Most Common Types of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

A. Chlamydia

This infection is easily spread because it often causes no symptoms and may be unknowingly passed to sexual partners.

How Do I Know if I Have Chlamydia?
It is not easy to tell if you are infected with chlamydia since symptoms are not always apparent. But when they do occur, they usually include the following:

Symptoms in Women

• Vaginal discharge that may have a bad smell
• Bleeding between periods
• Painful periods
• Abdominal pain with fever
• Pain when having sex
• Itching or burning in or around the vagina
• Pain when urinating

Symptoms in Men

• Small amounts of clear or cloudy discharge from the tip of the penis
• Painful urination within three weeks of infection
• Pain and swelling around the testicles

How Is Chlamydia Diagnosed?
There are several different tests your doctor can use to check for chlamydia. He or she will probably use a swab to take a sample from the urethra in men or from the cervix in women and then will send the specimen to a laboratory to be analyzed.

How Is Chlamydia Treated?
If you have chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics. Your doctor will also recommend your partner(s) be treated as well to prevent re-infection and further spread of the disease. With treatment, the infection should clear up in about seven days. It is important to finish all of your antibiotics even if you feel better. Do not have sex until you have taken all of your medication. Women with severe infection may require hospitalization, intravenous antibiotics (medicine given through a vein), and pain medicine.

What Happens if I Don't Get Treated?
If left untreated, the infection can damage the fallopian tubes (the tube connecting the ovaries to the uterus), causing pelvic inflammatory disease or even infertility (the inability to have children), and untreated chlamydia infection could increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilized egg implants and develops outside the uterus.) Furthermore, chlamydia can cause premature births (giving birth too early) and the infection can be passed along from the mother to her child during childbirth, causing an eye infection or pneumonia in the newborn.

How Can I Prevent Infection?
To reduce your risk of infection:

• Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.
• Limit the number of sex partners, and do not go back and forth between partners.
• Practice sexual abstinence, or limit sexual contact to one uninfected partner.
• If you think you are infected, avoid sexual contact and see a doctor.

Any genital symptoms such as discharge or burning during urination or an unusual sore or rash should be a signal to stop having sex and to consult a doctor immediately. If you are told you have chlamydia or any other STD and receive treatment, you should notify all of your recent sex partners so that they can see a doctor and be treated.

Because chlamydia often occurs without symptoms, people who are infected may unknowingly infect their sex partners. Many doctors recommend that all persons who have more than one sex partner, especially women under 25 years of age, be tested for chlamydia regularly, even in the absence of symptoms.

B. Genital Warts

Warts are caused by viruses and can appear anywhere on the body. Those that show up in the genital area are caused by the human papilloma virus, commonly called HPV, and are easily transmitted by sexual contact. After a person has been infected, it may take one to three months for warts to appear. Some people who have been infected never get warts. If you think you have been infected, see your doctor, even if you cannot see warts.

What Do Genital Warts Look Like?
Genital warts look like small pink or red growths in or around the sex organs. The warts may look similar to the small parts of a cauliflower or be very tiny and difficult to see. They often appear in clusters of three or four, and may grow and spread rapidly. They usually are not painful, although they may cause mild pain, bleeding and itching.

How Do I Know I Have Genital Warts?
Like many STDs, HPV does not always have visible symptoms. But when symptoms do occur, warts may be seen around the genital area. In women, warts can develop on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the cervix (the opening to the uterus), or around the anus. In men, genital warts are less common. If present, they may be seen on the tip of the penis, the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus. Genital warts also can develop in the mouth or throat of a person who has had oral sex with an infected person.
Because there is no way to predict whether the warts will grow or disappear, people who suspect that they have been infected should be examined and treated, if necessary.

