Medical Officer calls for increased public awareness creation on Sexually Transmitted Infections

Medical Doctor at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr. Omaima M. Arab, has stressed the need to create awareness about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

She emphasized the significance of practicing safe sex, getting regular check-ups, and raising awareness about STIs in order to promote overall well-being.

‘’Sexually Transmitted Infections can be picked up when you are having sex, oral sex, or even contact with semen or vaginal fluid puts you at risk of picking up STIs. We have those caused by bacteria and we have those that are caused by viruses. If we talk of the bacteria ones, we are talking of syphilis and gonorrhoea,’’ she said.

‘’Usually with the syphilis, it is caused by treponema pallidum, that’s the bacteria that causes it and for gonorrhea, it is caused by Neisseria Gonorrhoeae,’’ she explained in an interview on The Afternoon Show on TV3, April 16, 2024.

She further noted that “like the name depicts the infections that are transmitted sexually. So, when individuals engage in sexual activities with each other, it could be either through sexual intercourse, it could be oral sex, it could even be contact with body fluids which are usually emitted from the body after sexual intercourse.’’

Dr. Arab emphasized that early detection and treatment can significantly reduce the risk of long-term health complications.

‘’That’s why we usually encourage people to have routine checkups every six months, especially if you know you’re sexually active with more than one person or you’re sexually active with one person whom you’re not really sure if it’s actually exclusive with you or also has his or her own multiple sexual partners,’’ she advised.

‘’Some people can experience pain in their abdomen after every sexual intercourse or with every menstrual cycle that they experience. Severe pain that they don’t seem to be able to know what is causing it. A lot of people don’t speak it up in their youthful age but with time, in an older age, they come complaining of when I Pee maybe my urine is separated because they are beginning to develop complications along the line. Its when they are in their 40s, sometimes even 50s, that is when they are having the complications 10, 20 years after having the STI,’’ she noted.

By Eva Boamah