Self-isolation has led to major changes in people's sex lives, but experts believe that because of the lack of relationships with new sexual partners these days, it is a sexually transmitted disease. Reducing STI permanently is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
He says getting an STI test during a lockdown at home can be
a 'game-changer', as people who are following the lockdown rules are not having
sex with more than one person and thus become infected. Not even spreading.
Dr. John Maxwell, president of the British Association for
Sexual Health and HIV told Radio 1 Newsbeat: "If we all test and treat
infections, it will be a game-changer to move forward as people slowly return
to normal. Are moving towards.
He and other sexual health professionals want people to be
tested now, even if they have no symptoms.
Why test now?
The coronavirus has shut down 54% of sexual health services
in the UK, and 38% of sexual health workers have been sent to other parts of
the National Health Service.
This means that some people are getting advice on these
diseases over the phone instead of going to the clinic, the diagnosis is being
made here and in some cases the treatment is being done over the phone.
Justin Harbolt, of SH24, an organization that provides free
home testing kits via the Internet, says: "If people start testing at home
and everyone gets tested during this break, it's real life. There will be a
one-time event. I don't think you have had a clean opportunity at the beginning
of the HIV epidemic were, collectively, as a population, people have stopped
having sex with new partners.
How HIV rates can be
affected
It is more likely that someone can transmit the HIV virus
when they have just been infected, as it is the most abundant virus in the
body.
A positive HIV diagnosis during a lockdown means that it is
more likely that a person will not have sex with other people during their most
infected period. They can then begin treatment to bring the virus level in
their body to a point where it is no longer visible, meaning it can no longer
be transmitted to others.
Dr. Gary Whitlock, of London's Dean Street Clinic, where a
quarter of UK homosexuals are diagnosed with HIV, says: 'We think there may be
fewer people who are older. I am spreading disease on a large scale.
"If they start treatment, or become non-communicable,
they can't transmit to anyone, so it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us
to be at high risk for HIV." Individuals should be tested.
The average number of people coming to Dean Street Clinic
for a prescription for PEP (a drug that is taken immediately after contact with
an HIV-infected person to prevent infection) during a lockdown is more than 50
a week. It has come down to less than 10.
STIs diagnosed during lockdown still need to be treated by
specialists. Only chlamydia (an inflammatory disease of the urinary tract) can
be treated with postal medication.
Dr. Maxorley hopes that there is an opportunity to limit
diseases like syphilis to the history books.
"Earlier this year, syphilis reached a level we hadn't
seen since World War II."
He believes that online help will also help people who live
away from sexual health clinics, or those who have been too busy before and
have not been able to get time from a doctor.
Although Dr. Whitlock believes that home testing can improve
NHS services to some extent, he is also wary of taking services out of the
clinic for some people.
The problem with home testing is that you may miss out on
more testing. One of the concerns about gonorrhea, for example, is that it is
resistant.
'Many of the services we offer are when people come to us,
such as risk reduction advice, face-to-face counseling, and we need to make
sure that when we are moving in that direction. So don't forget it.
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