Sexually transmitted disease (patient information)

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Sexually transmitted disease
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
When to seek urgent medical care?
Diagnosis
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Sexually transmitted disease?
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
Prevention
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that you can get from having sex with someone who has the infection. The causes of STDs are bacteria, parasites and viruses. There are more than 20 types of STDs, including

• Chlamydia
• Gonorrhea
• Herpes Simplex
• HIV/AIDS
• HPV
• Syphilis
• Trichomoniasis

Most STDs affect both men and women, but in many cases the health problems they cause can be more severe for women. If a pregnant woman has an STD, it can cause serious health problems for the baby.

What causes Sexually transmitted disease?

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that you can get from having sex with someone who has the infection. The causes of STDs are bacteria, parasites and viruses. There are more than 20 types of STDs, including Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Herpes Simplex, HIV/AIDS, HPV, Syphilis, Trichomoniasis

Who is at highest risk?

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that you can get from having sex with someone who has the infection.

When to seek urgent medical care?

In case you feel that you are developing the symptoms of the disease refer your doctor.

Diagnosis

STI tests may test for a single infection, or consist of a number of individual tests for any of a wide range of STIs, including tests for syphilis, trichomonas, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, hepatitis and HIV tests. No procedure tests for all infectious agents. STI tests may be used for a number of reasons:

• as a diagnostic test to determine the cause of symptoms or illness
• as a screening test to detect asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections
• as a check that prospective sexual partners are free of disease before they engage in sex without safer sex precautions (for example, in fluid bonding, or for procreation).
• as a check prior to or during pregnancy, to prevent harm to the baby
• as a check after birth, to check that the baby has not caught an STI from the mother
• to prevent the use of infected donated blood or organs
• as part of the process of contact tracing from a known infected individual
• as part of mass epidemiological surveillance

Not all STIs are symptomatic, and symptoms may not appear immediately after infection. In some instances a disease can be carried with no symptoms, which leaves a greater risk of passing the disease on to others. There is often a window period after initial infection during which an STI test will be negative. During this period the infection may be transmissible. The duration of this period varies depending on the infection and the test.

Treatment options

If you have an STD caused by bacteria or parasites, your health care provider can treat it with antibiotics or other medicines. If you have an STD caused by a virus, there is no cure. Sometimes medicines can keep the disease under control. Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not completely eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading STDs. There are many different kinds of STDs, and the types of treatment are as varied as their symptoms. No STD is harmless. Even the curable ones can cause serious consequences if left untreated. HIV is of particular concern as biological evidence demonstrates the increased likelihood of acquiring and transmitting HIV when STDs are present.High risk exposure such as that which occurs in rape cases may be treated prophylacticly using antibiotic combinations such as azithromycin, cefixime, and metronidazole

Where to find medical care for Sexually transmitted disease?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Sexually transmitted disease