NoIn the last few days, they have arrived at the Ministry of Health and in the offices of infectious disease specialists, the official ECDC datathe European Center for the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases, presenting a worrying picture on sexually transmitted diseases among young people. Cases in Europe of gonorrhea have increased by 303% in ten years, while syphilis has more than doubled. And even in Italy the curve has taken the same direction, with chlamydia which runs fast especially among girls under 24 years old.
Sexual diseases: the danger of unseen symptoms
Faced with these data, one is left perplexed when looking at social media or listening to the conversations of young people in the clubs at the weekend, since it seems that the problem does not exist. The reason why this happens is that sexually transmitted infections They have a sneaky quality and dangerous: they know how to make themselves invisible. Many of these diseases, in women in particular, do not cause immediate symptoms. There is no fever, there is no pain. You can live with chlamydia for months without realizing itwhile the bacterium works in silence, risking compromising future fertility or causing inflammatory diseases.
The pill paradox and the decline in attention
The reason why young people are the most vulnerable today lies in a generational paradox. Today’s children were born in an era in which HIVthe virus that was very scary in the 1980s and 1990s, has become a more manageable disease thanks to extraordinary drugs that eliminate the viral load and prevent contagion. The fear of that virus has disappeared, attention has waned. With the increase in the use of the contraceptive pill, this fact is underestimated that the use itself does not close the door to bacteria and parasitespossible only by using a condom.
While European data raises the alarm on sexually transmitted diseases, Italy responds. (Getty Images)
The new paths of national prevention
Faced with this silent epidemic, Italian healthcare institutions have had to radically change their strategy. THEthe old model of the medical conference held in school lecture hallswith a bureaucratic and distant language, it proved ineffective. Today public health has understood that to talk to children we need to use their own channels.
The power of words between peers
One of the strongest responses implemented at a national level is so-called peer education. Local health companies they no longer send only experts to give lessons, but they directly form small groups of students within high schools. Having become “ambassadors” of prevention, the children themselves explain to their peers the importance of safe sex. THEthe language becomes so common, the embarrassment disappears and the most intimate questions are answered without the fear of feeling judged by an adult.
The web and the direct channels of the institutions
In parallel, the ISS, the Higher Institute of Health, has completely revolutionized its historic portaltransforming it into a dynamic and accessible digital platform. Anyone can browse the site to find interactive maps that indicate, city by city, where they can seek treatment or have a check-up. Next to the web, The AIDS and Inst helpline remains activea completely anonymous and free institutional service that allows you to speak with professionals capable of orienting the person towards the medical facilities in their area.
Urban checkpoints and the rapid test revolution
Another big barrier that hospital bureaucracy is keeping young people away from prevention: the need to get a referral from the family doctor, the queues at the blood sample centre, the anxiety of meeting the gaze of acquaintances. To overcome this obstaclepublic health has formed an alliance with the third sector, giving life to the national network of checkpointsinformal spaces, open and managed by historic associations that deal with health and rights. In these environments, children can enter without a reservation to take rapid tests for syphilis or HIV. A drop of blood from the finger or a saliva swab is enough and the result arrives in twenty minutes. The exam is free and requires no documents.
The European screening days
At the same time, Italy actively participates in the European test weekswhich twice a year mobilize universities and squares to offer free screening across the board, trying to intercept the undeclared, that is, all those people who have an ongoing infection but don’t know it yet. Furthermore, many children and often their families do not know that family counseling centers in the National Health Service exist structures created specifically to accommodate the age group ranging from 14 to 24 years. In here, Italian law establishes that a minor can access completely independently. Parents do not need to be accompanied and their consent is not necessary.
Medical visits and checks without parental consent
Therefore, a sixteen-year-old girl or boy who has doubts about having contracted an infection, or who simply needs advice on emergency contraception, may require a gynecological or andrological examination and the entire performance will remain protected by professional secrecy. The objective of this national network, which combines the efforts of doctors, schools and associations, it’s about giving kids back a serene awareness. Taking care of and protecting yourself must not be a taboo linked to guilt, but a choice of freedom and respect for oneself and others.