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Dr. Loi Em is examining a patient |
Hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have lately received many patients who come for examination of sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and genital warts. Worryingly, sexually transmitted diseases tend to increase, mainly among adolescents.
Visiting a hospital when a 29-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3 was experiencing painful urination, many ulcers appeared in the private area, accompanied by itching, he said that when he was diagnosed with the disease, he self-medicated for two weeks, but his illness didn’t abate whereas the ulcer spread more; thus, he had no choice but to see physicians.
After medical workers examined him, Mr. N. was diagnosed to be infected with syphilis in the early stage, because he had had sex with another man before but did not use a condom.
According to Dr. Doan Van Loi Em, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Dermatology’s Clinical Department 3, patients with sexually transmitted diseases are often caused by contact with secretions of sexual partners containing pathogens. This discharge can be vaginal secretions, semen, oropharyngeal secretions, anal secretions, and blood. In most cases, a person infected by direct contact with a sexual partner will cause the other person to contract the disease as well.
Sexually transmitted diseases have many different causes and tend to increase. In Vietnam, according to reports from dermatology infirmaries in provinces and cities, every year about 300,000 people are infected with sexually transmitted diseases. This number is much lower than the reality because patients with sexually transmitted diseases tend to hide their health status due to fear of social discrimination.
Statistics at the National Hospital of Dermatology show that in 2022 alone, more than 3,400 patients with sexually transmitted diseases have been examined and treated in 2022 and more than 30 percent of them are patients aged 16- 24. Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital said that the hospital has lately recorded an increase in the number of patients coming to the clinic for sexually transmitted diseases, about 250-350 times/day. According to the hospital, the number of male patients is 161 a day and the number of female patients is about 143 a day.
According to Dr. Trinh Minh Trang, Head of the Hanoi-based National Hospital of Dermatology’s Scientific Research and International Cooperation Department, sexually transmitted diseases are common, especially among young people who often get have sex most often but lack knowledge about disease prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases have a great impact on health; without proper treatment, they can cause chronic neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, infertility and increase the risk of HIV infection. In addition, the use of inappropriate sex toys is very easy to cause damage to the skin or mucous membranes, increasing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
Dr. Doan Van Loi Em advised to use a condom every time a person has vaginal, oral or anal sex to reduce the chance of infection.
Moreover, the doctor said when detecting signs of the disease, patients should proactively visit reputable medical facilities for treatment to avoid the disease worse and easily spread the disease to others. People get sexually transmitted diseases by having sex with someone who has an sexually transmitted disease. Once a person is infected, he/she can infect someone else; therefore, Dr. Loi Em recommended a person should notify his/her sexual partners recently so that they can go to medical centers for examination. Not only will this help the partner reduce the risk of complications from delayed treatment, but it will also prevent them from spreading the disease to the community.
