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Bacterial:
Chlamydia is the most common sexually
transmitted infection (STI). It is caused by bacteria.
Chlamydia can cause very serious health problems, and must
be treated.
It may take one to six weeks for the
symptoms of chlamydia to show up. Many people never even
develop symptoms.
Chlamydia can be spread during vaginal,
oral or anal sex. Chlamydia can be found in the throat or
rectum, the male’s urethra or the female’s vagina.
A pregnant woman can also pass chlamydia onto her baby while
she is giving birth.
If you have chlamydia you may experience
some on the following:
- strange discharge from your vagina
- itchy vagina
- a little bit of bleeding even when
it is not time for your period
- pain during sex, in your lower abdomen,
or when you urinate
- needing to urinate a lot
- a feeling of burning when you
urinate
- watery discharge coming out of
your penis
- pain in your testicles
If left untreated, chlamydia can cause infertility
and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) in women.
A special antibiotic is taken for a period of
7 – 14 days. To cure chlamydia all prescribed pills must be
taken. It is very important that sexual partner(s) be tested and
treated, whether they have symptoms or not.
Gardnerella is a vaginal infection formerly
called bacterial vaginosis or nonspecific vaginitis. It is
believed to be caused by several kinds of bacteria. The
causes are not clearly understood. Gardnerella may start as
an overgrowth of normal vaginal bacterium and it may be spread
during sexual intercourse. Gardnerella infections can be
uncomfortable, but they are not harmful.
If you have a gardnerella infection
you might notice:
Women
- discharge from your vagina that is
white or grey, and smells unpleasant.
- mild itching or burning in your
vagina
- pain or burning in your vagina during
intercourse and urination
Men
- symptoms in men are unclear, many men
do not have symptoms
Gardnerella in your vagina is not harmful.
You only need to treat a gardnerella infection if the symptoms
are bothering you. Women can be treated with an oral drug called
Flagyl. Men are usually not treated for gardnerella.
Gonorrhea, sometimes known as the dose, clap or
drip, is caused by bacteria. It is spread from one person to another
by vaginal, oral or anal sex. A pregnant woman can also pass it to her
baby while she is giving birth. Gonorrhea can cause serious health
problems. It can infect the penis, vagina, rectum, throat, eyes or
cervix.
It may take 1 – 14 days or longer for
symptoms to show up. Some people never have symptoms.
However, if you have gonorrhea you may experience some of the
following symptoms:
Women
- strange discharge from your vagina
- itchy, red or swollen vagina
- pain or burning during urination, during
intercourse, or in lower abdomen
- bleeding between periods, or abnormally
long or heavy periods
Men
- pain when you urinate, frequent
passing of urine
- discharge from the penis that is thick,
white, and yellow
- frequent passing of urine
- burning or itching around the tip of the
penis
When gonorrhea is left untreated it may result in
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), which is a cause of sterility
(inability to get pregnant) and ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. A pregnant
woman could pass gonorrhea onto her baby during birth, causing a
serious eye infection in the baby. In men, spread of the infection
to the testicles and prostrate gland may cause sterility.
There are several different types of gonorrhea.
A specific antibiotic is prescribed by the doctor. To cure
gonorrhea, all pills must be taken. It is important that all
sexual partner(s) be tested and/or treated, whether they have
symptoms or not.
Syphilis is caused by an organism which is
passed through mucous membranes (e.g. penis, vagina, mouth, and
anus) during sex. It takes 10 days to 3 months for the symptoms to
show up. You can get syphilis if you have oral, vaginal, or anal sex
with a person who already has the infection. Pregnant women may also
pass it to their unborn child. If left untreated, it may cause severe
damage to such organs as the heart, liver, brain and eyes.
If you have syphilis, you may experience
the following:
- painless open sore(s) usually around the
genitals, rectum and/or mouth
- rash anywhere on the body
- flu-like symptoms - headache, slight fever,
fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, sore throat
- symptoms may be very mild and not
noticeable
It is best to treat syphilis as early as possible
to prevent serious complications and the spread of the disease to
others. The best treatment is penicillin injections. For people
who are allergic to penicillin, there are other specific antibiotics
available.
Treatment will cure syphilis but any damage that
has been done to the body before treatment cannot be reversed. Even
though you have been treated, your blood test may remain positive for
life, although the disease can no longer be passed on to others or
cause further damage. After treatment, regular blood tests are needed
to show that the disease has been cured, and that there is no
re-infection.
