SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

Sexually transmitted diseases  are  diseases that are exclusively or predominantly transmitted during sexual intercourse. It is said that although more men than women are infected with STDs women tend to suffer from more adverse effects of the disease particularly in the area of infertility.
The risk of being effected with STDs  will be greatly reduced if men and women only had one sexual partner. The chances of catching an STD increases if a man or a woman  has or has had sexual intercourse with several partners. STDs continue to spread because men and women choose to have several sex partners. Another way of reducing the spread of STDs  is for men to use a condom every time  he has sex if he and his partner are unsure about  the previous  sexual behaviour of each other. Below are some the  more common STDs;

GONORRHOEA;
This disease is  very common. In a man, the disease is diagnosed easily. Within 3 to 5 days of intercourse with an infected  person , he notices a creamy discharge and feels pain when passing urine. Most of the time, women who are infected with gonorrhoea   have  no symptoms. Women act as silent reservoirs of the disease and can  transmit gonorrhoea if they are sexually active. Gonorrhoea  has more serious consequences for a woman than for a man. If a woman is not quickly treated,  her oviducts may become so damaged that they become blocked so that the woman can never become pregnant.Treatment for gonorrhoea is however effective provided the infected person seeks help early.

SYPHILIS;
This  disease  is a serious condition and is often hard to detect in a woman. Within 14 to 28 days or even 90 days  sometimes after sexual intercourse with an infected person, the woman will notice a small sore on the lips of the vulva. It  could be swollen and tender but painless. Unfortunately,  this may appear on the cervix where it will not be detected. A woman should suspect she has syphilis if she notices a pink spotty rash on her chest, back or arm. If the rash is due to syphilis, it will persist for several weeks.
Syphilis  carries two dangers for a woman if it remains untreated. One of the  dangers is that  if she becomes pregnant, the baby in her womb can become infected. The  long term  danger is that it causes damage to the nervous system and may lead to madness.
CHLAMYDIA;  This  disease can be transmitted during vaginal, anal or oral sex. It is  one of the most commonly sexually  transmitted  diseases world wide. A pregnant woman can pass it to her baby during child birth. Majority of the women who have this disease do not know that they have it since  they have no symptoms. In men, a white discharge from the penis with or without pain when urinating may be noticed. Sometimes the disease may spread to the upper genital tract in women causing pelvic inflammatory disease. If  the disease is left untreated, it can cause serious reproductive and health problems with long and short term consequences one of which is blindness.
HIV AND AIDS
This disease is caused by a virus called the human immunedeficiency virus or HIV. Hiv is usually transmitted during sexual intercourse. It  can also be  transmitted  through sharing  sharp  objects  like neddles,  razors etc. Blood transfussion is another  avenue of transmission. An infected person is more likely to develop severe, often fatal infections which a non- infected person will easily shake off. Usually, a person with hiv will have no symptoms at first and feels well. This means he or she can easily affect a sexual partner. After about 5 years of being diagnosed of HIV , if the person has not started  treatment, it may develop into full blown AIDS. This illness makes the gland swell, produces fever and the person feels tired and depressed.