A known sexologist here on Wednesday advised the doctors to take into account the cultural environment while treating patients suffering from sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Speaking at the "Guest Hour", programme of the Peshawar Press Club (PPC) Dr Muzaffar Iqbal Tareen, a clinical sexologist at the Hayatabad Medical Complex, said that women who formed 50 percent of the country's population had altogether been ignored as far as the treatment of STIs was concerned, which gave rise to these ailments.
The STIs, he said were completely curable provided the patients reach the right doctors at the right time. "Women seldom visit doctors for STIs due to sex-related problems and prevalent social taboos," he added.
Not only the women, but even most of the men avoid visiting doctors for such diseases, owing to the social taboos. "Being a sex-borne ailment, people are reluctant to visit doctors," he said.
"The only way to lure STIs patients for treatment is to record their cultural history," said Dr Tareen. He said that customs, religion, beliefs, poverty and ignorance were the main factors behind the rising number of STIs.
Apart from social support and treatment, the doctors should refer the patients to consultants for further diagnosis, he said and added: "The STIs caused impotency, urinary tract infections, prostates among male and infertility, depression in women, because initially the patients resort to self-medication or visiting the clinics of Hakims, homoeopaths and quacks."
Dr Tareen said that developed countries had established special clinics where patients suffering from sex related diseases were being treated. But, unfortunately, he said our country has no such clinics and the patients are treated by quacks who are not specifically trained for the STIs," he said.
Lack of sex education, media role and public awareness concerning STIs were the other factors responsible for spread of the disease, he said, adding that the womenfolk had totally been neglected while treating STIs. Men visit the clinics, but women are not allowed, he said.
The failure in seeking help of the professional venereologists and sexologists had enhanced the risk factor, he claimed. Citing the WHO's guidelines, he said that like South Africa, syndrome management clinics should be established to provide help to the patients suffering from the STIs including HIV/AIDS.
"Unsafe sexual practices, homosexuality, unsafe blood transfusion, drug addiction and re-use of syringes are other factors contributing to the STIs," Dr Tareen said. As there was no treatment for viral infection, the patients could be symptomatically treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, he said.
He said that the concept of couple treatment was important to put brakes on the infertility in the country. Citing studies, he said that the 42 percent women and 58 percent men were responsible for infertility in the country.
Dr Tareen said that the sex-related diseases were the result of physical, social and psychological problems, which can be treated by the qualified doctors. Use of narcotics and other medications apart from kidney, stomach and diabetes could cause sex problems, he added.
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