STI’s : From Causes to Treatments

STI’s: From Causes to Treatments By: Tommy Massari Block G

Chlamydia • The first STI I’ll talk about is Chlamydia. Chlamydia is an STI caused by: • Vaginal or anal intercourse with an infected partner • Oral sex

Symptoms/Signs • The symptoms of Chlamydia are: • unusual discharge • Pain during urination • Pain during/after intercourse • 50% of people with Chlamydia have no symptoms

Treatment and Tests • The only type of treatment for Chlamydia is medicine (Doxycycline, Zithromax, Zithromax Z-pack). • The tests for Chlamydia are urine tests and swab tests.

Problems • The Chlamydia infection can spread to other parts of the body. • For women, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which leads to: • Ectopic pregnancy • Blocked fallopian tubes • Long-term pelvic pain • Early miscarriage of premature birth • For men, it can lead to: • Painful inflammation of the penis • Reiter’s Syndrome (inflammation of the joints, urethra, and eyes.

Syphilis • Syphilis is a bacterial infection. It has four different stages. It is caused by: • Oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse • Intimate touching • Passed through mother to unborn child if mother has Syphilis

Symptoms/Signs Stages 1 and 2 Stages 3 and 4 The symptoms in the third stage (latent) are: No symptoms The symptoms in the fourth stage (tertiary) are: Skin ulcers Bone pain Liver disease Anemia Fever • The symptoms of Syphilis in the first stage (primary) are: • Chancres on various parts of the body • The symptoms in the second stage (secondary) are: • Flu-like symptoms • Possible hair loss • Sores on soles and palms

Symptoms/Signs Pictures

Treatment and Tests • The treatment for Syphilis is antibiotics. They are Benzathine Penicillin and Doxycycline. • The tests to check for Syphilis are urine tests or examinations from secretions coming from the chancres.

Problems • The problems that syphilis leads to are: • Serious damage to the brain and nervous system • Mental deteriortation • Loss of balance • Vision • Leg Pain • Heart Disease

HPV • HPV, or genital warts, is warts that appear on the anus, penis, urethra, vagina, and cervix. • It’s caused by sexual activity in which HPV enters the place where it infects.

Symptoms/Signs • The symptoms of HPV for both men and women are: • Warts around the genital and anal area • Increase in dampness and moisture in the infected area • For only women, increase in vaginal fluid excretion

Treatment and Tests • The treatments for HPV are medications that are placed on the warts, laser surgery, freezing the warts, and burning them. • The test for HPV is visual examinations.

Problems • Genital Warts can cause problems during pregnancy and childbirth. • You can have social problems associated with genital warts.

Herpes • Herpes is an STD caused by a virus that produces cold sores. The virus is transferred by intimate, sexual contact. • A week after the virus is transferred, you’ll get cold sores or small, painful blisters. • When the sores appear, the person is highly contagious.

Symptoms/Signs • The symptoms of Herpes are: • Cold sores • Clusters of small, painful blisters in the genital area • Tiredness • Fever • Headache • Pain and swelling in the lymph nodes • Painful urination

Treatment and Tests • There is no real treatment for Herpes, but there’s a drug that shortly relieves the symptoms. • The diagnosis of Herpes is done by a special lab test.

Problems • The problem with Herpes is that you’ll have an increased rate of getting HIV.

Pubic Lice • Pubic Lice is an infestation with public, or crab, lice. • Lice are insects that are yellowish-gray and are the size of a pinhead. They burrow themselves into pubic hairs and feed on blood. • It is passed from person to person by sexual contact.

Symptoms/Signs • The symptoms of Pubic Lice are: • Little black spots (lice) on body parts with dense hair growth • Itching where lice are

Treatment and Tests • An prescription drug, used as a lotion, kills the lice. • A physician examines the body for the lice.

Problems • The problem with Pubic Lice is where they are attached, you’ll have intense itching.

Gonorrhea • Gonorrhea is an STI caused by bacteria. • Gonorrhea is caused by having intimate, sexual contact with an infected person. • A baby can get Gonorrhea if the mother is infected.

Symptoms/Signs • The symptoms for Gonorrhea for males are: • White, milky discharge coming from the urethra • Females: • Discharge from the vagina • Both: • Painful urination

Treatment and Tests • The treatment for Gonorrhea is antibiotics. Unfortunately, some strains of Gonorrhea are resistant to antibiotics. • The tests for Gonorrhea for men is an examination of discharge under a microscope. For women, cultures are taking from the vagina and grown in a lab.

Problems • The problem with Gonorrhea is sterility, if not treated.

NGU • NGU, or NongonococcalUrethritis, is and STI that produces an infection and inflammation of the urethra. • NGU is spread through intimate, sexual contact with an infected person. A baby can be infected if the mother is infected and has a vaginal delivery.

Symptoms/Signs • The symptom of NGU is painful and frequent urination. • The other symptoms are similar to Chlamydia.

Treatment and Tests • The treatment of NGU is antibiotics if it is caused by bacteria • The test for NGU is a lab test..

Problems • The problem with NGU is if untreated, a female will get PID, or Pelvic Inflammatory Disese.

PID • PID, or Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, is an infection of the internal female organs. • PID is caused by untreated NGU.

Symptoms/Signs • The symptoms of PID are: • Painful urination • Fever of 100.4 Degrees Farenheit • Foul smelling vaginal discharge • Pain in the upper right abdomen

Treatment and Tests • PID is treated with antibiotics. • The test for PID is a physical examination.

Problems • The problems with PID are constant upper body pain and scarring.

STI’s : From Causes to Treatments