day in the country.

Children under the age of 16 diagnosed with STIs in England last year

(SOURCE: PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND)

Age	Boys	Girls
Under 13	16	58
13	23	167
14	124	994
15	491	3,448
Total	654	4,667

* 65 children’s gender was not provided and not included within the above figures.

In just a decade, the number of STIs diagnosed in children has more than doubled. In 2003, the number of reported cases stood at 2,474, so clearly there is major work to do from the government and health care professionals to halt this worrying trend.

In addition, last year there were 90 reported cases of children under the age of 12 being diagnosed with STIs and doctors fear the actual correct figure could be significantly higher than this. Some children may be too terrified or embarrassed about speaking to adults about their embarrassing problem, whereas some STIs can take months for symptoms to even appear.

For instance, genital warts may show up around two to three months after infection, but could take anywhere up to a year to appear, whereas chlamydia may not have any symptoms at all in some people, or could lead to infertility without sufficient chlamydia treatment.

Unsurprisingly, it is older children who have the largest number of STIs. In 2012, 10,318 children aged 16 were treated, whilst there were 17,810 aged 17.

Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance at Public Health England (PHE) commented, “Data on infections primarily transmitted through sexual contact are routinely collected, across all age groups, by PHE. Rates remain highest in under 25-year-olds and whilst often these infections can be simple to diagnose and treat, if left untreated they can have serious health consequences. Regardless of age, everyone should use a condom with new and casual sexual partners, which significantly reduces the risk of getting an STI. We also advise young adults to get screened for chlamydia each year.”

She added: “The National Chlamydia Screening Programme is in place in England ensuring access to free testing from a range of convenient locations. With regards to those under 13 years old, the number of infections reported each year is very low. In this age group, using the term ‘sexually transmitted infection’ is problematic as it is very rare for children to be sexually active at this age. Moreover recent research suggests most of the infections reported are not acquired sexually; and of the few that may have been, sexual abuse was implicated. There is national guidance in place for health professionals to follow in these cases.”

Sexually transmitted infections on the rise in England

Britain on the whole, is not in particularly good shape when it comes to our weight or indeed our sexual health. Year on year we hear shocking news reports about teenage girls falling pregnant and annual figures on sexual health seem to always show increases across the board.

As it happens, statistics released this year from the Health Protection Agency show a 2% rise in new cases of sexually transmitted infection (STI) for England during 2011. Within this, there is a 10% increase in syphilis diagnoses – incidentally now at its biggest infection rate since the 1950s.

Worryingly, the percent rise of syphilis cases isn’t even the worst of the lot. In fact, gonorrhoea rates spiralled 25% during 2010-11 and there was also a 5% increase in cases of genital herpes. The latter may explain why we at Medical Specialists Pharmacy have been inundated with thousands of requests for genital herpes treatment in the subsequent two years.

In what is another problem that arises from failing to first buy condoms, and then to actually use them, the Depart of Health’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement also paint a damning, alarming picture.

Abortion rates have gone up by 7.7% in the decade between 2001 and 2011, which is no surprise when more statistics show that up to 50% of pregnancies weren’t even planned.

The Government together with healthcare professionals are continually battling to reverse the trends on STIs and pregnancies and it is this reason why awareness days/events take place every year, such as Sexual Health Week, National HIV Testing Week and World AIDS Day – all of which Medical Specialists have proudly supported by giving away 1,000s of condoms with any sexual health product.

In fact pharmacies such as Medical Specialists are at the forefront of providing sexual health services to the many millions of people who need them.

These services are absolutely vital to people all over the UK and indeed the world, and include things such as medicine supply; this could be chlamydia treatment, genital herpes treatment, or treatment for gonorrhoea.

Also many pharmacies such as ourselves can offer pregnancy tests to be conducted in the comfort of your own home, a wide variety of condoms to suit different preferences, emergency hormonal contraception (morning after pill), other contraceptive pills, and even a chlamydia test you can take at home and post off for a quick analysis and result, saving you the time and embarrassment of having to personally attend a clinic for a check-up.

The role of pharmacy clearly has an important role to play in changing people’s attitudes to STIs, unplanned pregnancy, contraception, and other sexual health subjects. However, what is required is people to reach out and ask for help, don’t be afraid, know that there at pharmacies who will not judge and are purely there to help. Let’s make 2014 a healthy year…Together.

Online Pharmacy give away 1,000s of condoms in the run up to World AIDS Day

Shocking figures released ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December reveal that roughly a fifth of those who have HIV in the UK, are unaware they are even carrying the virus.

Public Health England accumulated data from 2012 that shows 21,900 people out of 98,400 with HIV in the UK do not know they have it, with new cases reported in gay mean spiralling to an all-time record of 3,250 during last year.

Gay men account for the majority of people who have HIV, followed by black African men and women. Heterosexuals accounted for approximately 45% of new HIV cases in 2012; 2,880 in total.

Although it appears overall figures have decreased since 2011, the charity Terrence Higgins Trust have called for more action to be done to prevent the virus spreading, beginning with National HIV Testing Week, which runs from 22-29 November leading up to World AIDS Day.

