STIs

Fewer young people are having sex, but the teens and young adults who are sexually active aren't using condoms as regularly, if at all.

Clinicians in Southwest Florida are seeing this trend and trying to educate patients who are in relationships that may not be monogamous.

Sexually transmitted disease rates in the state are on the rise, surpassing pre-COVID levels. In particular, Florida ranks 14th on the CDC's national list when it comes to congenital syphilis.

Injectable penicillin is the go-to treatment for syphilis and the only treatment considered safe for pregnant people with the disease.

It's not clear why infectious cases of syphilis rose 9% while gonorrhea dropped 9%, the CDC reports. Syphilis is less common than gonorrhea or chlamydia but considered more dangerous.

Doxy-PEP can be taken a few hours after sex and is effective at preventing sexually transmitted infections. New research finds it's less effective for women but that may not be the final word.

Taken after sex, the antibiotic doxycycline can ward off some sexually transmitted illnesses. Doctors are already prescribing it and the CDC is expected to share guidance soon for how best to use it.

For contact tracers of sexually transmitted infections, telephones and text messages have become ineffective. Dating apps increasingly are their best bet for informing people of their exposure risks.

An AIDS health care group is defending an ad campaign in Los Angeles that links popular dating apps with the spread of sexual transmitted diseases.The…