STD's (non-HIV)
This site is more geared towards HIV/AIDS information and
prevention, but at Streetwise we try to put out some information
on other STD's as well.
Everyone knows that STD's can be prevented throuth the practice of Safe Sex,
but not everyone knows the complications of the STD's that can be contracted from not practicing Safe
sex.
Here is a list of STD's and a brief synopsis of their symptoms and causes. An (f) next to a symptom means that that symptom is more common in females and an (m) means it's more common in males.
Herpes
Herpes is one of two main infections that is not caused by a virus for which there is no cure.
Symptoms for Herpes include:
Type 1 includes nasty sores and or blisters in Oral areas.
Type 2 includes sores and blisters in genital areas, including rectum.
*Fever
*Fatigue
*Muscle Pain
*Swollen Glands
*Flu-like symptoms
Symptoms usually show up 2-12 days after infection. Some symptoms are more
prominent for women during menstrual periods.
Oral sex with a partner with oral herpes can result in infection of oral herpes in genital region.
Symptoms can sometimes disappear, but they will reappear.
A sensation of itching, tingling or burning usually preceeds any skin change within 24 hours.
How to prevent infection:
Avoid contact with sores. Using condoms can reduce risk but it is still possible to contract the virus.
The best way to prevent contraction of the virus is to avoid it completely.
Kissing can also infect if one of the kissing party is infected. This mostly applies to type 1.
The virus may be transmitted when there are no lesions. This occurs more often in people who have had genital lesions(type 2)
for less than one year.
How to treat it:
Herpes is a virus, so therefore antibiotics are completely inaffective. There are creams and salves to reduce symptoms but the virus is never completely gone.
Anti-viraltherapy may reduece the frequesncy of occurances and length of outbreak.
Herpes fact:50 to 90% of adults have contracted the Herpes virus from the same group that causes Chicken Pox.
It is believed that that 1/5 of adults have contracted type 2.
1/3 of people who have contracted the virus will experience reoccurance.
Gonorrhea
Gonorhea is caused by a bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhea. This bacteria multiplies very quickly in moist areas such as the cervix, mouth and rectum.
Symptoms:
*Burning sensation in urination
*Slight fever(m)
*White discharge from vagina or from penis
*Pain and tenderness in genitalia(more commonly f)
*Rectal discomfort
*Joint pain
*Mild sore throat
*Pain in Bowels
Symptoms appear 2-14 days for males, and 7-21 days for females. If Gonorhea is in advanced stages, symptoms can include
*Abdominal pain(f)
*Bleeding between menstrual periods(f)
Up to 75% of women don't show many symptoms.
How to prevent infection:
Limit sexual partners. Use a condom, this is the best way to prevent infection of any STD, even though the efficiency rate isn't as high as abstinence.
Treatment:
Antibiotics are generally used to treat gonorhea. Such antibiotics include pennicillin, amplicillin and amoxicillin. It generally takes 1-2 weeks to cure.
Chlamydia
Chlamydia is the most common STD in the United States.
Clamydia is caused by the parasitic bacteria Clamydia Trachomatis. It is not like usual bacteria, so therefore it is very difficult to treat.
Symptoms for Chlamydia include:
*Burning and pain during urination
*Pain and swellingin testicles(m)
*Unusual vaginal discharge(f)
*Fever(uncommon)
*Unusual pain during intercourse(f)
*Cloudy discharge from penis(m)
*Vaginal redness(f)
*Itching near urithra(m)
*Itching and burning near vaginal area(f)
*Bleeding between menstrual periods(f)
*Lower abdominal pain(f)
Males usually don't have symptoms for chlamydia. If symptoms do appear in males, it is usually 1-3 weeks before they do. Up to 75% of women infected don't show symptoms either.
Prevention:
As with other STD's, using a condom is the most reasonable prevention device. It is also a good idea, if you do have it, to tell your partner so that you can get treated and not risk being infected again after treatment.
Treatment:
Antibiotics are generally used for chlamydia. However, penicillin does not work. It is more common for erythromynic and ofloxocin to be prescribed.
Genital Warts
The cause of venereal Warts is the Human Papilloma Virus. There are over 60 varieties of this virus that cause genital warts.
Symptoms:
Most people don't have any symptoms other than the warts around their genitalia.
They are small flesh coloured 'couliflower' like groths that can be anywhere around the genitalia or even inside the vagina(f), anus, urethra and cervix(f).
They may also appear flat and or discoloured.
Prevention:
Using a condom and limiting sexual partners is the best way to avoid infection, as with any STD.
Treatment:
There is no way to completely get rid of the HPV virus, but the warts can be removed using solutions, creams or other topical medications. Surgery and laser surgery are also an option to remove the warts.
Over one million cases of venereal warts are diagnosed each year in the U.S. It is believed that up to 1/3 of all sexually active teenagers have been exposed to the virus that causes this condition.
Syphilis
Syphilus is caused by the bacteria Treponema Palladium.
The symptoms for syphilis come in stages.
Stage 1 symptoms include:
*Sores on genitalia, anus, mouth or lips. It's not always all of them.
*Sores are firm, round and often painless.
Second stage:
*Break out in rash on hands, feet and palms
*Rashes can be pox like, puss filled bumps.
*White patches appear in mouth
*Scales on body
*Acne-like warts in genital area
*Fever
*Swollen glands
*Fair falling out in patches in infected areas
Stage three symptoms can be very serious.
Stage three is when the virus starts to infect bodily organs such as
*The brain
*Nerves
*Eyes
*Heart
*Blood vessels
*Liver
*Bones
*Joints
Stage three symptoms can show up years after infection.
Prevention:
Same as with other STDs, using a condom and limiting sexual partners is most effective in avoiding syphilis.
Any method in prevention works so long as you avoid contact with sores.
Treatment:
Antibiotics such as penicillin will kill off the infection, but if there has already been serious damage from the virus, such treatments will not reverse the damage.
In 1995 statistics, more than 68,000 people in the united states alone were infected with syphilis.
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