I am a 1st year undergraduate who had a gap year. I wasn’t particularly good about using a condom when I was travelling, and I went to some fairly questionable places…
I’m absolutely terrified that I’ve got AIDS, but I’m too scared to go to the doctor because what if I find out I do have AIDS? Surely that’s the end of everything? Can people live normally with AIDS?
ANON
First of all let me start by saying that AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and while there is no cure for HIV the treatments now available mean that sufferers can live well and in good health, providing that the antiretroviral drugs are taken everyday. To be diagnosed with HIV is not the death sentence it was when the virus was first discovered, so do go to your doctor or the local GUM clinic and get tested.
I would suggest to anyone who has had unprotected sexual intercourse that they should get tested for all sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as infections such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis are these are also particularly common and easy to contract. While HIV is a worry, especially if you have had unprotected sex in countries where the virus is prevalent, chlamydia is the most common STI in Britain, with the highest number of cases found in 16 – 19 year olds (Health Protection Agency).
Even if you only slept with one person without using protection, think about whom else they might haave slept with and the number of partners that person may have had. Free testing is available at your local GUM clinic, or perhaps your university might have a scheme in place that can help you.
For more advice on HIV and how to be tested for the virus have a look at the Terrence Higgins Trust website.
One of my friends mentioned something about a vaccine against cervical cancer called Gardasil. Is it available on the NHS? And if it’s not, how important is it that I get it?
I’m a 20 year old woman and I’ve never been really ill (other than colds and a broken ankle…). I tried to look it up on the internet, but I got confused about the difference between Gardasil and other cervical cancer injections.
ANON
This is a very good question, as I’m sure many young women are asking questions about what this new cervical cancer vaccination is, what it does and whether it is available to them.
The NHS has started a program in schools, vaccinating all girls in Year 8 against the cervical cancer causing virus, HPV (the Human Papilloma Virus). HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer, although in many cases women may have the Human Papilloma Virus, but do not suffer from it.
99% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV, but only 13 strains of HPV (of which there are hundreds) cause cervical cancer. The other strains of HPV are either harmless or cause genital warts.
HPV is also not just contracted by sexual intercourse, but by any sexual contact, which is why the NHS has started vaccinating girls at such a young age, before they become sexually active. However, the cervical cancer vaccination is beneficial to any girls up until the age of 25.
If you have been sexually active, as many girls at 20 are, you may already have contracted HPV (for which you can be tested); however the cervical cancer vaccination will protect you specifically against the cancer causing strains.
It is here that you may have found the confusion between the different cervical cancer vaccinations available. The NHS is using a vaccination called Cervarix® which protect against two strains of cancer causing HPV (strains 16 and 18 that cause 70% of cervical cancer).
However there is another cervical cancer vaccination available called Gardasil®. The difference between the two vaccines is that Gardasil®, as well as protecting against the two strains of cancer causing HPV, also protects against the two strains that cause genital warts. Both vaccines are available on-license in the UK and have undergone rigorous safety testing.
While you cannot receive the cervical cancer vaccination on the NHS unless you are aged 12-13, or soon to be within the NHS scheme, it is available to you privately, either through your GP or a private clinic. For more information regarding the cervical cancer vaccination go to www.nhs.uk/hpv.
It is also very important, as neither vaccine protects against all cancer causing strains, that all women have cervical screening later in life. This is available on the NHS from the age of 25.
I’m heading off to Kenya over Christmas to work in an orphanage. I’m worried about Malaria and whether I have to take malarial tablets: I’ve heard so many bad things about them. Will I get paranoid if I take them? What else do I need to get vaccinated against?
UNDERGRADUATE
NEW COLLEGE
Well, every year approximately 2000 British travellers return home with malaria, so it is very important that if you are going to areas in Kenya that are at risk of malaria, that you are protected, not just by antimalarials medicine, but also from mosquito bites.
While some of the antimalarials available do have side effects such as dizziness, nausea and photosensitivity, not everyone who uses them will suffer these side effects, or at least not that badly. There are also some antimalarials, such as Malarone, that are pretty much side-effect free.
Anyway, the symptoms of malaria are far worse and indeed life-threatening compared to any side effects. I would suggest that you speak to your GP or Nurse and they will advise which form of antimalarials would be best for you.
I have heard of some people saying that you won’t get bitten by mosquitoes if you have alcohol in your blood, or if you eat Marmite… these are malarial myths. I also once knew someone who decided to use homeopathic medicine instead of taking antimalarials. There is no evidence that homeopathic or herbal medication will protect you from malaria, or any other tropical disease.
For Kenya, malarial protection is needed in much of the country, although Nairobi and the highlands (above 2500m) are at very small risk. It is during the rainy months of November and December that epidemics occur and risk is at its highest. You will also need to be vaccinated against Diphtheria, Polio, Tetanus, Hepatitis A, Typhoid and Yellow Fever (a yellow fever certificate is not required).
Additional vaccines that you may want to think about include cholera and Hepatitis B. I don’t know exactly where the orphanage you’re working at is, or what you’ll be doing there, but Hepatitis B and Cholera vaccines are suggested if there are a large number of people living in small and unhygienic conditions and if you will be exposed to children (from cuts and scratches) or may be in need of surgical procedures.
For more information regarding malaria, antimalarials and other travel advice speak to the travel nurse at your local surgery, or go to one of the many travel clinics which you can find online. You may also find the following websites useful: Malariahotspots.co.uk, Fco.gov.uk, Nathnac.org, and Fitfortravel.nhs.uk
