We are in summer, and that means we lose control a bit. We lose our usual routines, we are less careful with our diet, exercise, and sleep…
Moreover, the season of fairs, concerts, and festivals begins, and on many occasions, this is accompanied by alcohol consumption, maybe other drugs, and sexual encounters.
All of this increases the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
What arte Sexually Transmitted Diseases?
STDs are infectious diseases caused by different microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, or parasites) that are transmitted through sex, whether vaginal, anal, or oral.
Here, I’m going to be a bit explicit because if these things aren’t talked about, they aren’t known. It’s not just about putting genitals in contact with each other, or genitals with the mouth or anus. When there is a transmission of fluids, we’ve got a problem. Let me explain.
If sexual toys are used or one person masturbates another without precautionary measures, we can have an issue. Let me explain, if two or more people are going to share a sex toy, it must be washed with soap and water after use and before passing it to another person. The same goes for hands.
I was myself very surprised when, reading and learning about this topic, I found out that if you masturbate someone who has an STD and then rub your eye without realizing it. Boom, eye infection. Yes, you can have, for example, gonorrhoea in the eye.
How does that sound?
But they are not only transmitted this way, they can also be contracted by sharing needles and coming into contact with blood, passing from mother to fetus during pregnancy, or passing from mother to baby during childbirth and breastfeeding.
There are more than 30 sexually transmitted diseases. Some of them are quite well-known such as gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, or Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) infection. Others that might be less known are different types of hepatitis, lymphogranuloma, or trichomoniasis.
What are the symptoms?
While there are many, I’ll list the symptoms of the most well-known diseases to avoid making this article too long. But don’t worry, I’ll provide plenty of links with information in the references.
Signs and symptoms take a minimum of 2 days to appear, and in some people, they may take months, which can cause the infected person not to suspect and delay seeking medical attention.
The most characteristic signs and symptoms are:
- Discharge from the penis or vaginal discharge. It can be thick and cloudy.
- Pain and difficulty urinating.
- In women, heavy periods or bleeding between periods.
- In men, pain and swelling in the testicles.
- Pain during bowel movements.
- Itching in the anus.
- Pain or discomfort in the lower abdomen.
This is a somewhat more complicated disease because, although most people who get infected do not have symptoms, the disease progresses through stages: primary syphilis, secondary syphilis, latent period, and tertiary syphilis.
Like gonorrhoea, if symptoms do appear, they take time to show up, between 20 and 40 days, which can delay seeking medical attention.
Primary: Generally, the disease first shows up with a small, painless sore at the site of infection. This phase lasts between 6 and 8 weeks, and the sore disappears on its own without treatment.
Secondary: Red or brown sores appear, but in this case, anywhere on the body, even on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, which are very contagious. Also, people in this phase may have fever, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, discomfort, and pain.
Tertiary: In this phase, symptoms can include numbness, lack of coordination, paralysis, blindness, and dementia.
Again, symptoms take time to appear, in this case between 7 and 21 days after infection.
In men: Clear and transparent discharge from the penis and pain when urinating due to inflammation of the urethra, the tube through which urine exits the bladder. There may also be pain or discomfort in the testicles.
In women: Increased bleeding during menstruation, bleeding between periods, increased vaginal discharge, changes in vaginal discharge (colour, odour, and amount), bleeding after intercourse, and abdominal pain.
Most of the time, it does not cause symptoms.
Quite sometime later, between 1 and 20 months after the sexual encounter, warts appear on the genitals, anus, and mouth. They can be flat or have a “cauliflower-like” appearance.
Between 2 and 20 days after contact with the virus, tiny blisters or painful sores appear. These lesions heal on their own, but the virus remains latent in our body and can reappear with signs or symptoms during times of high stress or if our immune system is weakened.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, in both men and women, can be asymptomatic or cause flu-like symptoms 2 to 4 weeks after exposure to the virus: fever, headache, muscle or joint pain, sore throat, and cough.
Other signs and symptoms that are less like the flu may include mouth sores, diarrhoea, weight loss, and swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck.
As with many other sexually transmitted diseases, it may not cause symptoms. The poor liver complains very little and doesn’t show itself until it’s quite affected.
The first signs and symptoms can take between 6 weeks and 6 months to appear, and although there are more, they can include: fever, extreme fatigue, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), and pale or gray-colored stools.
What serious complications do STDs have?
- In women: If left untreated for a long time, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy (dangerous because it occurs outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes).
- In men: It can cause a painful infection in the testicles.
