Regular checks of your genital area allow you to identify and get help for any problems quickly, when they are easiest to treat and mean you can take extra care to avoid infecting your sexual partners.

1. Take a small mirror, find a private place and get naked.
2. Examine your genital and anal areas using the mirror and your hands.
3. Lift and look under your testicles.
4. If you are uncircumcised, pull back the foreskin and look carefully at the exposed skin
5. Look at the area between your anus and your testicles
6. Check your pubic hair closely for small eggs, lumps or mites (e.g. crabs)
7. Gently squeeze your penis to see if any unusual, smelly or creamy comes out. It is common to find some fluid when doing this, but it doesn’t mean you have an STI.
8. Do you see any sores, blisters, or rashes; feel any itching, redness or swelling; detect any unusual smells or discharge on or around your penis, anus or testicles?

If  you detect signs of STIs or anything else that seems unusual, go to an STI clinic for a complete check!

Click here to find out where you can get tested in confidence and read some feedback from men who have used the services.

When fun isn’t fun anymore

Partying is fun – whether it is clubbing, attending a concert, having a party at home or going to a party at a friend’s house but, for many of us, having a good time if connected to alcohol.

The real truth about alcohol

Alcohol is a poison and the harmful effects of drinking are related to the alcohol content of what you drink (the strength of the alcohol content) and the volume of the drink. Whisky contains more alcohol per milliliter than beer. So, for example, if you have two glasses the same size and you put beer in one and whisky in the other, the glass with the whisky in it would have more alcohol than the glass with the beer – even though the amount of liquid is the same – because whisky is stronger than beer.

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A guide to some of the most common STIs

 Chlamydia

Chlamydia is one of the most common STIs. Most people who have Chlamydia don’t notice any symptoms and won’t know they have the infection. Otherwise, symptoms may include pain when you urinate or unusual discharge.

Diagnosing Chlamydia is easily done with a urine test or a swab of the affected area. Chlamydia is easily treated with antibiotics, but can lead to serious long-term health problems if it’s left untreated.

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Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Many STIs can cause serious health problems and some are life threatening and incurable. They are usually transmitted in infected semen, vaginal secretions or blood and get into your body through contact with the penis, vagina, anus, through open cuts or sores, or from sharing needles used to inject drugs.

BEWARE: Some STIs present obvious symptoms such as genital discharge, rashes, sores etc. but others have almost no symptoms or the symptoms disappear without treatment. This DOES NOT mean the infection has gone; it may be sitting in your body, causing long term damage and infecting your sexual partners. If you suspect that you have been exposed to an STI you must seek immediate and professional medical advice and take extra care to protect your sexual partners from infection.

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