Casual sex ‘is as easy as booking a taxi cab’
Dating apps are helping fuel rise in STIs, says top doctor
THE resurgence in the economy and the increased use of dating apps are contributing to the rise of sexually transmitted infections in Ireland, says a leading physician.
Dr Derek Freedman, Ireland’s most experienced specialist in the field of sexual health, said the popularity of smartphone apps such as Tinder and Grindr means casual sex is now ‘as easy as booking a taxi’.
Figures released last week by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre reveal there were 4,260 cases of chlamydia reported in the first 30 weeks of 2018, an increase of nearly 140 cases over the same period last year.
Some 1,182 cases of gonorrhoea were reported, while other infections such as herpes also went up.
Figures show that 231 STIs were reported in the past week.
Dr Freedman said clinics and hospitals were struggling to keep up with the level of STIs.
‘We are seeing a resurgence of the economy so we are seeing the resurgence of infections,’ he said.
Dating apps are contributing to the rise, alongside activities such as group sex and sex parties.
Infections such as gonorrhoea and syphilis have increased worldwide in recent years.
‘We have seen a resurgence in the so-called classic infections which we thought were eliminated 20 years ago,’ he said. Dr Freedman said there were not enough STI experts to meet the demand for treatment. ‘We just don’t have the resources to cope,’ he said. ‘The national clinic in St James’s Hospital in Dublin are turning people away because we just don’t have enough doctors and front-line people.’ He said one factor in the increase in STIs was a lack of fear surrounding them. ‘People are no longer afraid of HIV/ Aids,’ he said, as it was now treatable. Dr Freedman said there was no single approach that could stem the spread of the diseases. Irish people needed to be more aware of STIs, he said, and needed to increase the frequency of their visits to STI clinics if they were sexually active. Dr Freedman also recommends that people should stop having sex or looking for sex when they were heavily inebriated.
‘People are no longer afraid of HIV/Aids’