Sexually Transmitted Diseases
A
Health Promotion Nursing Center Activity
Although preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control more than 25 diseases are spread primarily through sexual activity. The latest estimates indicate that there are 15 million new sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases in the United States each year (Cates, 1999). Approximately one-fourth of these new infections are in teenagers and young adults. And, while some STDs, such as syphilis, have been brought to all time lows, others, like genital herpes, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, continue to resurge and spread through the population.
If you believe you may have a STD, please contact a health professional.
 |
What is it?
A bacterial infection caused by an organism called chlamydia trachomatis.
It is estimated that there will be three million new cases this year and that two million people are currently infected. It is considered a silent epidemic because people may not have any symptoms at all.
How can I get it (Transmission)
- Chlamydia is spread by coming
in contact with the discharge
- It is usually spread by having
sex with someone who is infected
- Symptoms, if they develop, are noticed about 1-2 weeks after having sexual relations with an infected person
How will I know I have it? (Symptoms)
- You may notice frequent urination
or burning when you urinate
- There may be a clear discharge
at the tip of the penis or coming from the vagina
- Swelling related to the inflammation
of the cervix may cause abdominal pain in women
- You may not have any symptoms
How will I know for sure? (Diagnosis)
- Contact your health care provider
- A culture of the drainage from
the penis or vagina is collected and sent to a lab to be examined
- The results should be back in a few days
How can I make it go away? (Treatment)
- Azithromycin, Doxycycline or Erythromycin base
orally for 7-10 days are often prescribed
- You must take all the medicine
as ordered or the organism may not die or may develop ways to make itself
immune to the drug (resistance)
- Doxycycline cannot be taken by pregnant women
Potential Problems and Complications
Women can develop a severe infection in the reproductive organs that can prevent her from having children.
What is it?
A viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus type 2, occasionally type 1. Currently, it is believed that 45 million people have Herpes and one million are expected to develop it this year (CDC)
How can I get it? (Transmission)
- The virus is passed during
close contact with the infected area
- Herpes is transmitted when
the herpes virus is passed from one person to another during sex or close
contact with the infected area during kissing, fondling or other sexual activity
- Transmission may occur prior to visual presence of rash or sores
How will I know I have it? (Symptoms)
Signs will appear within 2 to 10 days after having sex with someone who is infected.
Early symptoms include:
- a burning sensation or pain when urinating
- pain in the buttocks, legs, or genital area
- a feeling of pressure, itchiness or tingling in the genital area
- a discharge from the vagina
Later symptoms include:
- The formation of a rash and single or multiple vesicles (small red bumps) that may have a reddened border in the genital area
- Development of painful blisters that may rupture and then crust over and heal
- Lethargy and fever may occur
How will I know for sure? (Diagnosis)
- Contact your health care provider
- Obtain a culture or a small
amount of fluid from the herpes sores and send it to a lab to be examined
- Results will take up to 2 weeks
How can I make it go away? (Treatment)
- These products decrease discomfort,
but the viral organism is always present. It is not curable!
- First outbreak: Ayclovir
or Famcyclovir or Valacyclovir orally for 7-10 days is often prescribed
- Recurent
outbreaks: Ayclovir or Famcyclovir or Valacyclovir orally for 5 days is
often prescribed
- Daily suppressive dosing with Acyclivir, Famciclovir or Valacyclovir is often prescribed to suppress herpes outbreaks before they occur
Potential Problems and Complications
- First outbreak lasts the longest,
recurrent outbreaks will last up to 5 days
- Even if the symptoms go away
they can come back, and the sores could last longer and hurt more
- Even with inactive disease the
virus can be passed to any partner in contact with the affected area
- Other complications include retention of urine, neuralgia and meningitis
 |
What is it?
|
How can I get it? (Transmission)
Gonorrhea is transmitted when germs (bacteria) are passed from one person to another during sexual activity
How will I know I have it? (Symptoms)
- Signs of gonorrhea usually appear
within 2 to 10 days after sexual activity with someone who's infected
- Women may not have any symptoms,
or they may feel pain or a burning sensation when urinating, or they may see
a yellow-greenish discharge from the vagina.
Later, they may have bleeding between periods or pain in the pelvic area.
- Men may have a urinary frequency or a burning sensation when urinating and a whitish discharge from the penis. In later stages, this discharge may be yellow-greenish
How will I know for sure? (Diagnosis)
- Contact your health care provider
- A culture of the drainage will
be sent to the lab for examination
- The results will be back in a few days
Current treatments
- Ofloxacin or Doxycycline, orally
is often prescribed
- Ceftriaxone, intramuscularly
is often prescribed
- Treatment may be daily or over
several days depending upon medication and physician choice
- You must take all the medicine
as ordered or the organism may not die or may develop ways to make itself
immune to the drug (resistance)
- Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin and Doxycycline cannot be taken by pregnant women
Potential Problems and Complications
Women can develop a severe infection in the reproductive organs that can prevent them from having children.
