Sexual health clinics are sometimes known as genito-urinary 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 and genital warts, and
- testing and counselling for HIV and AIDS.
What is genito-urinary medicine?
Genito-urinary medicine (GUM) deals with the male and female sexual organs, and the urinary system (which produces, stores and removes urine from your body).
As well as testing for and treating STIs, GUM also investigates and treats urinary tract infections (UTIs). These include cystitis, which is a bladder infection, and urethritis, which is an infection of the urethra (the tube used to urinate). Other infections of the genitals, such as thrush (candida), are also treated under GUM.
Genitals
Genitals are the sex, or reproductive, organs that are visible on the outside of the body. In women these are the vulva, labia and clitoris. In men these are the penis, scrotum and testicles.
