Rohan is just another 18 year old guy living the good life; he’s popular amongst the college crowd and his own friend circle. He’s also the captain of the college cricket team, which makes him all the more popular amongst the girls of his college, plus his good looks have always attracted a lot of attention from the fairer sex. It’s just recently that Rohan has started dating girls, and his friends have been goading him on ever since to have sex with a girl. Amongst the many things stopping Rohan from having sex, is the fear of contracting STD’s!
But first, what are STD’s?
STD’s or sexually transmitted diseases as we all know affect an individual when one has sexual intercourse with a person who is already infected. HIV is one of the most deadly and widely transmitted STD, be it in India, Africa or the rest of the world, there are other STD’s too!
With awareness levels being abysmally low for STD’s other than HIV in India, Rohan is worried that he might contract a STD and be unaware of it! To help Rohan out, here are some of the most common STD’s along with their symptoms,
Chlamydia:
It occupies the unfavorable position of the world’s most common STD, with a jaw dropping average of 90 million new cases annually! Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium chlamydia trachomatis, which is transmitted through sexual intercourse and genital contact with someone, who is already infected. It can even be passed by the mother to her unborn child, if there is a vaginal delivery. Chlamydia is generally asymptomatic, with no symptoms immediately appearing after being infected, it takes around 3 weeks for the initial symptoms to arise in the infected individual.
Symptoms- Women infected with Chlamydia notice an increase in vaginal discharge, along with a need to urinate frequently. Pain during intercourse or bleeding after intercourse is also a symptom of Chlamydia in women.
Men infected with Chlamydia will notice a cloudy or watery discharge from their penis, along with swelling and pain in their testicles.
Test – Urine samples or swabs from the Vagina or the Penis are used to diagnose Chlamydia.
Syphilis:
Syphilis is a very old STD; it was thought to have been brought under control by the use of penicillin in the late 1950’s; however, recent decades have seen it making a comeback of sorts! Syphilis is caused by the bacterium Treponema palladium. It can even be passed from an infected mother to her unborn child in case of a vaginal birth, in such cases it is known as Congenital syphilis. In a old yet staggering stat, the WHO had estimated around 12 million new cases of Syphilis worldwide in 1999, experts believe this number to have at least tripled by today.
Symptoms- Syphilis symptoms arrive in 3 stages.
The first stage sees both men and women infected with Syphilis, having painful ulcers around the anus and mouth. Infected women see painful ulcers on their cervix and vulva, while it is the penis in men.
The second stage sees the onset of Flu like illness with a noticeable loss of appetite along with a non-itchy rash all over the infected individual’s body. White patches on the tongue or the roof of the mouth and hair loss in patches are also among the second stage symptoms of Syphilis.
The third stage doesn’t have any symptoms, also it sees the symptoms of the first two stages disappearing. This stage however is reached after a long period -10 years of continued infection, if left untreated, it can affect the heart and the nervous system of the individual!
Test- Syphilis can be diagnosed by means of a blood sample and urine sample for both men and women. For women with Syphilis along with vaginal swabs an inspection of the genital area is done to check for any sores.
Gonorrhea:
Gonorrhea is a very common STD. It is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrheoae, affecting nearly 62.35 million people every single year! Gonorrhea however, affects more women than men and if left untreated runs the risk of esoteric pregnancy and pelvic inflammatory diseases. Gonorrhea can even affect fertility in women.
Symptoms- Even though Gonorrhea affects women more than men, symptoms of it are more noticeable in men! While both men and women, who are infected with Gonorrhea notice a discharge or irritation in their anus, along with a burning sensation as they pass urine, males infected with gonorrhea notice a white or yellow discharge from their penis. Whereas, women affected with it notice a huge increase in their vaginal discharge, which sometimes is yellow or greenish in color with a bad odor.
Test- Gonorrhea can be detected by carrying out an inspection of the pelvic area. Swabs from possible areas of infection such as the cervix, urethra, anus and the throat will be taken along with a urine sample.
Simple tips to avoiding STD’s:
Use protection while having sex such as Condoms and dental dams (during oral sex).- Avoid indulging in risky sexual behavior
- Do not have unprotected sex
- Do not have sex with multiple partners
- Maintain a good hygiene of your privates
And finally be aware of STD’s and the other risks of having sex without protection! Remember prevention is always better than cure.