Trichomoniasis is caused by a microscopic
parasite called Trichomonas Vaginalis. It is usually sexually
transmitted but can also survive for 24 hours on wet towels and
bathing suits. This explains why trichomoniasis occasionally
occurs without sexual contact. Some people do not have symptoms.
If you have trichomoniasis, you might notice:
Women
- frothy green vaginal discharge and
unpleasant vaginal odour
- intense vaginal itching
- redness and pain in the vaginal area
- frequent/painful passing of urine
Men
- the majority of men do not have
symptoms
- discharge from the penis, and
irritation around the tip of the penis
- burning when passing urine
The most effective treatment for trichomoniasis
is called Flagyl. Flagyl is taken orally and prescribed by a doctor.
Do not have intercourse during treatment. Both partners must be
treated at the same time to avoid re-infection.
Viral:
Hepatitis B is a virus that can cause a
serious infection of the liver. You can get the virus from a
person who has the infection in blood, semen, vaginal fluid
and saliva. Hepatitis B can be passed on in many ways; through
sharing needles, having vaginal, oral or anal sex with a person
who has the infection. It can also be passed on by sharing personal
items like toothbrushes or razors.
Almost half of the people who have
Hepatitis B don’t even know that they have it. They
can still pass the virus without knowing it. However, if you have
Hepatitis B you might notice:
- feeling tired, sick or weak, and you
may have a fever
- pain in your abdomen
- urine or stool that is a strange colour
- skin that is yellow in colour
- loss of appetite
- nausea or vomiting
Right now, there is no cure for
Hepatitis B. If you have Hepatitis B, you might need to change
the way you eat and also stop drinking alcohol. Most people with
Hepatitis B do get better.
You can protect yourself from contracting
Hepatitis B by getting a vaccination. It takes three needles
and several months before you are protected - one on the first
visit, another one a month later and another in 6 months. If you
are at risk for getting Hepatitis B, you and your partner(s)
should consider getting vaccinated.
Herpes is an infection caused by a virus called
herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two types of HSV: Type 1 and
Type 2. In the past, Type 1 was known as the cause of cold sores
on the lips, while Type 2 was the cause of sores on the genitals.
Today both Type 1 and Type 2 can be the cause of genital
herpes.
Herpes sores usually appear 2 to 21 days after
contact with an infected person. The first outbreak is usually the
worst. Blisters appear in the genital area (vagina, vaginal lips,
penis, buttocks and opening to the rectum). There is often fever,
joint pain, flu-like symptoms, painful urination, itching and
tingling, and enlarged and tender lymph nodes.
Some people have one blister (sore) during an
outbreak; others have several. It may take two to three weeks to
feel better. Some people have recurrences (repeat outbreaks),
and about 10% never have another recurrence. Once you are
infected with the herpes virus, it will always be in your body,
but it is active only during an outbreak.
At present, there is no cure for
herpes. However, there is a drug that helps heal the sores,
reduces multiplication of the virus and reduces the number of
repeat attacks. This drug must be prescribed by a doctor.
A first attack of herpes during pregnancy is a
serious risk for the baby. Pregnant women must tell their doctor
as soon as possible if they or their partner have a history of
herpes. A caesarean section is sometimes necessary. As well, women
with herpes should have yearly Pap tests. Pap results indicating
pre-cancerous changes are slightly higher in women with herpes.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus
that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). HIV is
spread from one person to another through vaginal, oral or anal
sexual contact, tattoos or skin piercing with unsterilized needles,
during childbirth and pregnancy, and sharing needles with an
infected person.
After infection people may not feel or look sick
for years. As the disease progresses, infected persons get sick more
often with different illnesses (i.e. infections, pneumonias or
cancers) because their immune system has been affected. Some symptoms
may include:
- extreme fatigue
- skin lesions or sores
- persistent fever or night sweats
- breathing difficulties
- swollen glands
- unexplained weight loss
- mild diarrhea
- recurrent yeast infections
li class="bodytext">neurological problems (i.e. memory loss)
A blood test is conducted to look for HIV
antibodies within the blood. HIV antibodies show up in the blood
from 6-14 weeks after someone has been infected. The blood test
does not tell you that you will get AIDS. AIDS is a collection of
specific symptoms that indicate to a physician that a person has
moved from being an asymptomatic carrier (a person that is HIV
positive but isn’t feeling or looking sick) to a person
that has illnesses due to the HIV infection.