What Tests Are Used to Detect Genital Warts?
Your doctor may perform the following tests to check for genital warts:

• An examination of visible growths to see if they look like genital warts
• A fluid sample test for gonorrhea and chlamydia
• A blood sample test for syphilis
• A complete pelvic exam and Pap smear (for women)
• Biopsy of cervical tissue to make sure there are no abnormal cells that could develop into HPV-related cervical cancer. A biopsy involves taking a small sample of tissue from the cervix and examining it under a microscope.
• Examination of the rectum

Tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis are taken because STDs often occur together and share similar symptoms. Sometimes female patients are referred to a gynecologist (a doctor who specializes in female reproductive health) for further testing and biopsy.

How Are Genital Warts Treated?
Unfortunately, no treatment can kill the virus that causes the warts. Your doctor can remove the warts with laser therapy or by freezing or applying chemicals. Surgery may be necessary for warts that are large or difficult to treat. Still, recurrence remains a problem. You may need to return to your doctor for more treatment.

What Should I Do While I Have the Warts?

• Keep the area as dry as possible.
• Wear all-cotton underwear. Man-made fabrics can irritate the area and trap moisture.

What Happens If I Don't Get Treated?
Unfortunately, despite treatment, having HPV can increase your risk of cervical cancer or cancer of the penis. But not all forms of the virus are associated with these cancers. If you have genital warts, it is important to get annual check-ups to screen for cervical or penile cancer.

How Can I Prevent Infection?
Your best bet at preventing infection is to abstain from sex or limit sexual contact to one uninfected person. If that is not an option, condoms may provide some protection, but condoms are not 100% effective since they do not cover the entire penis.

C. Gonorrhea

Also called the "tulo," gonorrhea is a contagious disease transmitted most often through sexual contact with an infected person. Gonorrhea may also be spread by contact with infected bodily fluids, so that a mother could pass on the infection to her newborn during childbirth or to her baby through household contact. Both men and women can get gonorrhea. The infection is easily spread and occurs most often in people who have many sex partners.

What Causes Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can grow and multiply easily in mucus membranes of the body. Gonorrhea bacteria can grow in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix (opening to the womb), uterus (womb), and fallopian tubes (egg canals) in women, and in the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body) in women and men. The bacteria can also grow in the mouth, throat, and anus.

How Common Is Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a very common infectious disease.

How Do I Know if I Have Gonorrhea?
Not all people infected with gonorrhea have symptoms, so knowing when to seek treatment can be tricky. When symptoms do occur, they can include the following:

Symptoms in Women

• Greenish yellow or whitish discharge from the vagina
• Lower abdominal or pelvic pain
• Burning when urinating
• Conjunctivitis (red, itchy eyes)
• Bleeding between periods
• Spotting after intercourse
• Swelling of the vulva (vulvitis)
• Burning in the throat (due to oral sex)
• Swollen glands (due to oral sex)

In women, symptoms usually start about 21 days after infection, but often symptoms are so mild that they escape notice. Many women with gonorrhea discharge think they have a yeast infection and self-treat with yeast infection medications purchased over-the-counter. Because vaginal discharge can be a sign of a number of different problems, including tumors, it is best to always seek the advice of a doctor to ensure proper diagnose and treatment.

Symptoms in Men

• Greenish yellow or whitish discharge from the penis
• Burning when urinating
• Burning in the throat (due to oral sex)
• Swollen glands (due to oral sex)

In men, symptoms usually appear two to five days after infection, but it can take as long as 30 days for symptoms to begin.

How Is Gonorrhea Diagnosed?
Your doctor will use a swab to take a sample of fluid from the urethra in men or from the cervix in women. The specimen will then be sent to a laboratory to be analyzed. You also may be given a throat or anal culture to see if the infection is in your throat or anus. You may need to wait for several days for your tests to come back from the lab.
Gonorrhea and chlamydia, another common STD, often occur together, so you may be tested and treated for both.

Can Gonorrhea Be Cured?
Yes. Gonorrhea can be treated and cured.

