Sexually Transmitted Diseases

What Everyone Should Know About STDs

What is a Sexually Transmitted Disease?

STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) is an infection that is acquired through sexual contact. Sexually transmitted diseases or STDs, also referred to as sexually transmitted infections or STIs, do not refer to any one disease but include more than 25 infectious organisms that are transmitted through sexual activity.

What Causes STDs?

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are caused by bacteria or viruses. With the exception of viral infections, i.e. Genital Herpes, Genital Warts, Hepatitis, and HIV infection (AIDS), most STDs can be cured. The key to treatment is the word PROMPT, since many STDs, can cause serious medical problems if not immediately treated,

Some common STDs

There are many different STDs, but the most common ones in the United States are herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) type II (genital herpes), chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV and genital warts.

How are STDs spread?

STDs are almost always spread from person to person by sexual intercourse, most commonly by anal or vaginal intercourse but also through oral sex. Some STDs, such as hepatitis B or HIV infection, are also transmitted through blood-to-blood contact, through the sharing of needles or equipment to inject drugs, body pierce or tattoo. Pregnant women with STDs may pass their infections to infants during pregnancy or birth or through breastfeeding.

For more information on symptoms of STDs, how they are spread, how they are treated, how they can be prevented, see the listing of STDs.

How will I know if I have an STD?

You may notice the following signs or symptoms:

• For a Male
•  discharge from the penis
•  burning on urination
•  sore(s) on or around the penis or anus
• For a Female
•  unusual vaginal discharge
•  intense itching
•  stomach cramps, but not related to menstrual cycle
•  sore(s) on or around the vagina or anus

While there may be danger signs or symptoms, you can be infected without knowing it. If someone, such as your sex partner or Health Department tells you that you have been exposed to an STD, it is very important that you get tested and treated immediately!

How you can protect yourself from STDs?

You can help to prevent STDs by:

• Not having sex. Abstinence is the only sure way to avoid getting an STD.
• Having sex only with one uninfected person. If you're not in a monogamous relationship, be sure to: always use latex condoms, limit the number of partners you have, and have regular exams.
• Sex is considered safe if both you and your partner: are not infected, have never shot drugs, and have never had sex with anyone else
• Remember, although condoms can help reduce your exposure to STDs, they are not foolproof.

How are STDs diagnosed?

If your doctor suspects that you may be infected with a sexually transmitted disease, he or she will ask how many sexual partners you have had, and if any of them have had an STD.

Then, your doctor will perform an examination focusing on your genital area. He or she also will examine your anal area, and perform a pelvic exam in women. In addition, your doctor may swab the tip of the penis in men, or take a sample of any cervical discharge in women. The specimens are sent to a laboratory for testing. Similar measures may be done with any visible sores. Rarely, your doctor may use a needle to obtain a sample from inside a swollen lymph gland to confirm a specific diagnosis. Your doctor may make an initial diagnosis based on the results of your physical examination. For example, painful sores would suggest genital herpes, while painless ulcers might indicate syphilis. In this way, you can begin treatment for your infection as soon as possible, even before results of laboratory tests are available.

In the case of herpes, gonorrhea, and chlamydia infections, a definite diagnosis can be made only by laboratory tests on samples of discharge, while a blood test typically is used to confirm syphilis and HIV. Some specialized facilities also can diagnose syphilis with the use of a darkfield microscope, looking for the bacteria on a smear specimen. If you have one STD, your doctor probably will recommend that you get tested for HIV and other STDs, because the risk factors are similar. Also, you are more likely to get HIV if you are infected with another STD.

People who are diagnosed with an STD may be contacted by the health department so that their sex partners can be evaluated and treated. Most physicians urge patients to tell their sex partners if they have an STD so that their partners can seek medical attention. This is done for two reasons: First, some STDs are fairly silent infections and can be passed unnoticed between sex partners. For example, chlamydia may not cause symptoms in all those infected; however, the scarring effect of the bacteria can lead to infertility, especially in women. Second, STDs are seen as threats to public health, and with proper identification and treatment, the rates of infection can be reduced.

If you develop genital ulcers, you can take medications to decrease your risk of developing repeat episodes. However, because herpes often is shed into genital secretions without symptoms, there is no proof that this approach decreases herpes transmission. Therefore, most physicians prescribe daily antiviral medication for HSV II only in patients who have the disease return repeatedly. Condoms remain the best way to avoid potential herpes infection, since the virus can be present without any obvious sores or ulcers.

Who do I contact if I think I have an STD?

Are you afraid that you might have an STD?

Do you have questions on tests or treatments or need a doctor or clinic then call:

Whitmarsh Clinic at: 401-444-0483.

Or

Call the National Hotline at (800) 227-8922 or visit this CDC webpage. Trained health professionals are available to answer your questions and provide referrals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  All calls are private, personal and confidential .

Treatment

The treatment of STDs depends on the infection. In the case of gonorrhea or chlamydia, your doctor may prescribe oral antibiotics such as azithromycin (Zithromax) or ofloxacin (Floxin), or give an injection of an antibiotic called ceftriaxone (Rocephin) followed by oral doxycycline (many brand names).

Genital herpes is a lifelong infection with no cure. However, the duration of the blistering skin sores can be shortened if you treat genital herpes with an oral antiviral medication as soon as symptoms of an attack occur. If you have frequent attacks, you should ask your doctor for a prescription for an antiviral medication, such as acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), or valacyclovir (Valtrex) so that you will have it when you need it. Taking anti-viral medicine every day may reduce the frequency of attacks by 80 percent in people who have frequent episodes of severe genital herpes.

Syphilis usually is treated with injections of penicillin. Genital warts can be removed by freezing or by application of ointments meant to dissolve the wart.

HIV cannot be cured, but it can be treated with a drug combination called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). HAART can cause side effects, and the medications must be taken every day for the rest of your life. However, this drug combination has turned HIV from a fatal illness into a treatable, chronic disease.

Prognosis

Most STDs respond well to treatment. However, many patients develop repeat episodes of STDs because their sex partners are not treated, or because they continue to be exposed to STDs through unprotected sex. To help avoid STD reinfection, all sex partners also should be treated whenever any patient has an STD.

Genital herpes cannot be cured, since the virus remains dormant in nerves for the rest of a patient's life. However, many people do not notice any recurrences after the initial infection, and even the initial infection of HSV II often goes unnoticed. In people who do notice recurrent herpes flare-ups, about 40 percent have more than six flare-ups over a lifetime, while less than 10 percent have more than six flare-ups a year. In patients with HSV II, antiviral therapy can successfully suppress repeated episodes of genital ulcers, but it will not eradicate the virus.

HIV cannot be cured, but with careful medical attention, monitoring, and treatment, patients can live for years. HAART has been widely used only for the past seven years, so it remains unknown how long patients will continue to thrive on this therapy.