Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Your Health Information
What are STDs?
They are a group of contagious infections that are spread almost entirely by sexual contact. Until recently, the common name for STDs was venereal disease or VD, and most people were only aware of syphilis and gonorrhea. Today, we know that STDs encompass a much broader variety of specific illnesses.
A person could conceivably get an STD from an object or surface infected by a carrier of the disease, but this is highly unlikely. With the exception of viral hepatitis, the microorganisms that cause STDs are extremely fragile and cannot survive long outside the human body.
Who is at risk of getting an STD?
Anyone who is sexually active is at some risk of infection. However, certain lifestyles expose some people to much greater risk than others. Celibate or monogamous lifestyles are the safest. On the other hand, frequent sexual contact with many partners is a major risk factor for exposure to all types of STDs.
How do you know if you have an STD?
That's a major obstacle to controlling STDs. Many victims don't even know they are infected because symptoms are mild or nonexistent. Gonorrhea often produces no symptoms in women, except vaginal itching or discharge. Chlamydia may cause only minor burning or discomfort during urination. Viral hepatitis may cause only mild fatigue and fever. The symptoms of herpes may be mistaken for other types of skin rashes.
STD symptoms are not always minor. As a general rule, anytime you notice a sore, swelling or discharge from anywhere near the genital area, you should suspect an STD until proven otherwise.
In addition, if your sexual partner is diagnosed as having an STD, you may be infected too. See a physician for a checkup, even if you have no symptoms.
How can STDs be controlled?
As long as there is sexual contact between humans, there will be the potential to spread STDs. However health officials recommend a number of steps for controlling these diseases.
Early Medical Testing
If you think you have and STD, get diagnosis immediately from a physician or health clinic. Tests for STDs are simple, inexpensive, fast and relatively painless. However, they are not generally included in a routine medical examination. You have to ask for them. Particularly if you are a woman (since female symptoms of gonorrhea and chlamydia are so often mild), be sure that STD tests are included in your regular medical checkups. The Pap test does not detect STDs.
Appropriate treatment
If an STD test is positive, various types of treatment are available. In most cases, gonorrhea can be cured with penicillin or erythromycin. Tetracycline and erythromycin are effective against chlamydia, while penicillin works against syphilis.
Prevention
The use of condoms by males can reduce the chances of catching or transmitting STDs. On the other hand, use of birth control pills does not prevent the spread of STDs.
Persons who know they have an STD should consult a physician or health clinic before resuming sexual relations. Everyone can adopt a lifestyle that lowers his or her STD risk. This includes refraining from sex with many, anonymous partners and avoiding sex with partners who do not take this precaution.
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection that may lead to severe inflammation of the urinary tract in men. In women, it can result in inflammation of the reproductive organs and potentially lead to sterility. Or, it may spread to other parts of the body, resulting in crippling arthritis and liver damage.
The danger of sever complications from gonorrhea is greatest for women, since the early stages of the disease may produce no visible symptoms. Medical experts estimate that pelvic inflammatory disease, the most common complication of gonorrhea, afflicts 275,000 women each year, threatening them with abnormal pregnancies and sterility.
Syphilis
Caused by a spirochete, a type of bacterium, syphilis attacks the nervous and cardiovascular systems and may lead to paralysis, blindness, insanity, disfiguration and eventual death. The disease can cause serious birth defects by damaging the skin, bone, eyes and liver of the fetus.
Perhaps the most dangerous thing about syphilis is the lack of serious symptoms early in the disease and the long period of time (one to 20 years) before serious and permanent damage to organs occurs.