- In both men and women, it can lead to infections in other parts of the body such as the skin and joints.
- In pregnant women: At the time of delivery, it can cause conjunctivitis in the newborn.
If left untreated, the infection can travel through the bloodstream, reach various organs, and cause long-term problems including in the heart, brain, or joints.
In pregnant women: Miscarriage/stillbirth or serious illness in the baby can occur, known as congenital syphilis.
- In women: Pelvic inflammatory disease causing pain in the abdomen and pelvis, bladder issues, and long-term infertility and ectopic pregnancies.
- In men: It can cause severe pain in the testicles.
- In babies born to mothers with the infection, it can be transmitted during childbirth and cause infections in the eyes, ears, or lungs.
During childbirth, if a woman has genital warts, they can be transmitted to the newborn.
In pregnant women, the virus can be transmitted to the newborn during childbirth, causing an infection that can lead to the death of the baby, known as neonatal HSV (Herpes Simplex Virus) infection.
This is an infection that affects the baby’s brain, skin, and other organs.
Long-term, liver damage can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
If left untreated, people with HIV can live for years with the virus dormant in their body without experiencing symptoms until they develop Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Over time, as the white blood cells (the body’s defences) die and more copies of the virus accumulate in the body, the person begins to suffer from various infections.
The immune system becomes increasingly weaker, and symptoms of common infections appear more frequently and last longer, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, fever, fatigue, or outbreaks of herpes (shingles), etc.
To conclude, I want you to see some of the myths surrounding STDs:
- Using a condom prevents all STDs 100%: False. It is crucial to debunk this. There are areas on and around the genitals that a condom cannot cover. The only way to avoid STDs 100% is not to have sex.
- There is more risk of STDs if you shave: True. This is not a myth! If you shave with a razor, it is more likely that you could get a cut or scratch, making it easier for an infection to occur.
- STDs are only transmitted through penetration: False. For example, oral sex or masturbation with the hand or sex toys used by someone with an STD can lead to infection. Or through skin-to-skin contact if there are lesions. However, if the item used for masturbation is clean, there is no risk of transmission.
- If a person does not have warts or sores around their genitals, they do not have an STD: False. We have seen that you can have an STD and be asymptomatic for a long time.
- If you wash after having sex, you can clean away viruses/bacteria and not contract an STD: False. Once the pathogen comes into contact with mucous membranes, blood, or a wound, it doesn’t matter if you wash.
- Rinsing your mouth or gargling after oral sex kills viruses and bacteria, and thus, prevents STDs: False. For the same reason as before.
- If the man does not ejaculate, you cannot get infected: False. Besides the fact that you can get infected just by coming into contact with lesions (ulcers, sores, warts), pre-ejaculate fluid also transmits the pathogens that cause the disease.
- Only people from the LGBTQ+ community get STDs: False. Anyone who has sexual relations is at risk. What is true is that men who have sex with men are the population group with the most cases.
- You can get HIV from hugging an infected person, kissing them, or sharing utensils: False. The infection is transmitted through sexual contact, sharing needles, blood transfusions from an infected person, and from mother to child during pregnancy (vertical transmission) and breastfeeding. It is also very important to know that if a person with HIV is undergoing treatment and the virus cannot be detected in their blood, they cannot transmit the virus.
Many of these diseases can be cured. For example, those caused by bacteria such as gonorrhoea, syphilis, and chlamydia are treated with antibiotics.
Others, caused by viruses such as different types of hepatitis viruses or the human papillomavirus (HPV), can be prevented with vaccines or treated with antiretrovirals and other medications, such as HIV and herpes virus infections.
What can you do if you think you might have an STD?
Basically, visit your primary care doctor to get tested for STDs. Testing for various diseases is important because it’s common to contract more than one at a time.
Depending on the STD, tests may include blood tests, urine tests, or taking samples from the genitals, anus, or throat.
References:
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases – Mayo Clinic
- Sexually Transmitted Infections – Medline Plus (USA National Health Institute)
- What are some types of and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or sexually transmitted infections (STI)?- NIH (USA).
- Sexually Transmitted Infections – World Health Organisation
Images:
Image by <a href=”https://pixabay.com/users/kieutruongphoto-5099306/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3392348″>Kiều Trường</a> from <a href=”https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3392348″>Pixabay</a>
Image by <a href=”https://pixabay.com/users/draconianimages-182808/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8302895″>John Collins</a> from <a href=”https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8302895″>Pixabay</a>
