People should know their partner well before having sex, a doctor said yesterday, reminding people to be aware of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), ahead of the Qixi Festival on Saturday.
The Qixi Festival, also known as Lovers’ Day (七夕情人節), is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which falls on Saturday this year.
China Medical University Hospital’s Infection Control Center deputy chief Hwang Kao-pin (黃高彬) said that at his recent outpatient sessions, some of his patients seeking treatment for STIs — mainly syphilis, gonorrhea and herpes — were only 15 or 16 years old.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
They told him that they had sexual intercourse with strangers they were acquainted with, but barely knew, through online dating apps, and sometimes out of curiosity or boredom, he said.
Aside from Lovers’ Day, holidays are often used as occasions to have sex, but people should think carefully before agreeing, Hwang said, adding that they should get to know each other well before having sex.
“An impulsive act might result in paying a lifetime price,” Hwang said. “Conception can be avoided through birth-control pills or morning-after pills, but STIs are more difficult to treat effectively.”
Hwang said some STIs have visible symptoms.
For instance, genital herpes can cause small blisters and form scabs around the genitals, gonorrhea can result in white, green or yellow discharge to flow from the vagina or penis — sometimes with an unpleasant smell — while syphilis can cause chancres (hard and painless sores) in the genital area, he said.
While the symptoms of STIs differ, a simple rule to follow is to “run away if one smells a foul odor,” he said, adding that even when using a condom, there can still be other sexual contact that can cause an infection.
Genital herpes is a lifelong viral infection, and the failure rate of syphilis treatments ranges from 2 to 14 percent, so people should not risk getting a lifelong infection from a sudden impulsive act, he added.
One of his young patients was a 16-year-old girl, who had dated a senior student from school and was invited to his home, where she was allegedly raped and contracted syphilis, Hwang said.
When she sought treatment, the symptoms had already worsened, resulting in ulcers and mucous patches, but she had been too afraid to seek help during or after the sexual assault, he said.
People should be aware if their partner shows signs of coercive control and seek help promptly, Hwang said.
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