GONORRHEA

GONORRHEA:
     Gonorrhea also known as "the clap" is a common sexually transmitted infection. It is also visible in the genital tract, mouth and rectum.

CAUSES:
      Gonorrhea is caused by the bacterium called Neisseria gonorrheae.
    
MODE OF TRANSMISSION: 

• Unprotected sexual contact (including, vaginal, anal and oral sex)
• Can be transmitted through vaginal and seminal fluids
• Can be passed by the mother to her baby by vaginal childbirth

SYMPTOMS:
     Neisseria gonorrheae bacteria can live in vaginal fluid and in semen. Incubation period may take from 2 to 14 days. Symptoms usually appear within 4 to 6 days after you are infected.
     The following are the symptoms of Gonorrhea:
     
     MALES: 

• Infectious urethritis (inflammation of the urethra)
• Painful or burning sensation while urinating
• urinating urgency
•  abdominal pain
• Unsual discharge of puss from the penis (yellow, white or green in color)
• fever
• cramps
• nausea or vomitting 
• anal discharge and bleeding, pain in bowel movement if infection is in rectum
• If not treated infertility

     FEMALES:

• Dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse)
• Dysuria (painful urination)
•  Fever
• urinary urgency
• vaginal discharge and bleeding
•  cramps
• nausea or vomitting
• anal dicharge and itching, pain in bowel movement if infection is in rectum
• Difficulty in pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy and other dangerous complications of prenancy)
• infertility

     Eye Disease:

• neonatal and adult blindness by conjunctivitis

     Other Conditions:

• Proctitis (inflammation of the rectum)  
• skin lesions 
• joint infection (pain and swelling joints) 
• meningitis 
• endocarditis 
• epididymitis 
• prostitis 
• pelvic inflammatory disease 
• perihepatitis 
• septic abortion
• chorioamnionitis during pregnancy 

PREVENTION:
    
     Gonorrhea is spread by sexual contact with an infected person. Avoiding all forms of sexual activity is the only absolute way to prevent from being infected.
     However, safe sex practices may reduce your risk. The proper use of latex condoms, either the male or female type, greatly decreases the risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease. You need to wear the condom from the beginning to the end of each sexual activity.
      
Treatment:

     Gonorrhea may be treated with the right medicines prescribed by the doctors.
     Treatment failure is possible with HIV co-infection and extended therapy is sometimes required.
     
IMPORTANT NOTE:

• Do not self-medicate on any kind of Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Have yourself tested if you have symptoms of Gonorrhea
• If you had sexual contact with a person known to have STIs.
• If you are engaging in high-risk sexual practices.

PROGNOSIS:

     Prognosis is excellent with proper treatment. Treating sexual contacts of affected individual helps break cycle of infection.









Sources:
Fishbein's Illustarted Medical and Health Encyclopedia
www.wikipedia.org
www.epigee.org

CHLAMYDIA

Chlamydia:
     Chlamydia is a bacterial infection spread solely through of sexual contact. It is also known as "silent epidemic"..

CAUSES:
      Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis.
     Chlamydia is a risk factor for contracting HIV, due to their ecological association or shared risk of exposure, and biologically facilitated transmission of one infection by the other.

MODE OF TRANSMISSION: 

• Unprotected sexual contact (including, vaginal, anal and oral sex)
• Can be passed by the mother to her baby by vaginal childbirth

SYMPTOMS:
     Chlamydia bacteria can live in vaginal fluid and in semen. About 70 percent of chlamydial infections have no symptoms, thereby naming it the "silent" disease. Symptoms usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after you are infected. Those who do have symptoms may have an abnormal discharge (mucus or pus) from the vagina or penis or experience pain while urinating. These early symptoms may be very mild.

     MALES: 

• Infectious urethritis (inflammation of the urethra)
• Painful or burning sensation while urinating
• Unusual discharge from the penis (less viscious and lighter in color than Gonorrhea)
• Swollen or tender testicles
• If left untreated can cause epididymitis (painful inflammation of epididymis)
• If not treated within 6-8weeks it can cause sterility (inability to effect sexual reproduction)
• It is also a potential cause of prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland)

     FEMALES:

• Dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse)
• Dysuria (painful urination)
•  Fever
• Unusual vaginal bleeding
• urinary urgency
• Cervicitis (inflammation of the uterine cervix)
• Asymptomatic infection that is not detected, approximately half will develop PID (pelvic inflammatory disease, generic term for inflammation of the uterus, fallopian tube and ovaries)
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Difficulty in pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy and other dangerous complications of pregnancy)

     Eye Disease:

• Chlamydia conjunctivitis (for both male and female)

     Other Conditions:

• Lympogranuloma verereum (infection of lymph node and lymphatics)
• Genital ulceration
• Swollen lymph nodes in the groin and other regions of the body
• Proctitis (inflammation of the rectum) 

PREVENTION:
    
     Chlamydia is spread by sexual contact with an infected person. Avoiding all forms of sexual activity is the only absolute way to prevent from being infected.
     However, safe sex practices may reduce your risk. The proper use of latex condoms, either the male or female type, greatly decreases the risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease. You need to wear the condom from the beginning to the end of each sexual activity.
      
