Sexually transmitted diseases
The SYMPTOMS of sexually transmitted
diseases (STD) are often impossible to detect
initially, but if your partner is infected, or you have
a sexual relationship with someone who is
promiscuous, then a check-up is essential. If
symptoms do manifest themselves, they are
likely to take the form of a discharge from the
vagina, penis or anus, or itching or soreness
around the genitals or anus, or a lump or rash on
the genitals, anus or mouth.
If you suspect you may have a
sexually transmitted disease, you should see
your doctor or clinic straight away. You can find
the telephone number of your nearest clinic by
looking up 'special clinic', 'venereal disease' or
'VD' in the telephone directory, or by phoning
your local hospital. You will be tested as quickly
as possible, and if the test is positive, you will be
advised to contact your recent sexual partners,
as they too may need treatment. Avoid sex until
you are clear of the disease.
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome, and the disease is caused
by the human immuno-deficiency virus, known as
HIV Once it is inside the body, this virus invades
the white blood cells, which normally fight off
disease, then it multiplies and destroys them. It
also breeds inside the brain. Three to four years
normally elapse between infection with HIV and
any subsequent development of the symptoms
associated with AIDS.
As AIDS develops the body's
natural defences become depleted, and the AIDS
patient is increasingly likely to contract diseases
that a healthy body would normally ward off, and
so rare forms of cancer and pneumonia develop.
Sometimes AIDS patients are attacked by
several infections at once, such as candida,
herpes and TB. At the same time, the brain may
succumb to increasingly severe dementia.
Somewhere between one in ten and one in three
of those infected with HIV are likely to develop
AIDS. As yet there is no cure for AIDS. AIDS
usually progresses through various infections and
stages of increasing debility to the eventual death
of the sufferer.
The virus is present in
body fluids, primarily semen and
blood. It may also be present in saliva, though
research indicates that saliva seems to
present little risk. Having anal intercourse with an
infected partner is the most likely way of catching
AIDS, and 80 per cent of British cases so far
have been male homosexuals.
The second most common way of
contracting the disease is through infected blood.
Almost a quarter of Britain's haemophiliac
population now carry HIV because they have
been injected with the clotting agent collected
from infected blood. (Haemophiliacs are born
without the blood-clotting factor, and can suffer
severe bruising from a minor injury, and bleed to
death from a cut unless they receive the clotting
factor from donated blood.) HIV in the blood may
also be transmitted on infected needles, and drug
addicts are the third most highly at risk group of
the population.
To become HIV positive you do not
have to be homosexual or promiscuous, a drug
addict or a haernophiliac. Heterosexuals are also
at risk. Even a heterosexual in a steady
relationship stands the risk of contracting the
disease if their partner has been infected in a
previous relationship. Therefore when
embarking on any new relationship, it is safest to
wear a condom.
Gonorrhoea is caused by the bacterium
gonococcus, which cannot survive outside the
body and is transmitted only by sexual
intercourse, and never (as is sometimes
imagined) on toilet seats or towels. In men the
urethra, along which urine passes from the
bladder, is infected, and there is sometimes pain
on urinating and a thick discharge from the penis
within a week after infection. In homosexual men
the rectum may be infected, with the possibility of
irritation and discharge from the anus. In women,
gonorrhoea infects the cervix, urethra and
rectum, and, as with men, there may be
discharge and pain on urinating. If infection
spreads to the uterus there is a 10 per cent
chance that the fallopian tubes may be blocked,
causing sterility. Often, however, there are no
symptoms in either men or women.
The treatment for gonorrhoea is
usually a single dose of antibiotics such as
penicillin, with a check-up afterwards to make
sure the infection has cleared. If gonorrhoea is
not diagnosed and treated, serious complications
can develop. Men may suffer epicliclymitis - pain
and swelling in the testicles; women may suffer
peritonitis - inflammation of the membranes of the
abdomen. Both sexes could develop gonococcal
septicaernia, an infection of the bloodstream with
skin rashes and arthritis. In serious cases,
sterility can result in both sexes. Pregnant
women with gonorrhoea may pass it on to their
babies, who can be born with gonococcal
opthalmia, an acute inflammation of the eyes.
