Figures show that the number of teenagers diagnosed with STIs has more than doubled in a year, reports The Mirror.
Preliminary data from the HSE shows that 783 teenagers have tested positive for sexually transmitted infections in 2023 so far.
Among the alarming statistics are three children under the age of 14 – two of whom are being treated for chlamydia and another for genital herpes.
Data for 2022 reported a total of 950 STI diagnoses among teenagers, suggesting that this year’s final figures, once adjusted, will show a huge increase in infections.
According to Dr. Derek Freedman, a specialist in sexually transmitted diseases, this increase could be the result of the wide availability of pornography on the Internet.
He told the Sunday Mirror: “There is a great concern about pornography and sexualisation being so easily available through the internet. It encourages vulnerable kids [to experiment]… It’s important for parents to realise that kids have a natural degree of curiosity. You can’t stop them looking at pornography, but you have to let them know it’s not for real, it’s acting, and that is not how people actually behave. As a parent, you have to be open, and able to talk to your young adults, if you are to help and inform them.”
Chlamydia accounted for the majority of STI treatments in Ireland this year with 4,311 cases, followed by gonorrhea.
Dr Freedman has warned of an impending “epidemic” of which there are no clear signs.
New research has shown that gonorrhea is now being spread through saliva through deep kissing or oral sex, not just penetrative sex.
Dr Freedman said: “It is so important for parents that children can talk to them, and that they will support them. While it’s very concerning to see an increase in cases, it’s heartening to know that at least people are going to the clinics and doctors to be tested,” reports The Mirror.
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