Gonorrhoea
Gonorrhoea
is an infection caused by bacteria called Neisseria
Gonorrhoeae,which can be indentified by a simple smear
test. An infected person starts showing symptoms within
2 to 21 days. Mostly both women and men report with
severe burning urination and thick yellow discharge
from the genital passages. If gonorrhea is not treated
it can spread to pelvic organs and cavity causing
pelvic inflammatory disease. It can also result in
scarring and permanent damage to the pelvic organs.
If the infection is not treated properly it can cause
infertility both in men and women.
Syphilis
Syphilis is also a bacterial infection caused by Treponema
Pallidum. The symptoms usually start in 5 to 90 days.
A painless brown or red sore may appear on the site
of infection. The most possible places are mouth of
the penis, vagina and even in breasts. Many victims
ignore the lesion since it is painless and serological
tests show negative.
Usually the symptom
disappears with or without treatment. Then the lesions
may reappear after 1 month to 6 months with rashes
all over the body and flu-like symptoms. Though the
symptoms disappear with time, but if the person is
not treated, he still has Syphilis. If left untreated
it can cause heart disease, brain damage, blindness
and even death. Syphilis is a deadly disease as it
carries the infection that could affect the unborn
or the off springs.
Chancroid
Chancroid is also spread by sexual contact with an
infected individual. The bacteria are more likely
to invade the sexual organs at a point of a pre-existing
injury, such as a small cut or scratch. The likelihood
of transmission is greater if a person is very active
sexually and does not practice good personal hygiene.
The first sign of infection is one or more sores or
raised bumps on the genital organs. They are surrounded
by a narrow red border, which becomes filled with
pus and eventually ruptures leaving a painful open
sore. In untreated cases chancroid bacteria infects
the lymph glands in the groin.
Herpes
Herpes are lesions caused
by a virus called Herpes Simplex Virus. Symptoms usually
appear in 1 to 30 days after having intercourse. The
person may not have any symptoms or can feel small
painful blisters on the genital organs or in the mouth.
The affected may experience flu-like symptoms. The
blisters last from 1 to 3 weeks. And they disappear
like the genital warts but the virus
The genital
wart appears as a soft, flesh toned, bumpy growth
that often looks like miniature pieces of cauliflower.
They can be small or clusters in large masses. They
can be found on the vulva, in the vagina, on the cervix,
penis, anus and urethra. Another virus called Human
Papilloma Virus causes wart growths. Some genital
wart viruses can cause cancer of the cervix, vulva,
vagina or penis.
AIDS
AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.
Human Immune Deficiency Virus is called HIV that primarily
attacks the person's immune system and later affects
other parts of the body. The immune system is what
allows the body to fight off diseases, from common
cold to vaginal infections and cancer. When the virus
attacks the immune system, the immune system is not
able to fight infection because a person affected
with the virus may not show any symptoms and does
not know whether he or she has the virus. It may take
several months to over 10 years for a person carrying
virus to develop symptoms of AIDS. Even though it
spread through sexual contact chances are there to
be infected by blood transfusion and needle pricking.
Stage 1 The patient is without any
symptoms. Sometimes lymph node enlargements can be
found. This stage can be understood by the investigation
of CD4 lymphocyte count and test for HIV is positive.
Stage ll Lack of immunity symptoms.
Mostly found on respiratory tract and oral ulceration
develops.
Stage lll It is well marked by weight
loss. Persistent fever, chronic diarrhoea, oral candidiasis,
bleeding tendency from gastro intestinal tract is
frequent. Tuberculosis is very common and other bacterial
infections may develop.
Stage lV A number of life threatening
complications will appear which shows the fully acquired
immunity deficiency symptoms. Later brain and nervous
complications will worse the condition.
It is common fear that every body has these symptoms
since it corroborates their natural resistance like
other diseases. The infection is confirmed only by
the prescribed tests.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases is confirmed
only by the laboratory findings such as smear, serological
tests, culture and special tests like Elisa, immunoassay
tests. If you've tested positive for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency
Virus) you are infected with the virus that causes
AIDS. It does not mean you have AIDS. A diagnosis
of AIDS is made when a person has specific signs or
symptoms of immune system deficiency.
HIV attacks the body's immune system by destroying
white blood cells called CD4 cells (also T4 or T helper
cells). CD4 cells help the immune system fight infection.
When you are HIV positive, your risk of infection
will be reflected by the CD4 count.
The viral load test is a way of measuring how much
virus is present in the blood. The viral load and
the CD4 count, along with evaluation of your signs
and symptoms, will help your doctor determine when
to start antiviral medication and whether you are
at risk of developing an opportunistic infection.
Prevention
Persons
with single sexual partner are the least likely to
get HIV. If you do have or had more than one partner
or are unsure if your partner has more than one partner,
it is very important to use condoms to prove a barrier
for any infectious organisms.
