Let’s Talk About Sex… And Your Health
Our awareness about our own, and others sexual health is lamentable. This is understandable because it is an almost taboo subject, along with many other subjects associated with S E X! If we think that our sex lives are deeply personal, our sexual health issues are even more so.
Our sexual health, like other health issues, only occurs to us when something goes wrong. We find we have an unusual discharge, vaginal or penile. We, of course, men especially, ignore this problem hoping it will go away. Then we find urinating rather painful, and that burning sensation agonising, or we have an unpleasant odour. So we trot off to the doctor who informs us that we have caught an infection from a sexual partner. If we have been a little careless, to put it politely, the next question is which one? The most common STIs are chlamydia, genital herpes, human papillomavirus, syphilis, gonorrhoea and pubic lice. We are lucky to-day that these diseases can be effectively treated if caught early, unlike in the not too distant past.
The AIDs issue in the 1980s and beyond highlighted the need for sexual continence. You see, we are sexual beings. Throughout history and still to-day, and probably even more so to-day, sexual diseases can be spread across the world in days, even hours. We are caught in a dilemma. The problems with having multiple sexual partners is hardly ever mentioned. Correct me if I am wrong but I can’t think of a film, apart from, the 1993 film Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, which has dealt with anything to do with sexual heath. That excellent film wasn’t about sex per se but more about attitudes to people with AIDs. Having multiple sexual partners without taking precautions is like Russian Roulette. If you don’t believe me read the literature about sexual infections and sterility.
The biggest advance in helping to prevent passing on disease has been the increased use of condoms. As we all know only too well even the use of condoms is shrouded in controversy for various sections of our own society and throughout the world. We also have a major responsibility about how we behave.
At Relationships Ireland we see many people who are worried about the impact their sexual behaviour has had on their lives. I applaud their courage to attend, and I welcome them to our organisation. We do help them. Why, I constantly ask myself, do parents still find it difficult to talk about sex to their children? Maybe we don’t want our children to become sexually aware too early, and there is a problem about the sexualisation of young children by people for commercial gain. But we NEED more than ever to make ourselves and our young people aware about their sexual health and their need to protect themselves. The best way they can protect themselves is to have the adults around them grow up themselves, and stop being so coy.
We will be attending the Sexual Health Awareness Week (SHAW) at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland this week. Do drop by our stand for more information.
Tags: relationships, Sex, Sexual Health, Sexual Relationships, SHAW