Transcript STD and Avoiding Pregnancy

STD’s and avoiding Pregnancy
BY
NICK BUTTS, JACK CARMUSIN, MARK
BLAUER, CHARLES SPORN
What is an STD?
 Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections acquired by sexual contact.
You can catch sexually transmitted diseases any time you have unprotected sex
with a partner who is already infected. The organisms that cause sexually
transmitted diseases may pass from person to person in blood, semen or
vaginal fluids.
 It's possible to contract sexually transmitted diseases from people who seem
perfectly healthy — people who, in fact, aren't even aware of being infected.
That's because many sexually transmitted diseases cause no symptoms, at least
at first. The symptoms of several sexually transmitted diseases are also easy to
mistake for those of other conditions, so the correct diagnosis may be delayed.
Various STD’s
 Bacterial vaginosis
 Chlamydia
 Gonorrhea
 Hepatitis
 Herpes
 HIV/AIDS
 Human papillomavirus
 Pelvic inflammatory
 Syphilis
 Trichomoniasis
Symptoms of STD’s
 Sexually transmitted diseases have a wide range of symptoms.
 The first signs and symptoms of some STDs, occurring shortly after you're
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exposed to a sexually transmissible agent, are known as primary or acute
infection.
Symptoms may include: A sore or a cluster of sores or bumps, with or without
pain, on the genitals or in the oral or rectal area
Painful or burning urination
Swollen lymph nodes, particularly in the groin but sometimes more widespread
Fever and other flu-like symptoms appear a few days to three months after
exposure
Causes of STD’s
 More than 30 viruses, bacteria and parasites cause STDs. Many of these
organisms rely almost completely on sexual transmission to survive. In other
words, if you have one of these infections, you most likely got it from sexual
contact.
 Sexual activity plays a role in spreading many other infectious agents, although
it's possible to catch these infections without sexual contact.
 Intravenous drugs abusers have a high risk of HIV and hepatitis B, which
spread through needle sharing as well as sex.
What puts you at risk?
 Even between faithful and committed partners, STDs can happen. It's possible
to be infected with herpes, for example, and never realize it, then pass the
infection to your long-term partner. More often, though, people get sexually
transmitted infections from casual or new partners.
 Your risk of catching any STD depends on your sex, age and sexual practices, as
well as on the sexual practices and lifestyles of your potential partners. The
same factors determine which STDs you're most likely to be exposed to.
• General risk factors include:
- being sexually active
- starting sexual activity at an early age
- having high risk sex
- injecting drugs
- meeting people in public places or online for sex
Tests and diagnosis
 If your sexual history and current signs and symptoms suggest that you have an
STD, laboratory tests can identify the cause and detect co-infections you might
also have contracted.
 Laboratory tests of material from a genital sore or discharge are used to
diagnose the most common bacterial STDs at an early stage. Chlamydia may go
unnoticed at this stage in both men and women, though, delaying the diagnosis
until complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) occur. Women
can easily miss the symptoms or signs of gonorrhea as well.
Treatment
 Antibiotics can cure many sexually transmitted bacterial and parasitic
infections, including gonorrhea, syphilis, Chlamydia and trichomonas. A single
antibiotic dose, given orally or injected, is generally all you need to stop
gonorrhea when it's limited to the urethra and cervix. Typically, you'll be
treated for Chlamydia at the same time because the two infections often appear
together. Chlamydia treatment consists of a seven-day course of an oral
antibiotic.
 Sexually transmitted viral infections are not curable, but two such infections —
human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B — are preventable with vaccines
prior to exposure. You'll have fewer herpes recurrences if you take daily
suppressive therapy with a prescription antiviral drug, but you can still give
your partner herpes at any time.
Prevention
 Testing for a disease in someone who doesn't have symptoms is called
screening. Most of the time, STD screening is not a routine part of health care.
 Vaccines are available to prevent two viral STDs that can cause cancer —
human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B. The HPV vaccine is
recommended for all girls between ages 9 and 26, and the hepatitis B vaccine is
usually given to newborns.
 Inform all current partners and past partners that you have tested positive for
an STD.
 Safe sex: using condoms during each sexual encounter
Avoiding Pregnancy
 Steering clear of genital-to-genital contact with men - though not the preferred
solution for everyone - is the most surefire way to avoid conception.
 Settle on a birth control strategy (pill, cap, diaphragm, shot, implant, condoms
- so many to choose from!) and stick with it every time. Every time.
Bibliography
 Sexually transmitted diseases. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2010, from
Bing.com website: http://www.bing.com/health/article/mayo126783/ Sexually-transmitted-diseasesSTDs?q=sexually+transmitted+diseases&qpvt=STD's
 How to avoid getting pregnant. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.ehow.com/ how_4679_avoid-getting-pregnant.html
 Sexually transmitted diseases . (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/std/