According to a study, a special antibiotic should reduce the infection with sexually transmitted diseases. This is taken once as the morning-after pill. If the pill is taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, around two-thirds of infections can be prevented.
A new study on the subject was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. Homosexual men were included in the international study. Trans women who take prophylaxis against the HI virus or are already living with an HIV infection were also involved.
All subjects had been infected with a sexually transmitted disease in the year before the start of the study. On average, participants took the antibiotic doxycycline four times a month during the study.
Patients who take HIV prophylaxis often have unprotected sex, explained Georg Stary from the Institute of Dermatology at the University of Vienna. Some of them are infected with many sexually transmitted diseases.
In this group, fewer people became infected due to taking doxycycline, the morning-after pill. This means that there are fewer sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia in circulation. “Accordingly, those who do not take the drug prophylactically may also be protected under certain circumstances,” he explained.
However, antibiotic resistance must be considered. There was increased resistance in gonococci that transmit gonorrhea. Therefore, the application cannot be generally recommended. If at all, it only makes sense for a selective group.
Long-term use is also not recommended. One must assume that there will be a significant change in the microbiome. Long-term use can also increase side effects. This was explained by Norbert Brockmeyer from the Center for Sexual Health and Medicine at the Catholic Clinic in Bochum.