How Is Gonorrhea Treated?
To cure the infection, your doctor will give you either an oral or injectable antibiotic. Your partner should also be treated at the same time to prevent re-infection and further spread of the disease. It is important to take all of your antibiotics even if you feel better. Also, never take someone else's medication to treat your illness. By doing so, you may make the infection more difficult to treat.

In addition,

• Tell anyone you have had sex with in the last three months that you are infected. This is important because gonorrhea may have no symptoms. Women, especially, may not have symptoms and may not seek testing or treatment unless alerted by their sex partners.
• Don't have sex until you have completed taking all of your medicine.
• Always use condoms when having sex.

What Happens if I Don't Get Treated?
Untreated gonorrhea can cause serious and permanent problems in both women and men.

• In women, if left untreated, the infection can damage the fallopian tubes (the tube connecting the ovaries to the uterus), causing pelvic inflammatory disease or even infertility, and untreated gonorrhea infection could increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilized egg implants and develops outside the uterus), a dangerous condition for both the mother and baby.
• In men, gonorrhea can cause epididymitis, a painful condition of the testicles that can sometimes lead to infertility if left untreated. Without prompt treatment, gonorrhea can also affect the prostate and can lead to scarring inside the urethra, making urination difficult.

Gonorrhea can spread to the blood or joints. This condition can be life threatening. Also, people with gonorrhea can more easily contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. People with HIV infection and gonorrhea are more likely than people with HIV infection alone to transmit HIV to someone else.

How Does Gonorrhea Affect a Pregnant Woman and Her Baby?
Gonorrhea in a pregnant woman can cause premature delivery or spontaneous abortion. The infected mother may give the infection to her infant as the baby passes through the birth canal during delivery. This can cause blindness, joint infection, or a life-threatening blood infection in the baby. Treatment of gonorrhea as soon as it is detected in pregnant women will lessen the risk of these complications. Pregnant women should consult a doctor for appropriate medications.

How Can I Prevent Infection?
To reduce your risk of infection:

• Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.
• Limit the number of sex partners, and do not go back and forth between partners.
• Practice sexual abstinence, or limit sexual contact to one uninfected partner.
• If you think you are infected, avoid sexual contact and see a doctor.
• Any genital symptoms such as discharge or burning during urination or an unusual sore or rash should be a signal to stop having sex and to consult a doctor immediately. If you are told you have gonorrhea or any other STD and receive treatment, you should notify all of your recent sex partners so that they can see a doctor and be treated.

 

D. Hepatitis B

What Is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a serious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Infection with this virus can cause scarring of the liver, liver failure, liver cancer, and even death.
Hepatitis B is spread in infected blood and other bodily fluids such as semen, vaginal secretions, saliva, open sores, and breast milk.

What Happens to People With Hepatitis B?
In most cases (90%-95%), hepatitis B causes limited infection. Usually people manage to fight off the infection successfully within a few months, developing an immunity that lasts a lifetime. (This means you won't get the infection again.) Blood tests show evidence of this immunity, but no signs of active infection.

However, some people don't get rid of the infection. If you are infected with hepatitis B for more than 6 months, you are considered a carrier, even if you have no symptoms. This means that you can transmit the disease to others by having unprotected sex, deep kissing, or sharing food or drinks. Being a carrier also means that your liver is more prone to injury. For unknown reasons, the infection eventually goes away in a very small percentage of carriers.
Some carriers go on to develop chronic hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis is an ongoing infection of the liver that can lead to cirrhosis. Cirrhosis, or hardening of the liver, causes liver tissue to scar and stop working.

If you are carrying the virus you should not donate blood, plasma, body organs, tissue, or sperm. Tell your doctor, dentist, and sex partner that you are a hepatitis B carrier.

How Do I Know I Have Hepatitis B?
Symptoms of acute infection (when a person is first infected with hepatitis) include:

• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes and/or a brownish or orange tint to the urine)
• Unusually light colored stool
• Unexplained fatigue that persists for weeks or months
• Flu-like symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting
• Abdominal pain

Often, symptoms occur 1-6 months after exposure. An estimated 40% of those infected do not know how they acquired the infection. People with chronic active hepatitis experience similar symptoms, but their fatigue is much more severe, and they can have confusion or disorientation.

