It’s the season for spreading the love, but are you taking the time to love yourself too? This month both ship and shore, we’re talking about sexual health and the importance of putting your own health and wellbeing first. We encourage everyone to get a clean bill of sexual health… and peace of mind in the process.
Here’s a few things we recommend to get you started:
- Check your breasts or testicles for any lumps, bumps, soreness or changes in appearance
- Ladies, if you’re overdue for a smear test, then now is the time to book it and reduce your risks of cervical cancer.
- Get a sexual health screening to check you don’t have any sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
What’s this about STIs?
STIs are sexually transmitted infections passed on from one person to another through unprotected sex or sometimes just through genital or oral contact. Anyone who has sex can get an STI – you don’t need to have lots of sexual partners. And unfortunately, they’re more common than you might think:
- More than 1 million sexually transmitted infections are acquired every day worldwide.
- Over 30 bacteria, viruses and parasites are known to be transmitted through sexual contact.
- Each year, there are an estimated 357 million new infections with 1 of 4 being chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and/or trichomoniasis.
- Chlamydia is the most common STI in the UK. It is easily passed on during sex. Most people don’t experience any symptoms, so they are unaware they’re infected.
- More than 500 million people are estimated to have genital infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) – also known as genital herpes.
- More than 290 million women have human papillomavirus (HPV) – an infection which can cause genital wards and abnormal tissue growth, which can lead to cervical cancer.
- STIs such as genital herpes and syphilis can increase the risk of getting HIV (a virus that damages the cells in your immune system and weakens your ability to fight everyday infections and disease).
- In some cases, STIs can have serious reproductive health consequences. In 2012, over 900 000 pregnant women were infected with syphilis resulting in approximately 350,000 adverse birth outcomes including stillbirth.
- STIs such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia are major causes of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility in women.
- Drug resistance, especially for gonorrhoea, is a major threat to reducing the impact of STIs worldwide.
- It is possible to have more than one STI at one time – so it’s very important to get a full sexual health check for all types of infection.
- The majority of STIs have no symptoms or only mild symptoms that may not be recognized as an STI – the only way to know for sure is to get tested.
Playing safely
When used correctly and consistently, condoms offer one of the most effective methods of protection against STIs, including HIV, however, a condom can only act as a barrier for fluids, it does not eliminate all skin-to-skin contact. As a result, transmission of STIs such as herpes, HPV, syphilis, pubic lice, or scabies can occur even if a condom is used. So it’s always best to get a completely clean bill of sexual health.
Questions or concerns?
If you have any concerns at all, or questions about your sexual health you should seek medical advice. Speak to your doctor or visit your local sexual health (GUM) clinic. The sooner STI’s are treated the less long term damage will be caused.
You can also talk to someone confidentially, through our Employee Assistance Programme providers:
On board – Phone card access code: 2222-2222-2222 Dial: 222-222
Shoreside – Call Validium on 0800 3 58 48 58 or join validium.com/vClub