Public Awareness About Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Taif ...
Sexually Transmitted Infections
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Sexually transmitted diseases are infections of your reproductive organs. Sexually transmitted diseases are very serious. They can make you very, very sick, and can leave you sterile. Some STIs, such as HIV, are deadly, and some, such as herpes, are incurable.
STIs are a common problem. Approximately 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases are diagnosed each year in the United States. Between 25-50 percent of Americans will contract an STI at some point in their lives. Women account for about half of all sexually transmitted infections that occur each year, and they suffer more frequent and severe long-term consequences than men. Most STIs are more easily transmitted to women than to men. Women are twice as likely as men to get gonorrhea, hepatitis B, and HIV (AIDS). While many people associate getting an STI with being young, postmenopausal women with low estrogen levels are actually at greater risk of these infections invading easily torn vaginal tissue. Women with disabilities have the same rates of sexually transmitted diseases as other women.
However, the good news is that you can protect yourself against STIs. In addition, some bacterial STIs, like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, are relatively easy to cure with antibiotics if they are caught early. Viral STIs, like genital herpes, genital warts, hepatitis B, and HIV, cannot be cured; however, the symptoms can be treated and controlled.
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When you have genital, anal, or oral contact with a person who has an STI, you can become infected. You only have to have contact with an infected area of another person to become sick yourself. This means you can get an STI without actually having intercourse. If the blood of people with HIV or hepatitis B gets into your body, you can become infected also.
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Be careful about your partners. Ask your partner about his or her sexual history. If you think you or your partner has a sexually transmitted infection, you need to see a health care provider for testing, counseling, and treatment. Remember that your partner can be infected and NOT LOOK SICK. Furthermore, an infected partner will not always know or disclose that he or she is infected with an STI. You should look closely to see if your partner has any sign of an STI -- a rash, a sore, redness, or discharge in the genital area. If you see anything you're worried about, don't have sex with that person!
Use a latex condom every time you have sexual contact. While they are not 100 percent effective, condoms greatly reduce your risk. A 1993 study showed that using condoms every time prevented HIV transmission for all but two out of 171 women with male partners who had HIV. However, eight out of 55 women became infected when their partners did not use a condom every time.
Use a foam, cream, or jelly with spermicide. These chemicals kill most STI organisms. Remember not to use a petroleum based lubricant like Vaseline or baby oil with a latex condom. It will cause the condom to dissolve!
Don't share vibrators or other sex toys.
Be careful about the alcohol or drugs you take. Alcohol and drugs are often factors when people have risky sex because they weaken good judgment and self-control. Don't make a mistake that could kill you because of alcohol and drugs.
Get a Hepatitis B immunization. The vaccine is safe and effective. Hepatitis B is a serious and sometimes fatal sexually transmitted infection.
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What Are the Symptoms of an STI?
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A woman with disabilities who has a damaging STI may have no symptoms at all. Thus, if you have engaged in unprotected sex and think you might have an STI, you should go to a health care provider to be tested.
If you have a spinal cord injury and you get an STI, you may also have symptoms and signs of autonomic dysreflexia. If you are having these kinds of problems and think you may have an STI, always tell your health care provider. An STI can cause the following symptoms in the genital area. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should see your health care provider right away.
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An STI may also cause symptoms that do not show up in the genital area, but affect your whole body. If any of the following symptoms persist, you should see your health care provider. These symptoms need to be treated, regardless of whether or not they are due to an STI.
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Why Is It Sometimes Hard to Tell if a Woman With a Disability Has an STI?
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For several reasons, STIs often go undetected or diagnosis is delayed in women with disabilities, leading to preventable pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.
Women with disabilities may not detect signs and symptoms of STIs, or they may mistake them for urinary tract infections, if they are unable to see them or feel discomfort from them.
Doctors who assume women with disabilities are not sexually active may fail to screen for STIs or educate them about safe sex practices.
Women with disabilities are discouraged from getting screened for STIs by inaccessible doctors' offices, difficulty getting onto the examination table, or previous experience with doctors not knowing how to handle disability-related symptoms during the exam, such as spasticity, imbalance, and autonomic dysreflexia.
Women with disabilities may not take medication prescribed for their STIs because they cannot swallow pills or open the bottle, and no alternatives were offered.
Presence of an STI may be a sign of sexual abuse, particularly in women with cognitive impairments, who live in institutions, or who need assistance with personal care.
Doctors Urged To Check Pregnant Women For Signs Of Medieval STI In Major Change To NHS Guidelines
DOCTORS should be on the lookout for syphilis in all pregnant women, according to new NHS guidelines.
Medics have noticed an "increasing number of diagnoses" of the medieval STI in both expectant mums and unborn babies.
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Doctors should be on the lookout for syphilis in all pregnant women, according to new NHS guidelinesCredit: GettyPreviously, healthcare professionals were on alert for rashes caused by rubella, parvovirus, measles, varicella, herpes, enterovirus and chickenpox.
But syphilis, which can cause reddish-brown spots, sores and warts, was added to the watch list on November 28, 2023.
GPs, midwives and other medical staff must now consider it as a possible diagnosis.