World AIDS Day is an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection, and has been supported numerous times by Medical Specialists Pharmacy, and this year is no different.

This year Medical Specialists are giving away literally thousands of Skins condoms to all patients who obtain any sexual health products between 22 November and 2 December. Whether this be a clamelle chlamydia test kit, the antibiotic azithromycin for chlamydia and gonorrhoea treatment, or viagra, you will receive plenty of condoms…for free!

“Reducing undiagnosed HIV is now the single most important step we can take to halt the spread of infection in this country,” said the Terrence Higgins Trust’s acting chief executive, Paul Ward.

Mr Ward added: “Some communities are already making headway in this. Among gay men, testing rates are up, diagnoses are up, and as a result undiagnosed infection is coming down. Because of community-wide initiatives like National HIV Testing Week, hundreds more people with HIV now know their status, helping them access life-saving treatments and drastically reducing the chance of them passing the virus on. We’ve come so far, but we have to keep going. We know testing works and treatment works; all we need is the individual commitment and public funding to make it happen. If we can get this, we can turn the tide of the epidemic.”

Many people see ‘HIV’ as an abbreviated disease that they hope they never contract, whilst not actually understanding a lot about what it is, who is at risk, or the dangers of letting the virus go untreated.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) attacks the immune system; our body’s natural defence mechanism against infections and disease. Health Protection Agency statistics from 2010 showed 95% of UK diagnoses stemmed from sexual contact, typically not wearing a condom during sexual activity is the cause. Sharing infected needles, syringes or other drug paraphernalia are also risk factors for HIV.

After infection, symptoms usually take between two to six weeks to arise and they include the common flu symptoms such as fever, sore throat, tiredness, muscular pain and also you could develop a body rash. If you believe you might be at risk then you should go for a test immediately and do not delay.
Delaying vital critical treatment can be fatal and somebody diagnosed at a late stage is actually nine times more likely to die within twelve months of receiving their diagnosis compared to somebody who gets tested and diagnosed at an early stage.

If HIV is left untreated or insufficiently managed, HIV then develops into AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). At this stage the body is no longer able to fight off life-threatening infections due to the severe damage inflicted to the immune system.

National HIV testing week is a hugely important week and Medical Specialists hope that people shed the stigmas attached to HIV and AIDS, and to get tested immediately if they think they might be at risk. There is never any shame in seeking help for anything, especially when it comes to your health, and it could just save your life.

A quarter of university students get an STI in their first year

University life is not always a time for studying, as many former students will be aware of. However the phrase “work hard, play harder” may be taken to extreme lengths by many of today’s University students, to the extent that they are putting their health at risk.

Research suggests that almost of quarter of university students (23%) will contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI) even before completing their first year, and over half (54%) are unable to remember who could have given them the infection, according to the survey conducted by shagatuni.com.

From the respondents, nearly a third (32%) were only made aware of their STI after a sexual partner who had been diagnosed had then contacted them. An additional 27% found out after using a testing kit, such as the popular Clamelle chlamydia test kit.

In fact, it is chlamydia which is the STI most likely to be contracted, with 59% of those who had caught an STI having chlamydia – curable through antibiotic chlamydia treatment. Interestingly, three quarters of all chlamydia diagnoses in the UK are people aged between 15 and 24. After chlamydia, herpes (18%) and genital warts (14%) were the next common STIs to have been caught.

Herpes treatment includes antiviral drugs and creams such as Valtrex and Zovirax, whilst genitals warts treatment options include Aldara cream. All can be obtained today from Medical Specialists Pharmacy.

The results from poll of 2,177 young graduates alarming reckless attitude and a huge lack of regard for the practice of safe sex; 89% confessing that had not bothered to use a condom for most of their sexual encounters whilst at university.

Only those who had stayed single throughout university were quizzed, with other findings showing that 73% were under the influence of alcohol for the majority of the times they had sex.

Perhaps the most worrying stat was that 67% of the graduates claimed they would rather risk contracting an STI than wear a condom. It is an absurd finding especially when you do not need to walk into a shop, chemist, etc. anymore to buy condoms and online pharmacies such as Medical Specialists offer 72 individually wrapped Durex Performa condoms for just £60.

The survey also showed which university courses have the most ‘sexually free’ students within them. Those studying drama and dance seem to be the most promiscuous, averaging a respective 28 and 25 partners each while at university. The full top ten was:

1. Drama/Theatre Studies – 28
2. Dance – 25
3. Media Studies/PR – 22
4. Biology students – 19
5. Philosophy and ethics – 17
6. English – 15
7. Sports science – 13
8. History of Art s – 13
9. Law – 11
10. Geography – 10

The creator of the website which conducted the poll, Tom Thurlow, said he didn’t want to put students off sex, but hopes that young people will take safe sex a lot more seriously and start to use condoms.

He said: “I decided to carry out this study as the site always notices a huge increase in new members to the website during fresher’s weeks, as this is obviously when many of the members will be meeting up with individuals they have met on the site for casual sex. I do not believe that being promiscuous and having casual sex are bad traits, however I am passionate about promoting safe sex, as well as the use of condoms amongst the student population of the UK.”