How Is Hepatitis B Diagnosed?
If your doctor suspects that you may have hepatitis B, he will perform a complete physical examination and order blood tests to look at the function of your liver. Hepatitis B is confirmed with blood tests that detect various antibodies (infection fighting cells) against the virus. If your disease becomes chronic, liver biopsies (tissue samples) may be obtained to detect the severity of the disease.

How Is Hepatitis B Treated?
If you get to a doctor within 2 weeks of an exposure, you'll receive immediate immunization with the Hepatitis B vaccination and a shot to boost the immune system to fight off the infection. But if you get sick, bed rest is usually necessary to speed recovery. Some doctors recommend a high-calorie, high-fat diet, and suggest that sufferers try to eat as much as possible despite the nausea.

Also, take extra care of your liver! Now is not the time to drink alcohol, or take Tylenol (acetaminophen) as they can harm the liver. Check with your doctor before taking any other medications, herbal remedies, or supplements as some of them can worsen liver damage. If your hepatitis persists beyond 6 months and is active (chronic active hepatitis), your doctor may prescribe much more aggressive treatment. If it's chronic but not active, your doctor may just watch you closely.

People with chronic active hepatitis are treated with a combination of drugs. The immune system boosting medicine interferon alpha is injected for at least 6 months. This drug does not cure the disease, but improves the liver inflammation in about 20% of sufferers. Interferon does have some undesirable side effects, including: malaise, depression, and loss of appetite and it can lower the number of white blood cells. Another drug often given in combination with interferon is Lamivudine (Epivir). This drug is taken orally once a day.

Can a Pregnant Woman Give Hepatitis to her Baby?
Yes. A pregnant woman can spread the hepatitis virus to her baby at the time of birth. (It is unlikely that an infected woman will spread the virus to her baby during pregnancy.) Many babies infected with hepatitis B develop long-term liver problems. All newborn babies should be given the vaccine for hepatitis at birth and during their first year of life.

How Can I Avoid Becoming Infected, or Infecting Others?

• Get vaccinated (if you have not already been infected)
• Use condoms every time you have sex
• Wear gloves when touching or cleaning up body secretions on personal items, such as bandages/band aids, tampons, and linens
• Cover all open cuts or wounds
• Do not share razors, toothbrushes, manicuring tools, or pierced earrings with anyone
• Do not share chewing gum or pre-chew food for a baby
• Make certain that any needles for drugs, ear piercing, or tattooing are properly sterilized
• Clean areas with blood on them with 1 part household bleach and 10 parts water

Can I Catch Hepatitis B From Blood Transfusions?
The chance of catching hepatitis B from receiving blood transfusions is unlikely because donated blood is tested for the virus. Any infected blood is discarded.

 Who Should Be Vaccinated for Hepatitis B?

• All newborn babies
• People who are exposed to infected blood or body fluids of friends or family members
• People who use needles to take recreational drugs
• All people who have sex with more than one person
• Health care providers who may come in contact with the virus
• People working in day care centers and institutions caring for children and prisoners

Is There a Cure?
Currently, there is no cure for hepatitis B. Luckily, the disease is limited in most acute cases and occasionally disappears in those with chronic disease.

 

E. Genital Herpes

Genital herpes is a highly contagious infection usually spread through intercourse with a person with infected sores, but it can be passed through oral or anal sex.
Genital herpes can also be transmitted (spread) to a newborn during birth if the mother has an active infection.

What Causes Genital Herpes?
Usually, this infection is caused by the herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) although herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), the virus responsible for cold sores, may occasionally cause this disease.

