Breaking through the STI myths

When it comes to anything to do with our health you can find that there are many myths around, many of which are passed down from generation to generation. Our sexual health is no different. There are numerous myths linked to our sex lives whether this is that you can not get pregnant whilst you are on your period (this is of course a lie) right through to those myths linked to sexually transmitted infections. These myths can have an impact on the number of people that contract viruses such as these as well as those suffering from the symptoms not seeking medical advice and treatment.

Image Credit

Here are 5 of the myths that medical experts what you to be aware of.

• You will be able to tell if you have contracted an STI – this is not true. Especially as most of the common STIs such as Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea don’t always carry symptoms. Those that do experience symptoms such as discharge or pain during urination will often mistake these for another condition such as a urine or thrush bases infection.
• You can’t catch an STI from oral sex – again this is untrue. Gonorrhoea, herpes and syphilis can all be passed on through oral sex.

Image Credit

• Good hygiene can prevent you contracting an STI – False. STIs are often viruses that are passed on during sexual intercourse or other sexual activities and no amount of washing or increased personal hygiene levels will help to prevent you from contracting these.
• Testing is painful and embarrassing – False. This is one of the main reasons as to why people don’t get tested if they think that they have been exposed to an infection. Companies such as https://www.bexleysexualhealth.org/home_sti_kits who offer Home StI kits have helped to revolutionise the way people are tested. You can order one of their kits online and complete this in the comfort of your own home. Once you return it you can wait to receive your test results via email or text message. This helps to take away some of the embarrassment surrounding testing for STIs.
• Antibiotics will sort out all STIs – Whilst antibiotics can be used to treat Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea there are antibiotic resistant strains that are starting to appear making the treatment options much harder. Viruses such as genital warts, herpes and HIV are viral infections and as such can not be treated with antibiotics. You can get STIs from Performance improvement devices – Unless you share your performance improvement devices like the Phallosan Forte with other people, the chances of getting an STI via it is impossible.