STD's
By: Azeen Bemani
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
Signs and Symptoms include:
- Fever
- Chills
- Rash
- Night sweats
- Muscle aches
- Sore throat
- Fatigue
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Mouth ulcers
HIV has no cure, but if you're diagnosed with it, you can take combinations of medicines called "cocktails" which help prevent you to further being diagnosed with AIDS.
To prevent HIV, have protected sex and don't share needles.
Complications:
Pulmonary
Central Nervous System
Ocular Disease
Oseophageal Candidiasis
HIV can be passed to your child during your pregnancy, if you are on medications for it, it can reduce the percentage of your child being born with HIV.
Herpes
Signs and Symptoms include:
- Fever and flu-like symptoms
- Nausea or feeling sick
- Muscle aches
- Painful urination
- Tingling, burning, or itching sensation in area where blisters will appear
There is no cure for herpes, but there is a medicine that can be taken daily to help cope with them
To prevent herpes, have safe sex.
Complications
- Central Nervous System
- Ocular Herpes
- Vision loss
- Gingivostomatisis
- Urinary Retention
Having herpes while pregnant can often lead to miscarriages, have your baby premature, or be passed on to your unborn child to a deadly infection if not told to your doctor.
Chlamydia
Signs and Symptoms include:
Women:
- Abnormal vaginal discharge that may have an ordor
- Bleeding between periods
- Painful periods
- Abdominal pain with fever
- Pain when having sex
- Itching or burning in or around the vagina
- Pain when urinating
Men:
- Small amounts of clear or cloudy discharge from the tip of the peins
- Painful urination
- Burning or itching around the opening of the penis
- Pain and swelling around the testicles
Chlamydia is treatable with antibiotics.
To prevent chlamydia, have protected sex.
Complications:
- Other sexually transmitted infections
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
- Infection near the testicles (epididymitis)
- Prostate gland infection
- Infections in newborns
- Infertility
- Reactive arthritis
Chlamydia can affect your pregnancy by passing it onto your unborn child giving it pneumonia, an eye infection, or lead to a premature baby.
Gonorrhea
Signs and Symptoms include:
Women:
- discharge from the vagina
- pain or burning sensation while urinating
- the need to urinate more frequently
- sore throat
- pain upon engaging in sexual intercourse
- sharp pain in the lower abdomen
- fever
Men:
- Greater frequency or urgency of urination
- Pus-like discharge from the penis
- Swelling or redness at the opening of the penis
- Swelling or pain in the testicles
- Persistent sore throat
Gonorrhea can be treated with antibiotics such as ceftriaxone, azithromycin, and doxycycline.
To prevent yourself from getting gonorrhea, have safe sex.
Complications:
- Increased risk of AIDS/HIV
- Infertility in both men and women
- Complications in babies such as blindness
Syphilis
Signs and Symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Itching
- Mouth ulcer
- Rash on the palms and soles
- Sore throat
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Weight loss
- Rectal lining inflammation
Syphilis is treated with penicillin.
To prevent from getting syphilis, have safe intercourse.
Complications:
- Small bumps or tumors
- Stroke
- Visual problems
- Meningitis
- Dementia
If you are pregnant and have syphilis, you are at higher risk of having a miscarriage, stillbirth, or having your child die within a few days after birth.
Trichomoniasis
Signs and Symptoms include:
Men:
- Irritation inside the penis
- Mild discharge
- Slight burning after urination or ejaculation
Women:
- Greenish-yellow, frothy vaginal discharge with a strong odor
- Painful urination
- Vaginal itching and irritation
- Discomfort during intercourse
- Lower abdominal pain
Trichomoniasis is treatable with an oral antibiotic called Flagyl.
To prevent from getting trichomoniasis, have protected intercourse.
If you have trichomoniasis while pregnant, you may deliver prematurely, have a baby with a low birth weight, or pass on the infection to your unborn baby.
Pubic Lice (Crabs)
Signs and Symptoms include:
- Itching in the genital area
- Visible nits
- Crawling lice
- Mild fever
- Felling run-down
- Irritability
Pubic lice is treatable through over-the-counter pubic lice medicine such as A-200, RID, and Nix.
To prevent yourself from getting pubic lice, limit the number of people you have intercourse with.
Complications:
- Eye infections
- Skin infections
Hepatitis B
Signs and Symptoms include:
- Abdominal pain
- Dark urine
- Fever
- Joint pain
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Weakness and fatigue
- Jaundice
If your Hepatitis B is acute, it will go away on its own, but if its's chronic you may have antiviral medications, Intron A, or a liver transplant.
Usually now a days, Hepatitis B vaccines are given three or four injections in the course of six months which will clear the chance of you getting Hepatitis B. To prevent from get this disease, know your partners' status, don't use illicit drugs, have protected intercourse, be careful about where you get tattooed or pierced.
Complications:
- Scarring of the liver
- Liver cancer
- Liver failure
If you are pregnant when you have Hepatitis B, as soon as your baby is born, give them the vaccines and they will be almost 100% cleared of having any chance of getting the disease.
HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)
Signs and Symptoms include:
- Genital warts
- Common warts
- Plantar warts
- Flat warts
To treat HPV, you can take Salicylic acid, Condylox, Trichloroacetic acid, Aldara, or have a surgical procedure to have it removed.
To prevent from getting HPV, you can take a shot when you are 11 or 12 years old and have protected sex.
Complications:
- Cervical cancer
- Oral and upper respiratory lesions
If you are pregnant and have HPV, you can get genital wars or develop abnormal cell changes on your cervix.
Mycoplasma Genitalium
Signs and Symptoms include:
Women:
- Vaginal ithcing
- Burning on urination
- Pain during intercourse
Men:
- Urethral discharge
- Pain during intercourse
- Arthritis
Mycoplasma Genitalium can be treated through antibiotics.
To prevent from getting this STD, practice having safer sex and if you have intercourse after getting it, you need to have a follow up test done to make sure it's not present in your body.
Complications:
- May weaken your immune system
- May get you exposed to chlamydia
If you are pregnant with this disease and do not tell your doctor, it may be an ectopic or a tubal pregnancy which can be fatal for an unborn child.
Sources
- https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/hiv-aids
- https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/reduce-your-risk/pregnancy-and-childbirth/
- http://www.webmd.com/genital-herpes/guide/common-symptoms
- http://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/herpes-simplex
- http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/chlamydia
- http://www.healthline.com/health/gonorrhea#Symptoms2
- http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/syphilis/basics/prevention/con-20021862
- https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/pubic-lice
- http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/trichomoniasis?page=2#1
- http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hepatitis-b/basics/complications/con-20022210
- http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hpv-infection/symptoms-causes/dxc-20199064
- http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm