In mid-December, a 22-year-old woman with a good appearance came to see Uncle Doctor. “I have a burning sensation when urinating, pain in the genitals, and vaginal discharge..”
She walked in awkwardly, sat on the chair by lifting her buttocks and leaning back against the chair, saying she had a sore buttock, just started having symptoms today and felt like she had a fever too. Upon examination, small clear blisters, 7-8 in a cluster, were found on the genitals at the bottom of the labia majora, and two blisters on the left labia. Some blisters had started to break into sores. Actually, she started feeling strange 1-2 days ago, with itching, irritation, and pain, with redness on the genitals, and today the blisters just appeared all at once. She felt very embarrassed, never had an internal examination before, got off the examination bed to sit, but had to move around because she felt pain. She asked, “Doctor, what disease do I have?”
Young people, girls, try to think about what disease it might be from the history and symptoms found. Does anyone know…? Did anyone get it right? Okay, Uncle Doctor will reveal the answer.
The disease is genital herpes. Have you heard of it? This disease is caused by a virus from the herpes group (Herpes viruses) called Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV).
She seemed very worried when Uncle Doctor informed her of this disease. She asked further, “How did I get it?”
The answer is that this disease can be transmitted through sexual intercourse. She said she had never had such symptoms before. Could she have contracted it from her boyfriend? And how should she tell her boyfriend? “He told me to get checked.” “Will he think we got the disease from him?” “Will he accuse me of bringing this disease to him?” Oh…. Various words poured out, looking distressed, so Uncle Doctor comforted her and explained how to care for genital herpes.
This is the first infection, and the symptoms will be severe. There may be fever, headache, body aches, and fatigue. The symptoms will be most severe in the first 3-4 days and gradually disappear within 3-4 days. The sores on the genitals, if not secondarily infected with bacteria, will gradually dry, scab, and heal without any scars in 3 weeks. Taking antiviral medication for 5-10 days will reduce the abnormality, symptoms, and duration of virus transmission.
Alright…. let’s talk about the purpose of bringing this story up. Because Uncle Doctor listened to her talk about her thoughts and understanding, which nowadays is called “mindset,” regarding her behavior with the person she commonly refers to as her “boyfriend.” It gives us insights to adjust ourselves, elevate our way of thinking, and reflect on it.
“This boyfriend always uses a condom when we have sex.” Uncle Doctor thought, hmm, this man is very responsible.
“But lately, he hasn’t been using condoms. We agreed that I would take birth control pills instead.” Uncle Doctor was surprised inside..
“I bought a brand of birth control pills for 150 baht. Before buying, I studied how to take the pills from the internet and then went to buy them at the pharmacy, where they also advised on how to take them. For the first pack, I took the first pill on the first day of my period, taking one pill every day in the evening.” She explained confidently.
“During the first 15 pills, I wouldn’t let my boyfriend have sex with me because I was afraid of getting pregnant, and I reminded myself not to forget to take the pills. If I forgot, I would take it immediately the next day.” Uncle Doctor listened and praised her for taking them correctly, then asked,
“What is your reason for not using condoms?” She continued,
“My boyfriend said condoms are a hassle because you have to keep buying them, and they cost a lot because we use them often. Buying birth control pills for a month costs only 150 baht, which is cheaper.” Uncle Doctor understood and continued the conversation, asking if expenses were very important. She said,
“Yes, they are important. I’m still studying, but now I’ve just graduated. My previous boyfriend also used condoms, but not every time. At first, he used them, but later he didn’t. But now I’m afraid of making mistakes, afraid of getting pregnant. I’ve seen friends get pregnant and have to have abortions, so I’m afraid of having problems myself.” Uncle Doctor then asked, taking birth control pills can prevent pregnancy, but what about preventing sexually transmitted diseases? This question made her pause for a moment, then she softly replied,
“This is my mistake, not thinking I would get a disease, only thinking about pregnancy.” She lowered her head in regret and admitted that she didn’t really have these diseases in mind. To put it simply, she wasn’t aware because she trusted him.
Recently, Uncle Doctor found that nowadays, there are young men coming in for check-ups with symptoms of discharge from the urethra. These young men said they contracted it from their girlfriends who didn’t use condoms during sex. Statistics from the Ministry of Public Health in 2013 found that 61% of teenagers used condoms during their first sexual intercourse and 67% during their last, which is considered a relatively low usage rate.
Young people, having sex is a matter of attitude and social values, a personal matter. Thinking comprehensively can prevent the consequences, both unexpected pregnancies and diseases. Having sex requires a good mindset to lead to strict practice, which is to reach the point where you need to “take action” to reduce the risk for both parties by dual protection, which is preventing unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Because someone might not use it consistently, which increases the risk. That is, the man uses a condom, and the woman uses any suitable contraceptive method for herself.
With the Dual Protection approach, think about it, the risk will be minimized. Safety First is the best, likely to be more effective than letting emotions and feelings dictate actions.
With love and care,
Dr. Ruangkit Sirikanchanakul, RSA Network Coordinator