Other
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Since HIV came around, these other
nasty little things have sort of gotten swept under the carpet; however, they do
exist, are very unpleasant and need to be remembered. Unlike HIV, these all are either curable, treatable, preventable
by vaccine and/or are not life-threatening.
However, some of them are nastier than others. Certain ones, like hepatitis, may lead to death in people,
although that isn’t very common. Also,
unlike HIV, condoms and dental dams will not protect you from all of these
diseases. Safer sex practices are
effective in preventing gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, trichomoniasis and
hepatitis; however, herpes, crabs, scabies and genital warts may be transmitted
regardless of condom and dental dam use.
Because of their being of less threat than HIV, I won’t be spending a
whole lot of time on these, but here’s a brief overview of the most common ones:
These little bugs are considered the
common cold of STDs. Although annoying,
they are harmless. They do not transmit
any other diseases, and the only possible reaction you may have is if you
happen to be very allergic to them (everyone is at least a little bit allergic
to them; that’s why they itch). You can
get these from any close contact with someone who is infected, which actually
does include some casual contact such as sharing beds, towels, etc., in
addition to sex. Unfortunately, safer
sex practices will not protect you from these vermin, but they are pretty
easily disposed of, and as I stated earlier, are relatively harmless. These things are, in fact, insects, just
like head lice, and are visible to the naked eye. They tend towards pubic hair and leg hair most often, although
may be found on other hairy parts of the body as well, although the hair on the
top of your head is a denser than they like, so you most likely will not find
any there. They attach themselves to
the base of the hair and feed by biting the skin and drawing blood. The symptoms usually begin about a week or two
(sooner if you’ve had them before) after infection and include excessive
itching, red spots where they have fed, little brownish/black spots on
underwear (their feces), and actually seeing the things. They look like very tiny crabs (hence their
name), although are rather light colored, and can sometimes be confused for
little scabs. They don’t move much, so
don’t expect to see things moving around on you. You may also find their nits (eggs) fused to hairs, which look
just like little brown balls attached to the hair. There are a few methods of getting rid of them, but the best
option would be go to the drug store and get medication specifically for their
disposal, such as RID. You will apply a
shampoo-like medication to the hair, leave it on for about 10 minutes and then
wash it out. After that, you must comb
out any dead lice and nits that remain.
You will then need to repeat this process in a week to 10 days to catch
any newly hatched nits that weren’t killed or combed out the first time. However, if you’re diligent enough, you can
usually clear up the problem in one treatment.
Shaving is somewhat effective, although it may not work (it’s really
hard to make sure you’ve shaved EVERY hair off) and is not usually
necessary. You must also make sure you
wash all clothing and bedding in HOT water to prevent reinfecting
yourself. You would also be wise to
refrain from sex until after you’ve completed your second treatment.
Scabies are usually listed with STDs,
but can be transmitted very easily through any skin to skin contact. These are yet another insect, specifically a
mite. They burrow underneath the skin
and initial lesions look like fine wavy dark lines with a small sore at the
end. They can pop up anywhere on you,
but are most frequently found in the finger webs (the skin between your
fingers). They usually don’t occur on
the face in adults. They also
itch. A topical cream is used and is
left on the skin for 24 hours, which will usually cure the problem; however, it
may take a week or two to stop itching.
Every member of the household should be treated simultaneously.
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection and
can be transmitted through oral, anal or vaginal sex. In men, symptoms occur between 2 to 14 days after infection and
include a yellowish-green discharge from the penis and painful urination. In women, symptoms occur between 7 and 21
days after infection and include painful urination and the yellowish-green
discharge. If left untreated, some
complications could occur. It’s
possible, but unlikely, that you will never show symptoms. It is easily curable with antibiotics.