How Do I Know if I Have Genital Herpes?
Most people infected with genital herpes have very minimal or no signs or symptoms of their disease. The first attack of herpes usually follows this course:

• Skin on or near the sex organ becomes inflamed. Skin may burn, itch or be painful.
• Blister-like sores appear on or near the sex organs.
• Sores open, scab over, and then heal.

Symptoms that may also be present when the virus first appears include:

• Swollen glands
• Fever
• Headache
• Burning when passing urine
• Muscle aches

The first outbreak of herpes can last for several weeks. After the outbreak, the virus retreats to the nervous system, where it remains inactive until something triggers it to become active again. Typically, another outbreak can appear weeks or months after the first, but it almost always is less severe and shorter than the first episode. Although the infection can stay in the body indefinitely, the number of outbreaks tends to go down over a period of years.

How Often Do Outbreaks Happen?
How often outbreaks occur depends on the person. On average, people with herpes experience about four outbreaks a year. The first outbreak usually is the most painful and takes the longest to heal. The pain and recovery time often decrease with each outbreak.

What Triggers an Outbreak?
It depends on the person. Some commonly reported triggers include:

• Stress
• Illness
• Surgery
• Vigorous sex
• Diet
• Monthly period

How Are Genital Herpes Diagnosed?
Your doctor can diagnose genital herpes by visual inspection if the outbreak is typical, and by taking a sample from the sore(s). But, HSV infections can be difficult to diagnose between outbreaks. Your doctor may check for ulcers internally -- on the cervix in women and the urethra in men. Blood tests that detect HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection may be helpful, although the results are not always definite.

How Is Genital Herpes Treated?
There is no cure for genital herpes, but your doctor can prescribe anti-virus medicines that may help the sores heal faster. Over-the-counter painkillers may help with the discomfort.
If recurrences of your genital herpes are frequent, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication to suppress them.

How Does Genital Herpes Affect a Pregnant Woman and Her Baby?
Outbreaks of genital herpes during pregnancy have been associated with miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-maturity, and herpes infection causing severe brain injury and possible blindness in the baby. Still, women with herpes can give birth to healthy babies. If you have herpes and plan to have children, discuss your illness with your doctor.

How Can I Protect Myself From Herpes?

• Do not have sex with someone who has an open sore on his or her sex organs.
• Always use a latex condom during sex. Also use a spermicide that contains nonoxynol-9.
• Limit your number of sex partners.

Can Herpes Be Cured?
There is no cure for herpes. Once a person has the virus, it remains in the body. The virus lies inactive in the nerve cells until something triggers it to become active again. These herpes "outbreaks," which can include the painful herpes sores, can be controlled with medication.

What Can I Do if I Have Herpes?
Many people who find out that they have herpes feel depressed knowing that they will always have the virus and can give it to others. But you are not alone. If you have herpes, you should learn all that you can about herpes. Information will help you to manage your disease and feel better about yourself. It also helps to talk about your illness with a trusted friend. If you have herpes, you can still have sex, if you use a condom (and/or have your partner use a condom), and you tell your partner about your illness. You also can still have children.

F. HIV and AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The virus weakens a person's ability to fight infections and cancer. People with HIV are said to have AIDS when they develop certain infections or cancers.
Having HIV does not always mean that you have AIDS. It can take many years for people with the virus to develop AIDS. HIV and AIDS cannot be cured. Although people with AIDS will likely one day die from an AIDS-related illness, there are ways to help people stay healthy and live longer.

How Does HIV and AIDS Cause Illness?
HIV attacks and destroys a type of white blood cell called a CD4 cell. This cell's main function is to fight disease. When a person's CD4 cell count gets low, they are more susceptible to illnesses.

What Is AIDS?
AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. When the immune system CD4 cells drop to a very low level, a person's ability to fight infection is lost. In addition, there are several conditions that occur in people with HIV infection with this degree of immune system failure -- these are called AIDS defining illnesses.

