What to know about SH and condoms?

Sexually transmitted infections, which ones and what they are

They are often without symptoms, but if left untreated, they can affect your health. Doctor Rossella Nappi explains how to stay away from it using STD Panel of 10 in 1 at Home Test exams.

According to WHO estimates, every year, there are approximately 357 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections. In recent years, the age of onset has dropped. As many as one in 20 teens has caught a bacterial infection through sexual contact. In reality, there could be many more cases. “Many of these STD infections occur asymptomatically, especially in men, and only when there is the appearance of lesions as in genital herpes or discharge as in gonorrhoea can the infection be documented with certainty”, says Rossella Nappi, full professor of the obstetric and gynaecological clinic section, IRCCS Policlinico S. Matteo, University of Pavia. “The most important exam data concerns infections of HPV variant on the whole family, a set of viruses including some with high cancer power, which affects up to 70% of sexually active subjects of both sexes”, continues the expert.

How Contagion occurs “The contagion of this type of disease occurs sexually through any type of intercourse (vaginal, anal, oral) that is not protected by a condom following contact with infected sperm, vaginal secretions, blood, saliva”, explains Dr. Rossella Nappi.

Condoms, 9 mistakes not to make after STD Lab test.

Wearing it incorrectly, taking it off too soon.

Other missteps to avoid with condoms include forgetting them in your bag and not checking the expiration date and packaging.

Do not check the packaging—It is essential always to check its integrity. The outer one, made of cardboard, like the single condom, should be thrown away if it is damaged or has holes.

There are conditions for the packaging, external and single. There is the expiry date, which, of course, is always very long, but who knows? Maybe those condoms had been in the drawer (or at the bottom of the bag) for too long. In addition to these, there are also logistical and chronological errors, so to speak: that is, wearing the condom after starting intercourse or placing it incorrectly. Again, wrong direction. And so on, the STD Panel test.

In short, using condoms is not as simple as you think. Especially use them well to minimise the risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The rush, the excitement, the speed. Perhaps the darkness, the fear of ruining everything due to too much hesitation. Stupid: if you are attracted, you are attracted, and intelligent people don’t kill the desire for five seconds. It will lead you to wear them incorrectly or forget to check their integrity.

For example, the NGO Brook has estimated that 75% of people make many of the mistakes listed at the beginning and also several others, such as removing it before ejaculating, unrolling it completely before putting it on (it’s not a sock!) or using a forgotten one, like an STD test. In my bag for weeks.

What to remember

So, not only is using a condom a good and right thing. It is only if the use is correct. The condom remains the only contraceptive method that also protects against HPV diseases. With a protection index that rises to 97% if used right and follows the prescriptions (for which a few seconds of attention are enough). According to some data released by Durex last year after STI Home testing. Only one sexually active Italian in five uses a condom, and not always. Regular users do not rise above 14%, with a decline in sales yearly. Yet the risks, above all HPV infection, have far from disappeared.

The factors that favour its onset “Contagion occurs through risky relationships not protected by a condom from the beginning of the sexual act, with multiple and non-habitual partners, furthermore, for some infections, such as chlamydia and gonococcus. There may also be passing from mother to newborn during birth. Or already directly in utero, as for syphilis”, specifies the expert.

The exams we will do

The HPV Variant tests to be done: “Sometimes the sign is obvious because clear clinical signs of infection appear. In other cases, it happens by chance during a screening visit. Such as blood check or vaginal, endocervical, and urethral swabs, as well as sperm. Furthermore, the routine execution of the STD Kit test, possibly with the direct search for the DNA of the papillomavirus. This can lead to an early diagnosis and prevention of possible cervical dysplasia. As well as other precancerous lesions that also affect males at the penis, anus or oropharynx,” says Dr Rossella Nappi.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) constitute a large group of infectious diseases widespread throughout the world that can cause acute symptoms, chronic infections and serious long-term complications for millions of people every year and whose treatments absorb huge economic resources. Young people between 15 and 24 years old represent the age group most exposed to the development of these pathologies.

Today, approximately thirty clinical pictures of STD Home tests caused by over 20 sexually transmitted pathogens are known. They often occur without symptoms. This increases the probability of Contagion to other healthy individuals and of chronicity. With possible consequences also on the reproductive function (infertility) and with a high risk of vertical transmission during pregnancy and at the time of birth.

Notoriously, STIs are closely associated with HPV infection through an epidemiological synergy that reinforces their mutual spread. People with STIs constitute a population at high risk of acquiring or transmitting HPV through persistent genital lesions, so much so that the WHO has recommended offering HPV Lab testing to all people with an STI.