Sexually transmitted infections while travelling

Buy them in Switzerland, keep them cool, use them with a water-based lubricant, and use a new one each time you have sex. Oral sex also transmits STIs: a condom or a dental dam reduces this risk.

A vaccine teaches the body to recognise the germ in advance, without making you ill.

• Hepatitis B (liver): several doses, start early.
• Hepatitis A: often already planned; it is also transmitted by mouth-to-anus contact.
• Papillomavirus (HPV), a cause of warts and certain cancers: reimbursed up to age 26, before your 27th birthday. After that, it can still be useful, but it is not reimbursed: let's talk about it.

PrEP is a medicine taken before sex: it is already in your body when the virus arrives, and stops it from taking hold. Taken correctly, it protects very well against HIV, but not against other STIs. It is useful if you plan to have sex without a condom in a country where HIV is common. It is prescribed after a negative HIV test.

TravelDoctor is part of the SwissPrEPared network, the Swiss PrEP follow-up programme. See our PrEP consultation or book an appointment.

Book an appointment at least 4 weeks before you leave: treatment often starts at the first consultation, and this gives time for a first check-up.

For travel, PrEP is not reimbursed by basic health insurance.

Condoms do not protect well enough against this virus, which is spread through close contact. The vaccine is recommended for men who have sex with men and for trans people who have many partners.

If you are on PrEP, do not miss any doses. Alcohol and drugs make sex without a condom and assaults more likely: stay with someone you trust.

Sex without a condom, a broken condom or a sexual assault: this is a medical emergency.

1. Go to the emergency department of the nearest hospital, without delay, even abroad.
2. Ask for emergency HIV treatment (PEP), lasting about 1 month, ideally within 4 hours.
3. Also ask for protection against hepatitis B if needed, and emergency contraception if pregnancy is possible.
4. Message us straight away on WhatsApp at +41 79 780 32 00. We will guide you. Do not wait for our reply before going to the emergency department.

Why hurry? Within a few hours, HIV hides in the body, where medicines can no longer get rid of it. The earlier you start, the better it works. After 48 hours, the treatment is no longer recommended in Switzerland, because it probably no longer has any effect.

After 48 hours, still see a doctor. Abroad, some hospitals still offer PEP up to 72 hours: follow their advice.

In the event of sexual assault, you are not alone: the FDFA Helpline answers 24 hours a day on +41 800 24 7 365. In Switzerland, specialised centres can support you (lovelife.ch).

Emergencies in Switzerland: 144. Abroad, call the local emergency number.

Even without symptoms. Too early, the germ and the antibodies cannot yet be detected: the test can falsely reassure you.

• Chlamydia and gonorrhoea: from 2 weeks.
• HIV and syphilis: reliable test at 6 weeks.
• Hepatitis B and C: check-up sometimes up to 6 months.

An HIV self-test is only reliable after 12 weeks. See a doctor sooner if you have burning, a discharge or a genital sore. If an STI is found, tell your partners.

Where? With us: TravelDoctor does STI tests and treats STIs, at the practice or after a teleconsultation (book an appointment). Also at your own doctor's, at an anonymous testing centre or at a Checkpoint (Geneva, Vaud).

If you have no symptoms, testing is usually not reimbursed by basic health insurance: let's talk about it during your consultation.