How to be savvy about sexual health (From Bucks Free Press)

How to be savvy about sexual health

5:22pm Friday 2nd November 2007 in Search By Lara King

YOUNG lovers across the county are being urged to put themselves to the test.

The Practice in Cressex Road, High Wycombe, is behind a new campaign to encourage young people to be savvy about their sexual health.

Chlamydia is carried by one in ten sexually active 18 to 25-year-olds in Britain, but because it can infect without symptoms, many sufferers do not seek testing or treatment.

Sarah Jeffery, communications manager at The Practice, said: "The condition has long been known to threaten female fertility, but recent research has shown it can also make young men infertile by damaging the quality of their sperm."

She added: "According to the Health Protection Agency, cases of chlamydia have increased by more than 200 per cent in England in the past ten years. This could be contributing to infertility across an entire generation of young adults."

In an attempt to reverse this trend, free and friendly clinics for young people are now being provided at Buckingham Hospital, Chalfont and Gerrards Cross Hospital, the Healthy Living Centre in Aylesbury and The Practice.

A full sexual health screening service is offered, and treatments are dispensed immediately on site. Access to clinics is usually within 24 hours, and all services are anonymous and confidential.

Contraception, pregnancy testing and counselling are all also available.