The woman had waited years to become sexually active, only to end up with an upsetting discovery when she had unprotected sex.
It’s one of the biggest sexual myths out there: That only “immoral” people get sexually transmitted infections (STI).
The misconception is one doctors like Ginni Mansberg are keen to stamp out, as in reality STIs can be contracted by anyone and have “got nothing to do with morality”.
Dr Mansberg has worked as a Sydney GP for almost 30 years and told news.com.au podcast Kinda Sorta Dating some of the people she sees diagnosed with STIs would be considered the “most conservative” members of society.
“I am thinking of one girl who waited until she was 29 to lose her virginity to her boyfriend, who she was with for six months before they took a condom off, Dr Mansberg told host Jana Hocking.
“She got a triple whammy – she got chlamydia, herpes and an abnormal Pap test in one go, but you cannot call her a fallen woman.”
Who gets a STI had “nothing to do with morality and it’s got a lot to do with luck”, Dr Mansberg said.
One STI was so common, it was easier to assume most people you met have it – herpes. Dr Mansberg said that around one in eight people have been diagnosed with the virus at some point.
“Herpes, oh my goodness, I diagnose that all the time,” she said. “Herpes is super common.”
There was also a surprise rise in STI diagnoses in one age group: middle-aged people who find themselves single for the first time in decades.
“They have forgotten the whole condom thing, they’re used to not wearing a condom, “ Dr Mansberg said.
“We’ve been seeing a big uptick in newly single women and men – unfortunately it’s more women because men really don’t get a lot of symptoms from a lot of these STIs so for better or for worse these blokes they often spread it around.”