Sexual Health

Physical and mental health problems can affect the happiness, confidence, self-esteem and relationship satisfaction of either partner. Health issues which may affect sexual functioning include:

• Anxiety,
• Depression,
• Aging,
• Hormonal imbalance,
• Excessive alcohol consumption,
• Smoking,
• Certain medications and
• Underlying disease conditions

Learning to manage these underlying factors helps to maintain a balanced and optimal sexual life.

In addition, they should also follow a healthy lifestyle including regular exercise to maintain proper fitness and body weight, along with a balanced nutritional diet.

If you’re having sex, you can keep it safe by doing two things:

1. Make sure that you always use a condom.
2. Make sure you get tested for STIs regularly.

Do both these things and you’re doing the best you can to protect yourself and your partners from sexually transmissible infections (STIs).
For confidential advice call our practice and make an appointment.

Family planning is the method of planning your family in terms of the desired number of children, and comfortably spacing your pregnancies. Family planning is achieved with the use of contraceptives.
There are many different methods of contraception to avoid pregnancy

• Abstinence
• The natural family planning method
• Barrier methods
• Hormonal methods
• Withdrawal
• Sterilisation
• Implanon
• Mirena IUS
• Intra Uterine Contraceptive Device

Our doctors can help you make the right choice for you and your partner.

The Emergency contraceptive pill is sometimes called the ‘morning-after pill’. It is most effective when taken with 24 hours (1 day) of unprotected sex, but can be taken up to 96 hours (4 days).
For urgent advice call our clinic.

Sexually transmissible infections are infectious diseases where the primary mode of transmission is through sexual contact. They may be transmitted from one person to another via:

• Blood,
• Semen,
• Vaginal discharge and
• Other body fluids.

These infections may also be spread through other nonsexual modes of transmission such as mother to infant during pregnancy or childbirth, sharing of infected needles, or infection through blood transfusion.

There are three types of STD disease agents, these are:

• Viruses (human papillomavirus, genital herpes, HIV)
• Bacteria (gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia)
• Parasites (trichomonas)

Sexually transmissible diseases are a public health concern worldwide. STIs can increase the risk of other life-threatening conditions such as certain cancers, and can also cause congenital anomalies in unborn babies of infected mothers.

STDs can present in many forms, but may also be asymptomatic. Some symptoms include:

• Sores or bumps on the genitals, mouth or anus
• Painful or burning urination
• Discharge from the penis
• Unusual or odd-smelling vaginal discharge
• Unusual vaginal bleeding or abdominal pain
• Pain during sex
• Sore, swollen lymph nodes, particularly in the groin
• Unexplained fever or rashes

While these symptoms may not be a definitive guide, you advised making an appointment with our practice to seek advice and testing.

Our doctors can order urine or blood tests to check for:

• Chlamydia,
• Gonorrhea,
• Hepatitis,
• Herpes,
• HIV
• Syphilis.
• Genital warts or human papillomavirus (HPV) which may also cause cervical cancer in women, and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Screening refers to the testing of sexually transmissible infections in asymptomatic individuals who are more vulnerable to the infection.
Diagnostic procedures for identification of common STIs include:

• Blood tests,
• Urine test,
• Body fluid sample test and
• Specific screening tests for people prone to infection.

Blood and urine tests are helpful in identifying infections, such as advanced stages of syphilis. Fluid sample testing assists in confirming the type of infection and the causative agent.

Regular screening is advisable for early detection and appropriate management of STIs. This is particularly important for sexually active women, homosexual men and HIV positive individuals who are more prone to the other sexually transmissible infections.
The following screening methods are also very important::

• Aged 13 - 64 - Blood and saliva testing is a common screening test for the HIV virus,
• Pregnant Women - Screening for HIV, hepatitis B, chlamydia and syphilis during the first prenatal visit,  
• Pregnant Women - at increased risk of developing gonorrhoea and hepatitis C.