Complications are, however, relatively rare
nowadays.
Non-specific urethritis or NSU can be
identified by lumps, soreness or itching around
the genitals, anus or mouth. There may also be a
discharge from the vagina or penis. The
treatment is usually a two-week course of
antibiotics for anyone who has had contact with
an infected person. During treatment, patients
are asked to give up alcohol, as this can bring
about a recurrence of the symptoms.
Complications can occur, and these are similar to
those for gonorrhoea, but fortunately early
diagnosis and treatment can prevent these. It is
possible for a man to be periodically reinfected
with NSU without changing his sex partner, and
no explanation has so far been put forward for
this. However, both partners will need treatment
each time NSU manifests itself.
Syphilis is quite rare in Britain today. It
affects women less than men, and its main
victims are male homosexuals. Symptoms
appear between 10 days and 12 weeks after
infection. In the primary stage of the disease a
small hard sore or chancre appears on the penis,
vagina or rectum. It is painless and usually
disappears very quickly. A few weeks later, in the
secondary stage, the patient is feverish, with
swollen glands and itching skin. The disease is
curable with antibiotics, but if for some reason it
should not be treated, serious complications will
develop many years later. Until the advent of
antibiotics, tertiary syphilis used to be quite
common, with patients eventually suffering from
dementia and dying a slow, agonizing death.
Chlamycliais one of the most common
STDs and is caused by a bacterial parasite called
chlamydia trachomatis. The disease is diagnosed
by a swab test, and treatment is with antibiotics.
Symptoms in men include a whitish yellow
discharge from the penis, frequent 'burning'
urination, and redness at the tip of the penis.
Women may notice a discharge, a frequent need
to urinate, and mild discomfort which they may
mistake for vaginitis or menstrual cramps.
However, many women experience no symptoms
until they develop complications such as pelvic
inflammatory disease, a serious condition which
can result in infertility. Babies born to infected
mothers may suffer from eye infection, which is
sometimes serious, or pneumonia.
Genital herpes is a viral infection
transmitted through sexual intercourse. It is very
similar to the other sort of herpes, which causes
cold sores, and can also be caught by having oral
sex with someone who has active cold sores.
The symptoms are itching, pain in the groin,
discomfort on urinating and fever, followed by the
appearance of painful red blisters on the vulva or
penis, which burst to form ulcers. After about 10
days the symptoms disappear and the patient
appears to be cured. But the infection is only
lying dormant and may recur at any time,
particularly when the patient is under stress.
There is as yet no treatment for this disease.
While the disease is dormant, it is safe to have
sex without infecting one's partner, but it is
impossible to predict the next attack, so the risk
of infection remains. If the infection is active at
the end of a pregnancy, a Caesarean section
may be performed to prevent the baby becoming
infected in the birth canal.
Genital warts are unpleasant but painless
and can be treated quite easily. They are small
lumps that appear on the penis, vulva, or anus
and are mildly contagious. The treatment
involves either painting the warts with a
preparation called poclophyllin, or freezing them
off with liquid nitrogen. An association has been
identified between genital warts and cervical
cancer, so it is important to get rid of them as
soon as possible, and to have regular cervical
smears.
Thrush is a fungal infection that develops in
certain conditions in the vagina. It is sometimes
linked to taking the Pill, and if it recurs frequently,
a different method of contraception may be
advisable. A man may carry thrush, though he
usually manifests no symptoms. Thrush causes
vaginal soreness and itching, and a thick white
discharge. The doctor will probably prescribe
anti-fungal cream, to be used by both partners,
and vaginal pessaries, though oral treatments are
available too. Some women find that natural
yoghurt in the vagina is effective. Avoid hot
baths, and wearing tights, tight jeans and nylon
knickers.
Trichomoniasis is one of the most
common and least serious of all sexually
transmitted diseases and may be passed on by
bad hygiene practice in the use of towels as well
as by sexual contact. It can exist in a
symptomfree form and some people act as
passive carriers for the disease. However, it can
also cause discharge and pain in urinating in both
sexes. Several drugs are available for treatment
and their success rate is high.
SO REMEMBER ALWAYS USE A CONDOM !!!