Chlamydia is very similar to gonorrhea
and is transmitted the same way. In
fact, if you are infected with one, you will frequently be infected with
both. One big difference is it is more
likely you will not show symptoms, and when left untreated, does have some
serious effects. Men are more likely to
show symptoms than women. The symptoms,
if they are going to occur, generally appear 7 to 28 days after infection and
include painful and/or frequent urination and a clear or yellowish
discharge. This is also easily cured
with antibiotics.
Syphilis, like gonorrhea and chlamydia
is transmitted via oral, vaginal or anal sex and is also bacterial. The first symptoms typically occur two to
four weeks after infection. There are
three stages of the disease. The first
stage includes a sore in the area where infection occurred. This sore is painless and heals within 4 to
8 weeks if left untreated. The second
stage typically occurs 6 to 12 weeks following infection and includes more
lesions. Other symptoms may include
swollen glands, nausea, fever, jaundice and aches and pains. The final stage usually occurs about two
years after infection and include more lesions and a whole host of other
symptoms, including insanity. This is
also treated with antibiotics.
Yet another bacteria that is
transmitted via oral, vaginal or anal sex.
However, most men will not have any symptoms, but may pass the disease
onto others. In women, the symptoms are
a frothy, greenish-yellow vaginal discharge.
I could find no information indicating common complications if left
untreated, but who would want a nasty discharge? This, like the other bacterial infections, is treated with
antibiotics.
Herpes is a viral infection, therefore
there is no cure. There are effective
treatments though. There are two types
of herpes, oral and genital. Oral herpes
(cold sores) is very common (it is estimated 90% of adults carry this virus);
however, you may also have the genital virus orally or the oral virus on your
genitals. The symptoms are painful
sores that generally heal in about 10 days.
While sores are present is when you are most contagious, although the
virus may also be passed when no sores are present. Transmission generally occurs when a person comes into physical
contact with the sores, such as during sex.
Typically, you will have the largest outbreak of sores the first year
you are infected, but then they become less common. Once you have this virus, it is likely you will have it for the
rest of your life.
Genital warts are caused by the human
papilomavirus (HPV), so is obviously also a virus. The symptoms are soft, moist, small pink or red swellings and are
usually clustered together to resemble cauliflower and typically occur one to
six months after infection. Again,
since it is a virus, there is no cure, but a doctor can remove the warts;
however, relapse is common.
Next to HIV, hepatitis is the most
dangerous to your health of the STDs.
There are two common types of the hepatitis virus, which are called
hepatitis-A virus (HAV) and hepatitis-B virus (HBV), and both primarily attack
the liver. There are four other stains
as well (hepatitis-C, hepatitis-D, hepatitis-E and hepatitis-G), but they are
not as common, and one of them, hepatitis-G, may actually be helpful to people who
are infected with HIV (if infected with hepatitis-G before being infected with
HIV).
HAV is usually transmitted by contact
with fecal matter (shit), such as may occur during anal sex, but is most
frequently transmitted via contaminated food, particularly in underdeveloped
countries. Blood and other body fluids
may also transmit the virus. Unlike
HBV, HAV will not turn to a chronic
condition. The body will typically kill
the virus off after the initial acute infection, and once symptoms begin, the
person is no longer contagious and will develop an immunity to the virus
afterwards. It typically has an
incubation period of about 2 to 6 weeks, and symptoms usually last 4 to 8
weeks.
HBV is transmitted the same way HIV
is. It has an incubation period of
about 6 to 25 weeks. In most people, the
disease will last as long as HAV does; however, some people develop a chronic
condition.
Symptoms may vary from a minor
flu-like illness to fatal liver failure, depending on the individual’s immune
response. The most common symptoms are
nausea, vomiting, fever, hives, aches, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and
eyes), dark urine and a general feeling of not being well. Death is possible in severe cases, but is
not common. Once infected, there are
effective treatments.
There are vaccines for HAV and HBV. These include three shots at certain
intervals, and do not usually have side effects. Currently, it has become common for children to be immunized for
hepatitis as part of their regular immunizations, but that is a relatively
recent phenomenon. As far as I know,
there are no vaccines for the other strains of hepatitis.