Treatment:

     Chlamydia may be treated with the right medicines prescribed by the doctors.
     Treatment failure is possible with HIV co-infection and extended therapy is sometimes required.
     
IMPORTANT NOTE:

• Do not self-medicate on any kind of Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Have yourself tested if you have symptoms of Chlamydia
• If you had sexual contact with a person known to have STIs.
• If you are engaging in high-risk sexual practices.

PROGNOSIS:

     Prognosis is excellent with proper treatment. Treating sexual contacts of affected individual helps break cycle of infection. 










Sources:
Fishbein's Illustarted Medical and Health Encyclopedia
www.wikipedia.org
www.epigee.org

CHANCROID

Chancroid:
     Chancroid is a bacterial infection spread solely through of sexual contact. It is also known as soft chancre.

CAUSES:
      Chancroid is caused by the fastidious Gram-negative streptobacillus called Haemophilus ducreyi.
     Chancroid is a risk factor for contracting HIV, due to their ecological association or shared risk of exposure, and biologically facilitated transmission of one infection by the other.

MODE OF TRANSMISSION: 

• Unprotected sexual contact 
• Engaging with high-risk sexual behaviors

SYMPTOMS:
     Within 1 day - 2 weeks after getting chancroid, a person will get a small bump in the genitals. The bump becomes an ulcer within a day of its appearance. The ulcer characteristically:

• Ranges in size from 1/8 inch to 2 inches across
• Is painful
• Is soft
• Has sharply defined borders
• Has a base that is covered with a grey or yellowish-grey material
• Has a base that bleeds easily if it is banged or scraped
• painful lymphadenopathy occurs in 30 to 60% of patients.
• dysuria (pain with urination) and dyspareunia(pain with intercourse) in females

     About half of infected men have only a single ulcer. Women frequently have four or more ulcers, with fewer symptoms.
     The initial ulcer may be mistaken as a "hard" chancre, the typical sore of primary syphilis, as opposed to the "soft chancre" of chancroid.
     About half of the people who are infected with a chancroid will develop enlarged inguinal lymph nodes, the nodes located in the fold between the leg and the lower abdomen.
     In half of people who have swelling of the inguinal lymph nodes, the nodes will break through the skin and cause draining abscesses. The swollen lymph nodes and abscesses are often called buboes.

     Locations: 
    
      MALES: 

• Foreskin
• Groove behind the head of the penis
• Shaft of the penis
• Head of the penis
• Opening of the penis
• Scrotum

     FEMALES:

• Outer vagina lips (Labia majora). "kissing ulcers" may develop. These are ulcers that occur on opposite surface of the labia. 
• Inner vagina lips (Labia minora)
• Fourchette
• Vestibule
• Clitoris
• Perineal area (area between genital and anus)
• Inner thighs

PREVENTION:
    
     Chancroid is spread by sexual contact with an infected person. Avoiding all forms of sexual activity is the only absolute way to prevent from being infected.
     However, safe sex practices may reduce your risk. The proper use of latex condoms, either the male or female type, greatly decreases the risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease. You need to wear the condom from the beginning to the end of each sexual activity.
      
Treatment:

     Chancroid may be treated with the right medicines prescribed by the doctors.
     Large lymph node swellings need to be drained, either with a needle or local surgery.
     Treatment failure is possible with HIV co-infection and extended therapy is sometimes required.
     
IMPORTANT NOTE:

• Do not self-medicate on any kind of Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Have yourself tested if you have symptoms of Chancroid
• If you had sexual contact with a person known to have STIs.
• If you are engaging in high-risk sexual practices.

PROGNOSIS:

     Prognosis is excellent with proper treatment. Treating sexual contacts of affected individual helps break cycle of infection.









Sources:
Fishbein's Illustarted Medical and Health Encyclopedia
www.wikipedia.org
www.epigee.org

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

WHAT is STIs?

     Sexually Transmitted Infections or STIs have been well known for over hundreds of years. In the past, these infections are mostly been referred as Sexually Transmitted Diseases or STDs. Until in 1990's, it is commonly known as Venereal Diseases or VDs. In recent years, it is preferred as Sexually Transmitted Infections or STIs as it has a broader range of meaning; a person may be infected and may potentially infect others.

Mode of Transmissions:
     STIs may be transmitted by human by human sexual behaviors including:

• Vaginal Intercourse
• Oral Sex
• Anal Sex
• IV Drug Needles (after it was used by an infected person or sharing needles)
• Childbirth
• Breastfeeding

TYPES of SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS:
     BACTERIAL:

• Chancroid (Haemophilus ducreyi)
• Chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis)
• Gonorrhea (Neissera gonorrhoeae) colloquially known as "the clap"
• Granuloma Inguinale (Klebsiella granulomatis)
• Syphilis (Treponema pallidum)

      VIRAL:

• Viral Hepatitis
• Herpes simplex (Herpes simplex virus 1,2)
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Molluscum Contagiosum Virus (MCV)

     PARASITES:

• Crab louse (Pthirus pubis) colloquially known as "carbs" or "pubic lice"
• Scabies (Sarcoptes scabiei)

     PROTOZOAL:

• Trichomoniasis (Trichomonas vaginalis) colloquially known as "trich"