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.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by