The guidelines state: "Rather than risk-assessing patients, it is recommended to test all pregnant women with a rash illness for syphilis."
This usually involves a physical examination and swab and blood samples being taken.
The most common way to catch syphilis is through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who is infected, according to the NHS.
But it can also be passed on to an unborn baby during pregnancy, by injecting drugs with an infected needle, or during a blood or organ transplant.
Syphilis was first detected in the 1490s and remained a significant medical problem until the mid-20th century.
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Mum fighting for life in front of kids after self-injecting 'skinny jab'But as treatments improved, syphilis cases reduced. They are now on the rise.
Diagnoses of infectious syphilis have doubled over the last decade, government data shows.
There were 8,692 cases in 2022 - the highest annual number reported since the 1940s. This compares to 7,543 the year before.
Most diagnoses are in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, but there was a 27 per cent rise in women between 2021 and 2022.
This includes mums-to-be and their future children.
According to the Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service (ISOSS), 906 of the 650,000 pregnant women who were screened in 2020 tested positive for syphilis.
Several presented to healthcare providers with a rash but were not initially assessed as doing so was not included in official recommendations.
Almost half (43 per cent) of patients required treatment before they had given birth.
Most cases were found in London (229), followed by the Midlands (195), the North West (145), and the North East and Yorkshire (128).
Three of their children were admitted to hospital for congenital syphilis.
Figures show there were 39 babies born with confirmed congenital syphilis in England between January 1, 2015, and the end of 2021.
However, officials fear the true number could be much higher.
An ISOSS spokesperson said: "As this was a retrospective review, it is possible that numbers, particularly in the earlier period, may be under-reported."
Syphilis progresses in four stages:
If treated, symptoms usually clear up within two months.
But a quarter of untreated patients will develop secondary syphilis, which usually involves a rash.
Typically, rashes appear during the secondary stage, which resolves in three to 12 weeks.
The risk of syphilis transmission to the feotus is higher in the second half of pregnancy.
It is estimated up to 40 per cent of babies with congenital syphilis are stillborn or die in their first four weeks of life.
While easy to treat if caught early (when symptoms may present as sores, warts, rashes, hair loss and headaches), syphilis can be hugely damaging in the long-term.
It can cause heart failure, seizures, memory difficulties, personality changes, blindness and dementia if untreated, experts say.
Symptoms of syphilis and its stages
THE symptoms of syphilis are often mild, making them difficult to spot.
They also tend to change over time, and come and go, so it is easy to presume you aren't infected, even when you are.
The most common symptoms of the infection include:
These signs may not appear until three weeks (or more) after you're infected.
Sometimes the symptoms can improve or go away completely, but if you have not been treated the infection is still in your body.
This means you can still pass it on and you're at risk of getting serious problems later on.
Potential complications include:
Syphilis tends to happen in stages.
Source: NHS and WHO
How Soon Do STI Symptoms Appear?
It depends on which sexually transmitted infection (STI) you have.
Symptoms can develop within a few days or weeks, but sometimes they do not appear until months or even years later.
Often there are few or no symptoms and you may not know you have an STI.
If there's any chance you could have an STI, go to a sexual health clinic or GP for a free and confidential check-up.
ChlamydiaSymptoms usually appear after 1 to 3 weeks but can start much later. Symptoms include:
About 50% of men and 70% of women who are infected do not have any symptoms.
Find out more about chlamydia.
Genital herpesSymptoms can appear after 4 to 7 days but might not start until months or years later. Symptoms include:
Most people do not have any symptoms when first infected.
Find out more about genital herpes.
Genital wartsIf genital warts appear, symptoms could start from 3 weeks to many months or even years after contact with the virus that causes them.
Symptoms include small, fleshy growths or bumps on the genitals or around the anus – these are usually painless, but may be itchy.
Most people with the virus that causes genital warts do not develop obvious warts.
Find out more about genital warts.
GonorrhoeaSymptoms usually appear within 2 weeks of being infected but could start much later. They include:
About 10% of men and 50% of women who are infected do not have any symptoms.
Find out more about gonorrhoea.
Pubic liceIt can take several weeks before any symptoms of pubic lice appear. Symptoms are the same for men and women, and include:
Find out more about pubic lice
ScabiesSymptoms of scabies can take up to 6 weeks to appear if you have never had them before. It may only take up to 4 days if you have had scabies before. Symptoms include:
Find out more about scabies.
SyphilisSymptoms usually appear after 2 to 3 weeks but could start earlier or much later. They include:
Symptoms are often not obvious and may come and go.
Find out more about syphilis.
TrichomoniasisSymptoms usually appear within 4 weeks but could start months later. They include:
About 50% of men and women who are infected do not have any symptoms.
Find out more about trichomoniasis.
HIVThe first symptoms may appear after 2 to 6 weeks. They can include:
Not everyone gets these symptoms, but in people who do they usually last 1 to 2 weeks.
After the symptoms disappear, you may not have any further symptoms for many years, even though the infection remains in your body.
Find out more about HIV.
Page last reviewed: 16 October 2023Next review due: 16 October 2026
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