How Do People Get HIV?
A person gets HIV when an infected person's body fluids (blood, semen, fluids from the vagina or breast milk) enter his or her bloodstream. The virus can enter the blood through linings in the mouth, anus or sex organs (the penis and vagina), or through broken skin.
Both men and women can spread HIV. A person with HIV can feel okay and still give the virus to others. Pregnant women with HIV also can give the virus to their babies.

Common ways people get HIV:

• Sharing a needle to take drugs
• Having unprotected sex with an infected person

You cannot get HIV from:

• Touching or hugging someone who has HIV/AIDS
• Public bathrooms or swimming pools
• Sharing cups, utensils, or telephones with someone who has HIV/AIDS
• Bug bites

Who Can Get HIV?
Anyone can get HIV if they engage in certain activities. You may have a higher risk of getting HIV if you:

• Have unprotected sex. This means vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom or oral sex without a latex barrier with a person infected with HIV.
• Share needles to inject drugs or steroids with an infected person. The disease can also be transmitted by dirty needles used to make a tattoo or in body piercing.
• Receive a blood transfusion from an infected person. This is very unlikely in the U.S. and Western Europe, where all blood is tested for HIV infection.
• Are born to a mother with HIV infection. A baby can also get HIV from the breast milk of an infected woman.

If you fall into any of the categories above, you should consider being tested.
Health care workers are at risk on the job and should take special precautions. Some health care workers have become infected after being stuck with needles containing HIV-infected blood or less frequently, after infected blood contact with an open cut or through splashes into the worker's eyes or inside their nose.

How Can I Know if I Have HIV?
The only way to know if you have HIV is to take an HIV test. This test looks for signs of HIV in your blood. A small sample of blood is taken from your arm. The blood is sent to a lab and tested for HIV. Clinics that do HIV tests keep your test results secret. Some clinics even perform HIV tests without ever taking your name (anonymous testing). You must go back to the clinic to get your results. A positive test means that you have HIV. A negative test means that no signs of HIV were found in your blood.

Before taking an HIV test:

• Ask the clinic what privacy rules it follows
• Think about how knowing you have HIV would change your life
• Ask your doctor or nurse any questions you have about HIV, AIDS or the HIV test

Who Should Be Tested?
Currently, it is recommended that people who engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex, needle-sharing, and all pregnant women be tested for HIV infection.

Does HIV Have Symptoms?
Some people get flu-like symptoms a month or two after they have been infected. These symptoms often go away within a week to a month. A person can have HIV for many years before feeling ill.
As the disease progresses, women may experience yeast infections on the tongue (thrush), severe vaginal yeast infections or pelvic inflammatory disease.

What Are the Symptoms of AIDS?
Signs that HIV is turning into AIDS include:

• A fever that won't go away
• Sweating while you sleep
• Feeling tired all the time (not from stress or lack of sleep)
• Feeling sick all the time
• Losing weight
• Swollen glands (neck, groin or underarms)

What Infections Do People With AIDS Get?
People with AIDS are extremely vulnerable to infection, called AIDS defining illnesses, and often exhibit the following conditions:

• Kaposi's sarcoma, a skin tumor that looks like dark purple blotches
• Mental changes and headaches due to fungal infections or tumors in the brain and spinal cord.
• Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing due to infections of the lungs
• Dementia
• Severe malnutrition
• Chronic diarrhea

How Is AIDS diagnosed?
If a person with HIV infection has a CD4 count that drops below 200 -- or if certain infections appear (AIDS defining illnesses) -- that person is considered to have AIDS.

How Is HIV Treated?
We've come along way from the days when diagnosis with HIV equaled a death sentence. Today, there are a variety of treatments that, when used in combination can significantly slow down and in some cases stop altogether, the progression of HIV infection.

