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<p align="left"><font size="6"><strong><img src="../sti/_derived/infectio_htm_cmp_shastd2000_bnr.gif" width="650" height="60" border="0" alt="infection basics"></strong></font></p>
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<h3><!--mstheme--><font color="#003366"><a name="WHAT">WHAT</a> ARE STI’s?<!--mstheme--></font></h3>
<p align="justify">Sexual activity often involves getting close to another person. Being
close allows infections present in one person to be passed on to the other. You can’t
be much closer to anyone when you are sexually intimate, so it isn’t surprising if
germs get spread that way.</p>
<p align="justify">There are at least 25 different STI’s. What they all have in
common is that they can be spread by sex. This means:</p>
<blockquote>
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="top" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">Vaginal intercourse (where the penis penetrates the
vagina)
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">Oral sex (where partners kiss or stimulates each
other’s genitals with their tongues)
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">Anal sex (where the penis penetrates the anus)
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--></table><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">
</blockquote>
<h3><!--mstheme--><font color="#003366">WHY ARE STI’s IMPORTANT?<!--mstheme--></font></h3>
<p>What’s special about sexually transmitted infections is that some of them can
cause serious and permanent damage to your health if left untreated. Some STI’s can
make people unable to have children, for instance, so it is important that all STI’s
are diagnosed by a doctor and treated as soon as possible.</p>
<h3><!--mstheme--><font color="#003366">WHO GETS STI’s ?<!--mstheme--></font></h3>
<p>You don’t have to be ‘sleeping’ around to catch an STI, just about
everyone who is having sex can get an infection. Even if you and your partner have been
‘faithful’ to each other for a long time, it is possible that one of you might
suddenly discover an infection. This is because some infections can lie dormant in the
body and often don’t cause symptoms for a long time. Just because one partner finds
an infection doesn’t have to mean that the other has been ‘unfaithful’.</p>
<p>Obviously though, the more partners you have, the greater your chance that one of them
will pass on an infection to you.</p>
<h3><!--mstheme--><font color="#003366">HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU MAY BE INFECTED?<!--mstheme--></font></h3>
<p>If you are infected, you or your partner may develop symptoms such as:</p>
<blockquote>
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="top" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">unusual vaginal <a href="../glossary#Discharge">discharge</a>
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">discharge from the penis
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">sore or blister near vagina, penis or anus
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">rash or irritation around the vagina, penis or anus
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">pain or burning feeling on passing urine
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">passing urine more often than usual
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">pain when you have sexual intercourse
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--></table><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">
</blockquote>
<p>On the other hand, you may have no symptoms at all. In this case you could know, if
your partner had an infection and told you about it. This might happen after your partner
has attended a <a href="../clinics/whatisa">GUM clinic</a> and been asked to tell you
about it so that you can go too. The clinic may even have given your partner a slip of
paper for you to take when you go to the clinic.</p>
<p>Another way to find out if you have an STI is to go to a clinic just for a check up,
even if you think you are OK</p>
<h3><!--mstheme--><font color="#003366">WHAT NEXT?<!--mstheme--></font></h3>
<p>You need to see a doctor if you think you might have an infection, and expert help is
available at any Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinic. They are often called Departments
of Genito-Urinary Medicine or<a href="../clinics/whatisa"> G.U.M. Clinics</a>.</p>
<p>Remember that clinics treat all information as EXTREMELY confidential. Unless you give
your permission not even your GP will be told that you have been there.</p>
<h3><!--mstheme--><font color="#003366">HOW CAN YOU AVOID STI’s<!--mstheme--></font></h3>
<p>There are several things you can do which, together, help to make sex safer. If you
want to avoid STI’s including AIDS, then you might find the following helpful: </p>
<blockquote>
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="top" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">get to know your partners before you have sex. This
lets you talk with each other about how to protect yourselves.
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">if either of you has symptoms, including <a href="../glossary#Cold Sore">cold sores</a> on your lips, don’t have sex until
after you have been treated.
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">get some condoms and learn how to use them properly.
Use only condoms that carry the kitemark of the British Standards Institution, and use a <a href="../glossary#Non-oxynol-9">spermicide</a> at the same time. The spermicide may
help to kill the virus that causes AIDS.
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">have routine check ups at the STI clinic.
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../_themes/shastd2/shasbul3.gif" width="35" height="24" hspace="3" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">tell your partner if you have an infection. That way
your partner can be treated too, and won’t pass the infection back to you.
<!--mstheme--></font><!--msthemelist--></td></tr>
<!--msthemelist--></table><!--mstheme--><font face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica">
</blockquote>
<p>Sex is a normal and healthy part of life but does need thought and preparation. </p>
<p><a href="../sti/infectio"></a> </p>
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