"Shocked"

The figures "shocked" her.

"It was surprising to see that figures have doubled. It is a source of concern and it is a wake-up call for parents with teenagers.

The mother of four grown-up children and grandmother of nine said: "When my grandchildren grow up, I will try my best to impart advice on sexuality when appropriate.

"Already, I'm telling my oldest grandchild, 10, she cannot let strangers touch her and in what ways she can be touched." Other observers have also noticed the rise in teen STI cases.

Dr Peter Lim, 59, president of the Society Of Men's Health, noted a 20 to 30 per cent jump in patients under 20 in the last nine years.

He attributes the rise to changing societal norms - youths are more open towards sexual experimentation. Their sexually active lifestyles with multiple partners and failure to use protection are reasons that they fall prey to STIs, he noted.

He said. "Some feel it's not as fun to use condoms. Others like the element of thrill (that) unprotected sex gives them."

The most common form of STIs he sees among this age group are chlamydia, followed by herpes and gonorrhoea.

Most of the boys he treats are students, with the youngest at 15. The girls who see him tend to be working, with either older boyfriends or multiple partners.

Ms Sheena Jebal, founder of Nulife Care and Counselling Services, said most teens are aware of STIs but may assume they are "safe". This is either because they trust the person they have sex with or think that they won't contract diseases, she said.

She suggested that educating teenagers about STIs should take on a similar approach as the gory pictures printed on cigarette packs. Dr Lim said that while sex education is being taught in schools, some students switch off during the lessons.

"When students are taught in a scientific manner, they may find it sterile, so they aren't interested as they don't find it fun," he noted. "Instead they go online for information, which can worsen the problem."

Dr Wong Seng Weng, 40, a consultant medical oncologist at The Cancer Centre, said sexually active teenagers face the risk of getting cervical cancer when they get older.

He pointed out that if more young people are infected with the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted, it could lead to more women developing cervical cancer when they hit their 40s.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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