After HIV infection is confirmed, your doctor will start you on a drug regimen consisting of several drugs; combinations of different types of anti-HIV drugs sometimes are called HAART, for highly-active anti-retroviral therapy (HIV is a kind of virus called a retrovirus). Unfortunately, taking HAART therapy isn't easy. These drugs must be taken at exactly the right time, every single day. If the drugs aren't taken appropriately, a range of side effects may occur, including: diarrhea, nausea, or abnormal distribution of body fat. And, the virus often mutates, or changes, making the treatments ineffective.

If your disease has progressed to AIDS, your treatment may also include drugs to combat and prevent certain infections.

How Do I Know if my HIV Treatments Are Working?
Your doctor can monitor how well your treatment is working by measuring the amount of HIV in your blood (also called the viral load.) The goal is to get the viral load so low with HAART treatment as to be undetectable.

How Can I Keep From Getting HIV?
The best way to protect yourself is to avoid activities that put you at risk. There's no way to tell by looking at someone if he or she has HIV. Always protect yourself.

• Use latex condoms (rubbers) whenever you have any type of sex (vaginal, anal, or oral).
• Don't use condoms made from animal products.
• Use water-based lubricants (lotion).
• Never share needles to take drugs.
• Avoid getting drunk or high. People who are drunk or high may be less likely to protect themselves.

How Can I Prevent HIV From Progressing to AIDS?
You can help prolong your life by taking good care of yourself and insisting on good medical care from a doctor experienced at treating people with HIV infection. Also. be consistent about taking your HIV medications as prescribed.

 What Is the Outlook for Someone With HIV or AIDS?
It depends on how the virus responds to early treatment. When treatment fails to decrease the replication of the virus, the effects can become life threatening, and the infection can progress to AIDS. Even with treatment, some people seem to naturally experience a more rapid course towards AIDS. However, the majority of HIV patients who receive appropriate treatment do well and live healthy lives for years.

G. Syphilis

Syphilis is a highly contagious disease spread primarily by sexual activity, including oral and anal sex. Occasionally, the disease can be passed to another person through prolonged kissing or close bodily contact with an infected person. Pregnant women with the disease can spread it to their baby. This disease, called congenital syphilis, can cause abnormalities or even death to the child.
Syphilis cannot be spread by toilet seats, door knobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bath tubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.

What Causes Syphilis?
Syphilis is caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum.

How Common Is Syphilis?
This sexually transmitted disease was once a major public health threat, commonly causing serious long-term health problems such as arthritis, brain damage, and blindness. It defied effective treatment until the late 1940s, when the antibiotic penicillin was first developed. Now, because of the effectiveness of modern antibiotics and because of public health efforts to stop its spread, syphilis is on the decline.

How Do I Know if I Have Syphilis?
Syphilis infection occurs in 3 distinct stages.

1. Early or primary syphilis infection is often referred to as the "great imitator" as it can be mistaken for many other conditions. People with primary syphilis will develop one or more chancre sores. The sores resemble large round bug bites and are often hard and painless. They occur on the genitals or in or around the mouth somewhere between 10-90 days (average 3 weeks) after exposure. They heal without a scar within 6 weeks.

2. The secondary stage may last 1-3 months and begins within 6 weeks to 6 months after exposure. People with secondary syphilis experience a rosy "copper penny" rash typically on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. They may also experience moist warts in the groin, white patches on the inside of the mouth, swollen lymph glands, fever, and weight loss.

3. Latent syphilis. This is where the infection lies dormant (inactive) without causing symptoms.

4. Tertiary syphilis. If the infection isn't treated, it may then progress to a stage characterized by severe problems with the heart, brain, and nerves that can result in blindness, dementia, impotency, and even death if its not treated.

How Is Syphilis Diagnosed?
Syphilis can be easily diagnosed with a quick and inexpensive blood test given at your doctor's office or at a public health clinic.
If you have a chancre, your doctor will take a swab or scraping of the sore. It will then be sent to a lab to analyze under a microscope for the characteristic bacteria.

