Sexual health
Infections where the treatment is short, specific and worth getting right
Most of what this category covers is treated in days, not months: a course of tablets for a bacterial infection, or a short course for a herpes outbreak. The medicines are old, cheap and well documented, which is exactly why the labels are worth reading rather than guessing at.
Two things make this category different from the rest of the site. A bacterial infection needs the right antibiotic for the right organism, so the diagnosis matters more than the brand. And HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis is not a treatment at all but a prevention, with its own testing schedule written into the label.
Medicines
Sexual health
- ValaciclovirValtrexThe standard treatment for genital herpes, taken either as a short course during an outbreak or daily to reduce how often outbreaks occur.Prescription only
- AciclovirZoviraxThe original antiviral for herpes, still widely prescribed, taken more often per day than valaciclovir and costing even less.Prescription only
- DoxycyclineVibramycin, DoxyhexalThe first-line antibiotic for chlamydia in current European and British guidance, and an old, cheap, well-documented medicine.Prescription only
- AzithromycinZithromaxThe single-dose antibiotic that was once standard for chlamydia and has since moved down the guidance in most of Europe.Prescription only
- Emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxilTruvadaPre-exposure prophylaxis: a daily tablet taken by people who do not have HIV, to prevent acquiring it. Prevention rather than treatment, with testing built into the label.Prescription only
Written by us
How to get it legally
Sexually transmitted infections are the one area where testing comes before treatment, and where free public services usually exist. In the United Kingdom, sexual health clinics test and treat at no charge. Germany, Italy and France all run publicly funded testing, and pharmacies sell self-sampling kits.
Online clinics have a real role here, mostly for repeat herpes prescriptions and for pre-exposure prophylaxis follow-up. They are not a substitute for a test when there has never been one: treating the wrong organism leaves the infection in place and adds resistance to it.