Chlamydia is a bacterial infection passed on through unprotected sex, and most common among women in their teens and men in their twenties. It is often symptomless, and therefore often not possible to know who infected whom.
For example a woman could have had chlamydia without knowing it for a long time and only realise that she is infected after her present boyfriend develops symptoms, goes for treatment and names her as a contact. One woman was diagnosed when she went to the GUM to be treated for genital warts.
Chlamydia can be treated with a one off dose of 4 tablets taken at the same time (azithromycin 1gm). If left untreated it could develop into pelvic inflammatory disease .
Genital warts are a viral infection that can affect men and women, gay and straight. The virus lives in the skin and is usually passed on by skin contact. The virus can also be passed on when no warts are on the skin. Weeks or months after infection small growths appear on their own or in groups. Treatment is usually with a cream applied twice a day. It can take a long time to make them go away. If the cream is not effective they can be removed by freezing or scraping. One woman said that she had several treatments, but the warts kept reappearing. She was initially treated in a rural hospital in another country before attending a GUM clinic in the UK .
Genital herpes is one of the most common STIs with more than 20,000 cases diagnosed in the UK every year. Genital herpes is caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Type 2 or HSV-2 causes genital herpes. The infectious stage of the illness is when a rash and later blisters appear in the genital areas or in the buttocks, and the blisters burst, releasing fluids. At this stage, genital herpes is easily transmitted to another person during sexual intercourse. During this active infection phase, the person usually feels feverish, unwell and exhausted. Treatment consists of antiviral drugs, taken as tablets that will reduce the severity of an attack. There is not yet a cure. One young woman who contracted genital herpes at the age of sixteen describes her treatment . The same woman explains that now takes vitamin supplements which she believes help to prevent outbreaks .
Last reviewed April 2010.
Last updated April 2010.