How an careless sex life can facilitate the transmission of sexually transmitted infections | Profession Reporter

How an careless sex life can facilitate the transmission of sexually transmitted infections

Profissão Repórter this Tuesday (26) revealed how careless sexual life can facilitate the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Read more below.

Profession Reporter returns to Hospital Emílio Ribas 13 years later to understand what has changed in sexually transmitted infections

The team monitored the service in Emílio Ribas Hospital. In 2011, the Profession Reporter was also at the hospital to record a program about HIV. The program returned to the health facility 13 years later to understand what had changed in sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The infectious disease specialist Bernardo Porto Maianow head of care at the hospital, states that many things have changed in more than ten years, including the new forms of treatment.

“In 2011, we hadn’t made as much progress in prevention as we have today. The reality we face 13 years later is a little better, without a doubt, with many diagnostic and therapeutic advances”, says Bernardo.

On the other hand, Bernardo highlights the incidence of STIs in the younger population. In the latest bulletin from the Ministry of Health, Young people aged 15 to 29 accounted for almost half of reported HIV cases. The data is from 2022.

“Today, although we have a lower number of cases of HIV infections globally, we see an increase in an age group, already with an active sexual life”, says Bernardo.

“We can see a failure in public health. We were unable to raise awareness among these young people to access the combined prevention strategies that we currently have available in the SUS”, adds the infectious disease specialist.

‘Chemsex’: Profession Reporter meets the fans of sex with the use of substances

Augustto Purezza is a doctor at a private health unit in São Paulo. He mentions that, Under the influence of drugs, there is a risk of carelessness with the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

“Often, sex is unprotected and often when you are involved in the situation, in the middle of ‘chemsex’, you won’t think about harm reduction,” he says.

Man feels sick after chemical sex

The team also spoke to a man who practices “chemsex”. He was accompanied by another boy, who reportedly fell ill after using a substance for this type of relationship (see the video above).

“I’m going to have to take him to the hospital. Oh my God […] He’s moaning here, sex with drugs, he felt sick”, he reports.

He admits that, during chemical sex, many people neglect protection against STIs and become infected:

“Meth keeps people awake for a long time. I’ve already been awake for five days. So, people end up relaxing. I have friends who contracted HIV in just three or four days.”

Volunteers travel around São Paulo to test for STIs and explain the importance of prevention

Profissão Repórter also showed the work of volunteers who, aware of this reality, travel around São Paulo to carry out STI tests, explain the importance of prevention and raise awareness of the risks of mixing drugs.

Lucas Raniel, from the collective Multiverseleads this initiative and defends testing as a method of preventing STIs.

“I experienced methamphetamine for 2 years. I’ve been living with HIV for 10 years and I work on prevention, sexual health and, after some experiences with chemical sex, using substances, experiencing it all, taking it to therapy, I decided to talk to little about this subject”, reports Lucas.

Doctor Fábio Mesquita, founder of the International Harm Reduction Association, has 35 years of experience and works in partnership with the NGO Multiverse. He warns that it is not just new drugs that increase the risk of transmitting infections.

“Any type of substance that alters a person’s consciousness is considered chemical sex for us”, highlights the expert.

‘There are clients who pay extra for you not to use condoms’, says prostitute boy

During the STI testing activity in the Center of São Paulo, the team met Vinicius Farias, 25, who works as a prostitute, but had never performed this type of test before.

“I’ve never done it. I’m afraid to do it and it feels like, I don’t know, positive. I don’t know why I work with sex, so it’s a bit complicated”, says the young man.

He reveals how he protects himself and reports that some clients pay more to have sex without a condom.

“Look, it’s with the condom, but it’s because there are cases where a client pays extra for you not to use the condom. Then you end up not using it and using it, then you don’t know what could happen”, he says.

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