Sexual health clinics 

Sexual health clinics are sometimes known as genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics. They are usually located at a hospital or as part of another health centre and provide a range of sexual health services including:

• contraception and contraception advice
• emergency contraception and emergency contraception advice
• testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea, genital warts and genital herpes
• testing and counselling for HIV and AIDS
• help if you have been sexually assaulted
• pregnancy and abortion advice
• help and advice for people who are having problems with their sex life

What is genitourinary medicine?

Genitourinary medicine (GUM) deals with the male and female sexual organs and the urinary system, which produces, stores and removes urine from the body.

As well as testing for and treating STIs, GUM also investigates and treats urinary tract infections (UTIs). Examples of UTIs include:

• cystitis - a bladder infection which can cause pain, burning or stinging when passing urine
• urethritis - inflammation of the urethra (the tube through which urine passes) that is usually caused by an infection; symptoms include pain around the pelvis in women and a frequent need to pass urine in men

Other genital infections that are treated at GUM clinics include:

• thrush (candida) - a fungal infection that can occur in both males and females; it can cause soreness, itching and discomfort in the vulva (the female external sexual organs), and red skin and swelling of the head of the penis in males (see Thrush - men for more information).
• bacterial vaginosis (BV) - is an imbalance in the normal levels of bacteria that are found in a women’s vagina; it can cause an abnormal discharge and an unpleasant odour.