Anonymous (you don’t give your name or
address) testing is possible. A health care provider will give you
an ID number that is matched to your blood sample. In a week or
two, you can call the clinic and ask for your results using your
ID number. Some clinics may require you to go in person to get your
results. If you go to your family doctor your name will be put on
the forms they send to the testing lab. This kind of testing is
called “nominal testing”.
Right now, there is no cure for HIV. However,
there are medications that can help HIV positive people live
longer, better quality lives. For more information check out
the AIDS Committee of Cambridge,
Kitchener Waterloo and Area (ACCKWA).
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) causes genital
warts. HPV is very contagious, and is now the second most common
STI after chlamydia. HPV is spread from one person to another
during childbirth, vaginal, oral or anal sexual contact. Warts may
grow on the penis, anus, or vagina. Some HPV types can cause
changes to a woman’s cervix.
Symptoms may not appear until 1-6 months after
exposure to the virus. Some people never get symptoms, even
though they carry the virus and can infect their sexual
partner(s). Some symptoms may include:
- warts with a cauliflower-like appearance,
and can be pink, white, brown or grey
- in women, visible warts can be on the
vulva (vaginal lips), cervix (entrance to uterus) and/or
anus
- in men, visible warts can be on the
penis, scrotum and/or anus
- warts are usually painless, but may be
itchy and uncomfortable
Right now, there is no cure for HPV. If you
want the warts taken off, there are many different ways a doctor or
nurse can do this:
- special medication (e.g. Podophyllin,
Trichloroacetic Acid) applied directly to the warts, once or
twice a week
- cryotherapy, a procedure in which the
warts are “frozen” off with liquid nitrogen
- laser therapy, a laser beam is used to
destroy the warts
Other:
Crabs, or pubic lice, are tiny insects that
live on the hair around the genitals. Lice live by feeding on
human blood. They lay their eggs, called nits, at the base of
the hair. Sometimes the crabs can spread to the hair on the chest,
under the arms, and occasionally, facial hair. They are greyish
brown and about the size of a pencil dot. The eggs look like tiny
whitish dots.
Scabies are tiny insects (lice) that live under
the skin and lay their eggs there. They are invisible to the
naked eye. They are usually found between the fingers, around
the genitals, on the wrists, buttocks or under the arms.
You get crabs or scabies by closely touching
someone who has the infection, or if you share a bed or clothing
with someone who has the infection. Lice can live up to two days
away from the body.
It may take 1-6 weeks for symptoms to show up.
However, there are signs to watch for:
Crabs
- itching in the pubic area
- visible crabs or eggs in pubic hair or
other body hair
- bites or marks in these areas
Scabies
- itching, particularly at night
- rashes in streaks on the skin that
are greyish or red and slightly raised
- symptoms usually appear on wrists,
between fingers and toes, in the arm-pits and groin,
penis or breasts, other skin fold areas
Special medicated lotions or creams are available
at the drugstore without a prescription. Check with your doctor if
you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Some treatments should not be
given to infants. Follow the instructions carefully; too many
applications of the treatment can be dangerous. Itching will
often continue for several days after treatment. Household
and sexual partners should be checked and treated at the
same time. As well:
- dry clean or machine-wash in hot soapy
water any of your clothing, bed linens or towels that have
been used in the past 2-3 weeks. You can store quilts and
blankets for two weeks if you cannot wash them.
- floors, furniture, and mattresses should
be vacuumed thoroughly
- a spray can be purchased from the pharmacy
which will destroy the insects and their eggs
Yeast is a very common fungus that normally
lives in a woman’s vagina. When it overgrows, it can cause
uncomfortable symptoms. Yeast is usually not sexually transmitted.
However, some men are especially sensitive to yeast and can have
symptoms.
Some people do not have any symptoms. If you
have a yeast infection you may notice:
Women
- white, thick white, thick
“cottage cheese-like”
- mild to severe vaginal itching
and burning
- red sore labia (vaginal lips)
- pain with intercourse
Men
- most men do not have symptoms
- may experience irritation, redness at
tip of the penis or under the foreskin
- pain when passing urine
- dry itchy skin
Yeast infections are usually treated with the
prescribed vaginal creams or suppositories such as Terazol or
Monistat. Treatment of male partners is usually unnecessary. If men
are uncomfortable, these creams may be prescribed for them as well.
The infection will clear up faster if there is no sexual intercourse
during treatment.
Medication will almost always cure yeast
infections. However, you can get the infection many times. Yeast
infections are more common during pregnancy or when a woman is on
birth control pills or antibiotics. Women with diabetes, or who are
overweight often have repeated yeast infections - possibly due to
higher blood sugar and vaginal sugar.
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