Summer lovin’ had me a blast. Summer lovin’ happened so fast. Met a girl crazy for me. Met a boy cute as can be. Sound familiar?

Summer’s finally here and with it comes those summer nights, long holidays, boozy celebrations, and people generally have a bit more free time on their hands for you know what.

Did you know that in Australia, the month of September consistently records the highest birth rates^[1] - coincidence? I think not.

While the winter months bring us the chance to get warm and cosy with the people we love, the summer months are filled with an abundance of opportunities to meet and connect with new people. With that being said, it comes as no surprise that a 2015 Melbourne study concluded that the average number of sexual partners skyrockets between December and February.^[2]

With the increase in sexual activity over the summer, the notification rates for STIs also rise,^[3] and this is across the board whether you participate in male-to-male sex, male-to-female sex, female-to-female sex or any combination of the above!^[4]

The tricky thing about STIs is that you may not even be able to tell that you’ve got one. In roughly half of the detections, no symptoms are present,^[5] so the only way you know for sure that you are in the clear is by getting tested.

So how do you stay ahead of the game? One of the best and easiest ways to protect yourself and your partners is by consistently using condoms. Condoms are a bit of a silver bullet when it comes to sexual health, they are inexpensive, simple to use, and give both parties the peace of mind that no other form of contraceptive can.

Their only weakness? Heat. So make sure not to store them in your car glovebox or in your bag at the beach!

But what happens when your summer lovin’ happens too fast, and you haven’t taken the proper steps to keep yourself safe? You could be carrying an STI and you won’t know for sure until you get tested, so use condoms to limit the possibility of passing one on! The window-periods for chlamydia, gonorrhoea is 2 weeks, for syphilis 3 weeks and for HIV it’s 4 weeks.^[6]

We talk about getting our bodies ‘summer ready’, but usually we just mean hitting the gym and eating a salad. WAAC encourages everyone to get their sexual health ‘summer ready’ too, by making sure their STI testing is up to date in the lead up to the warmer months.

Summertime - it’s time to get tested.

If you have any questions about sexual health or want more information about our services, Contact Us