Transcript of
STIs: who's got one?
They're invisible diseases.
You can't see them, you know.
It's like syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia.
You don't know if someone's got that. It's impossible to know.
Most STIs can be present without causing symptoms,
and that includes the common ones like chlamydia, herpes, wart virus infection
and the less common ones like syphilis, gonorrhoea and HIV infection.
So all of those are most commonly present without causing symptoms.
There's no way I would sleep with someone who refused to use a condom
unless we were in a relationship and he'd been tested.
The condom is probably one of the most effective ways
of avoiding the spread of HIV and other STDs.
I think people that don't use condoms are silly
because you never know what's happened with the other person.
It depends on who I'm sleeping with.
If it's a one-night stand you've definitely got to use a condom.
If a girl does a one-night stand she might have done it ten times that week,
seven times that week, you know.
I think when guys don't use condoms it's really disgusting.
I also think it's really disrespectful to the lady
and to themselves ultimately, as well, to be honest.
I have had unprotected sex before
but I do do my very best, depending on my state at the time
and the availability of it all.
Of course there's always the...
You find yourself in a situation where you weren't expecting
to have an opportunity to have sex.
Men always complain that it interferes with sensation, it doesn't feel as good.
They see them as passion-killers. I used to think that.
I was the type of person that would think, "It won't happen to me."
Because of my ignorance towards the whole HIV thing back in the '80s, '90s,
it obviously did happen to me.
HIV of course is a very serious infection
because it's not curable and there isn't yet a vaccine that will prevent it.
It is treatable and that's a reason why it's worth coming forward for testing.
The commonest complications with chlamydia and gonorrhoea,
for women particularly, are infertility risks,
so there are lots of things that can be done.
I have been to a GUM clinic.
I think it's important, especially if you've had multiple partners,
to get checked out when you're going to start sleeping with someone new,
and I think it's responsible behaviour.
Everybody's embarrassed about the idea of going to a clinic.
They're worried about sitting in a waiting room and seeing their friends.
What I can say to you is that
most of the people that we see coming through our service
say that it was much less stressful and difficult than they thought it would be.
I haven't been to an STI clinic before
but maybe one day I might have to.
If I meet someone I think it's best if you both go and have a check.
Anyone who has sex is at risk.
It's not special types of people that are not quite like you or I,
it's anyone having sex.
It's easy to protect yourself but it's about being prepared
and thinking about using condoms when you're having sex.
I didn't think and I regret it.
I do regret not playing safe.
