Common sexually transmitted infections in Singapore include herpes, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. Screening is important because many people don’t have symptoms.
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Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) range from fatal (such as HIV) to nuisances (such as genital warts). With the increasing movement of people around the globe, STIs are spreading more and more. While many STIs are easily treated, their incidence is increasing in Singapore.
In many cases, STIs don’t cause any symptoms in those who are infected. This is why screening is important. It’s recommended that all sexually active adults with new or multiple sex partners be screened once a year. The screening can consist of urine tests, blood tests, and/or saliva tests (depending on which screening tests are used by your clinic).
If you’ve had a known exposure to an STI, then you should be screened for that infection, and possibly for others, because it’s common for more than one STI to be transmitted at the same time. If one of your sex partners is diagnosed with an STI, you should visit a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic immediately to be tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
Many common STIs cause symptoms such as discharge from the vagina or penis and burning during urination. STIs causing these symptoms include gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. The same symptoms can be caused by candidiasis, which can be a sexually transmitted infection in some cases, but can also be caused by the overgrowth of a normal yeast in the vagina. Gonorrhea and chlamydia are particularly important to treat early, because they can lead to infertility if they’re left untreated. Fortunately, all of these illnesses are easily treated with antibiotics, although antibiotic resistance of the infecting microorganisms is becoming more common in Singapore. That’s why it’s very important to finish the whole course of antibiotics, even if your symptoms are gone sooner than that. Otherwise, your infection may return and be harder to treat.
Several STIs cause sores on the genitals, including syphilis, genital herpes, genital warts, and molluscum contagiosum. Syphilis is caused by bacteria; it’s easily treated, but if left untreated, can spread throughout the body and cause widespread devastation. The sore it causes on the genitals will disappear on its own, even though the body hasn’t cleared the infection.
Genital herpes causes sores that also heal on their own, even though the body never clears the infection; it lies dormant within nerve cells and can cause sores to reappear over and over. It cannot be cured, but can be managed with antiviral medications.
Genital warts and molluscum contagiosum cause small growths to appear on the genitals. They’re both caused by viruses. The body eventually clears these viruses, but it may take a while; the viral infection can’t be cured by medication, although the growths can be removed.
The most serious STIs are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B. These infections are frequently transmitted sexually, but can also be transmitted through sharing of needles (in a drug use or healthcare setting) or from mother to child. There are often early symptoms, but they may be mistaken for another illness like the flu; later symptoms are life-threatening. Neither can be cured, but both can be managed. The sooner treatment is initiated, the better the chances for a long life.
References
Sexually transmitted infection at Shim Clinic, Singapore