How To Guide

Syphilis is an ancient sexually transmitted disease which has claimed many famous people.

Beethoven, Schubert, John Keats, Van Gogh, Mozart, Oscar Wilde are only a few of the very famous people who died of syphilis because in early times there was no cure for this disease. At times, it was the ‘cure’ which actually killed the sufferers of syphilis as the cures included mercury and arsenic which are poisonous substances.

How is syphilis transmitted?

Typically a person infected with syphilis develops a sore or chancre and the infection takes place through this. The infection can take place during vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected person. Unfortunately syphilis is a disease which can lie dormant for years without any symptoms or there may be a sore which is unnoticed. Once it is latent, the infection can still be passed on, but if untreated the infected person will go into stage two of the disease.

Different stages of the disease

The first stage of the disease is the manifestation of one or many sores which are… Read More

Human papillomavirus is the umbrella term for various infections caused by the virus.

Human papillomavirus can cause more than one hundred different kinds of infections, of which more than 40 are sexually transmitted. It can affect both men and women and most people don’t even know that they have the infection. The infection is so prevalent that 40-50 percent of sexually active people may have it and be asymptomatic. In fact, if the body’s immune system is strong then it may be cured on its own within two years.

Of course, this depends on the strain of the virus. The common sites of infection are the genital areas, the mouth and throat. All strains of the virus are not benign. Some of them can cause genital warts. In more serious strains of infection there is greater likelihood of developing various cancers like cervical, vulvar, vaginal, anal and penile. HPV infection may also cause some cancers of the oropharynx (the middle part of the throat, including the soft palate, the base of the tongue, and the tonsils). However the cancers show… Read More

This sexually transmitted disease is also knows as clap and is more common than you realize.

Gonorrhea affects more sexually active young people than ever before. The majority (75 percent) who suffer from this disorder are between the ages of 15 and 29. As people are sexually active at a younger age, they are also more susceptible to infections. Unfortunately, often the infection is asymptomatic.

Complications of the disease

The disease takes two to ten days to present symptoms, if any. Whether symptomatic or not, if the infection takes root, it can go into reproductive organs of both sexes. If it is untreated, it can lead to infertility. In women it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and increases the risk of an ectopic pregnancy. Worse, it can spread to the joints and lead to infections in the heart valves and brain. People with gonorrhea are also more susceptible to HIV. Gonorrhea can be found in the rectum, pharynx and tonsils apart from the genitals.

If a woman is pregnant at the time of infection, she can have a miscarriage or… Read More

Genital warts, sexually transmitted, are more common than most people think.

Genital warts are an extremely contagious sexually transmitted disease causing the appearance of warts (benign tumors) in the genital areas on men and women. More common in women than men, they occur in the and around the vagina, the cervix and the anus in women. In men they may be found on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus. In case of oral-genital sex, they can even be found in the mouth.

They start off as very small, appear in clusters and, if untreated, get bigger, and have a cauliflower like appearance. Occasionally, they may disappear on their own. More often than not, they need to be treated. They cause extreme discomfort, itching and even bleeding.

Transmission and infection

As genital warts are transmitted through sexual and intimate contact, it is best to avoid contact with an infected person. While you can use protection, it really depends on the area where the warts are – the protection may not be enough. It… Read More

Genital herpes is a contagious sexually transmitted disease, which is proliferating.

Herpes is a viral disease and genital herpes is one of its manifestations. This sexually transmitted disease is caused by the Herpes simplex virus type (HSV-2).  Herpes is not curable, but it is treatable. As it is a viral infection, and the strain mutates rapidly, it works differently on different people and the severity of the infection and its symptoms vary greatly.

The virus stays in the body and is in the latent state most of the time. When it is active it results in sores and other symptoms. Often when the immune system is weakened or there are any physiological or biological disruption or even stress, it can result in a flare- up. Sometimes it becomes a vicious cycle – stress causes herpes to flare up and the knowledge that you have herpes causes stress!

How does herpes spread?

Herpes is not an airborne infection. It spreads from direct skin to skin contact. Regular, anal or oral sex with an infected person can spread the disease.… Read More

As you learn how to treat gonorrhoea you will understand that this isn’t the type of sexually transmitted disease that you can’t take care of. While you do want to take care of the problem as soon as you can, a person can make a full recover from it. You do want to take precautions though so you don’t get it but if you do, seeking medication attention is very important.

The Diagnosis for Gonorrhoea

There are some simple tests that your doctor can perform that can confirm gonorrhoea is present. If you think it is possible you should schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Your doctor will do an assessment as well as a physical examination. Most of the time there will be visible elements that confirm it at that time.

If the gonorrhoea is in the early stages your doctor may need to do a culture. This involves taking fluids from the body and evaluating them. The results of this type of testing can be found within 48 hours. A urine test can also confirm gonorrhoea but… Read More

Learning how to understand gonorrhoea is very important. This is a type of sexually transmitted disease (STD) that you will need to take care of. You also want to take precautions not to be spreading it to other people. Yet that is what often happens because a person doesn’t realize they have a serious problem.

While it may be scary to know you have an STD, gonorrhoea is very common due to how fast it can spread. It is also one of the easiest of them to cure. It is a type of bacteria and it will affect both men and women who are sexually active. Young teenagers taking part in sexual activity are also known to be diagnosed with it.

What does Gonorrhoea Affect?

When gonorrhoea is diagnosed and treated early then a person can make a very fast recovery from it. However, the bacteria can be extremely harmful to someone if they continue to allow it to spread without treatment. Part of how to understand gonorrhoea is what areas of the body it affects.

For men, the urethra… Read More

Two examples below

Kristel

Kristel had pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) for nearly three years, but had always been misdiagnosed with bladder and other infections. Only recently she found out today that she had PID which had been caused by two sexually transmitted diseases.

She had been a rape victim three years back as a result of which she got the STDs. She suffers from severe sharp pains in her lower abdomen, irregular bleeding, pain with sexual intercourse, discharge, nausea, and she also feels very tired all the time.

‘I still don’t know if I am infertile or not, and it is a horrible thought that I may never have kids, as I am only 19,’ she says.

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Mrs Chavis

Mrs Chavis has pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which does not have too many symptoms.  ‘It’s like one day I wasn’t feeling well, and I woke up with a fever and a headache that was out of this world. I went to the hospital, and they told me that I have PID.’

She was put on medication and she… Read More