RISK: STIs could impair young women’s reproductive organs

Most new Chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections happen among women aged 19 to 24. People with new or multiple sex partners, who use condoms inconsistently or who exchange sex for money or drugs are also at high risk,” — Dr Tshuma .

YOUNG women are at risk of losing their reproductive organs to Sexually Transmitted Infections and Diseases (STIs and STDs), says University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department Doctor Gertrude Tshuma.

Dr Tshuma observed that the rate of STIs in the country was high among young women.

She told the Daily Nation in an interview that Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Genital herpes and HIV/AIDS were the most common STIs that affected young women in Zambia.

She said young women between the ages of 19 and 24 were more prone to these infections because they were sexually active and productive.

“Most new Chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections happen among women aged 19 to 24. People with new or multiple sex partners, who use condoms inconsistently or who exchange sex for money or drugs are also at high risk,” Dr Tshuma said.

She also noted that women were more prone to STIs due to their anatomy.

She said women were more susceptible to infections due to the open structure of their genitals.

“A woman’s anatomy alone makes her more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections than a man. Unlike the relatively thick skin of the male organ, a woman’s cervical is covered by a thin, more delicate mucous membrane that more easily allows viruses and bacteria to pass through and cause infection,” she said.

Dr Tshuma has since tasked young women to take responsibility of their health, by screening for STIs and ensuring proper treatment at all times.

She indicated that usually STIs did not cause symptoms, but could be dangerous if left untreated.

She warned that untreated STDs in women could damage the uterus and also cause ectopic pregnancy.

Dr Tshuma added that untreated STIs could also lead to cardiovascular and neurological problems and sometimes, even death.

“The potential health complications of STDs for women include Infertility, Ectopic Pregnancy, Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases (PID), Infection of Newborns, Heart Disease and Brain Function and even Cervical Cancer,” she said. She decried the way most women claimed to have toilet infection, saying that medically, such claims were unacceptable while some were more prone due to bad personal hygiene.

“There is nothing like toilet infection, it is either an STI or an auto infection meaning infecting one’s self as a result of bad personal hygiene,” she said. Dr Tshuma advised that the only surest ways of preventing the transmission of STIs was to abstain from all forms of sex, remain faithful to one partner, or use a condom.

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that more than one million people acquire an STI every day.

“An estimated 500 million people become ill with one of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis, annually.