How Is Syphilis Treated?
If you've been infected for less than a year, a single dose of penicillin is usually enough to destroy the infection. For those allergic to penicillin, tetracycline or doxycycline can be given instead. If you are in a later stage of disease, more doses will be needed.
People who are being treated for syphilis must abstain from sexual contact with new partners until the sores are completely healed. Sexual partners of people with syphilis should be tested and, if necessary, treated.

What Happens if I Don't Get Treated?
If syphilis is left untreated, it can cause serious and permanent problems such as dementia, blindness, or death.

How Does Syphilis Affect a Pregnant Woman and Her Baby?
Depending on how long a pregnant woman has been infected, she has a good chance of having a stillbirth (birth of an infant who has died prior to delivery) or of giving birth to a baby who dies shortly after birth.
If not treated immediately, an infected baby may be born without symptoms but could develop them within a few weeks. These signs and symptoms can be very serious. Untreated babies may become developmentally delayed, have seizures, or die.

How Can I Prevent Infection?
To reduce your risk of infection:

• Avoid intimate contact with a person you know is infected
• If you do not know if a sexual partner is infected, use a condom in every sexual encounter

What Is the Outlook for People With Syphilis?
Syphilis is a curable disease with prompt diagnosis and treatment. However, if treated too late, there may be permanent damage to the heart and brain even after the infection is destroyed.

H. Trichomoniasis

Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a small organism called Trichomonas vaginalis. Women are most often affected by this disease, although men can become infected and pass the infection on to their partners through sexual contact.

How Common Is Trichomoniasis?
Trichomoniasis is the most common curable STD in young, sexually active women. An estimated 5 million new cases occur each year in women and men.

How Do I Know if I Have Trichomoniasis?
Men often do not have symptoms and usually do not know they are infected until their partners need treatment. But when symptoms do occur, they include:

• Irritation inside the penis
• Mild discharge
• Slight burning after urination or ejaculation

Many women do have signs or symptoms of infection. Symptoms in women can include:

• Greenish-yellow, frothy vaginal discharge with a strong odor
• Painful urination
• Vaginal itching and irritation
• Discomfort during intercourse
• Lower abdominal pain (rare)

Symptoms usually appear within five to 28 days of exposure in women.

How Is Trichomoniasis Diagnosed?
To diagnose trichomoniasis, a doctor must perform a physical examination and laboratory test. In women, a pelvic examination can reveal small red ulcerations on the vaginal wall or cervix. Laboratory tests are performed on a sample of vaginal fluid or urethral fluid to look for the disease-causing parasite. The parasite is harder to detect in men than in women.

How Is Trichomoniasis Treated?
Usually an oral antibiotic called Flagyl or Protostat is given to treat trichomoniasis. Before taking this medication, it is very important to let your doctor know if there is any chance that you could be pregnant, since the drug could harm the baby. Your partner should also be treated at the same time to prevent reinfection and further spread of the disease. In addition, persons being treated for trichomoniasis should avoid sex until they and their sex partners complete treatment and have no symptoms. It is important to take all of your antibiotics, even if you feel better.

What Happens if I Don't Get Treated?
Trichomoniasis in pregnant women may cause premature rupture of the membranes that protect the baby and preterm delivery. The genital inflammation caused by trichomoniasis might also increase a woman's risk of acquiring HIV infection if she is exposed to HIV. Trichomoniasis in a woman who is also infected with HIV can increase the chances of transmitting HIV infection to a sex partner.

How Can I Prevent Trichomoniasis Infection?
To reduce your risk of infection:

• Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.
• Limit the number of sex partners, and do not go back and forth between partners.
• Practice sexual abstinence, or limit sexual contact to one uninfected partner.
• If you think you are infected, avoid sexual contact and see a doctor.

Any genital symptoms such as discharge or burning during urination or an unusual sore or rash should be a signal to stop having sex and to consult a doctor immediately. If you are told you have trichomoniasis or any other STD and receive treatment, you should notify all of your recent sex partners so that they can see a doctor and be treated.