Summary of Diseases
|
Disease |
Symptoms |
Diagnosis |
Treatable |
Treatment |
Complications |
|
Pain and burning when urinating, discharge |
Lab exam of fluid from the infected area |
Yes |
Antibiotic |
Pelvic infections, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), Sterility |
|
|
Pain or burning when urinating, rash or red blisters |
Lab exam of fluid from the sore |
Yes (but cannot be cured) |
Pills and ointment |
Prolonged and more severe symptoms |
|
|
Pain or burning when urinating, yellow-greenish discharge |
Lab exam of fluid from infected area |
Yes |
Antibiotic |
Pelvic infectious, PID, Sterility |
Prevention's Top 10
- Use a new condom with a water based lubricant every time you have sexual relations.
- Both men and women should carry condoms.
- If you have sexual relations, use birth control spermicides in addition to condoms.
- Get checked for STD's when you have a health exam.
- Do not have sexual relations with anyone you think MIGHT have an STD.
- Do not use drugs when you might have sex. You may forget to protect yourself.
- Do not drink alcohol when you may have sexual relations. Intoxication may make you forget to protect yourself.
- Ask questions of your partner before having any sexual relations.
- Practice monogamy with a monogamous partner, who you know is free of any STD.
- Abstinence: not having sex is the only 100% protection against STDs
1. I'm a teenager or young adult, I'm not at risk for an STD, right?
Wrong. One out of every four teenagers and young adults will get an STD, even though many think they know how to protect themselves. There are other STDs out there besides HIV, and they are on the rise among young people. They include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV), which cause genital warts and abnormal Pap smears.
2. Why don't teenagers and young adults protect themselves if they are having sex?
It's not always because people don't know. Sometimes they
- are embarrassed about buying or getting condoms
- feel peer/date pressure
- use alcohol and drugs causing poor decision-making
- have a lack of knowledge
- believe using birth control pills is enough protection
- are embarrassed about asking questions
- don't think ahead of time
3. Can you get an STD from a public restroom?
This is not very likely. Most STDs are only transmitted during sexual contact, either by skin-to-skin contact or through bodily fluids exchanged between partners. Crabs, or pubic lice, may be transmitted through sexual contact, sleeping in infected bedding, sharing infected clothing and possibly through sitting on an infested toilet seat. However, lice cannot survive away from the human body for longer than 24 hours. So contracting pubic lice from a toilet seat is possible, but it's unlikely.
4. Can I get an STD from kissing?
This is possible, but not very common. If your partner's mouth is infected with an STD, then he or she may be able to pass that infection to your mouth during a kiss. Fever blisters and cold sores can be passed through a kiss if your partner is infected. Blood-borne infections like HIV or Hepatitis B or C can only be passed through kissing if there is an exchange of infected blood. If your partner has an infection in his or her genital area, then kissing on the mouth will not transmit the infection. However kissing the infected area may lead to transmission of the infection.
5. Can I get an STD from oral sex?
Yes. During oral sex, there is skin-to-skin contact and there can be bodily fluid exchange. Therefore, it is important to use barrier protection, like unlubricated condoms or latex dental dams to protect yourself during oral sex.
6.
What are the common symptoms of STDs?
STDs can cause physical symptoms like bumps or sores on the skin, itchy discharge, pain or burning during urination, fever, or symptoms like the flu. But all of these symptoms can be caused by other illnesses that are not sexually transmitted. Some STDs do not cause any symptoms at all. So, you can see how difficult it would be to diagnose a STD just based on symptoms you may be experiencing.
7. Can I have an STD and not know it?
Yes. Many STDs can take weeks, months or years before symptoms show. Some people never develop symptoms for some STDs. STDs can still be passed to someone else even when a person is not experiencing symptoms.
8. What do I do if I think I have an STD?
If you have symptoms as described above you should immediately seek medical help. Your health care provider is the best choice as he or she knows you best. If you do not have a health care provider, the College Nurse at MCCC can advise you on whether the symptoms are something to worry about or not, and where you can get help. The Pennsylvania Department of Health and local community clinics would also be able to help you.
9. How do I know if my partner is infected?
The simple answer is that you may not know your partner is infected unless he or she tells you. Remember, because some STDs don't show any symptoms, your partner may not even know if he or she is infected.
10. How do I get tested for STDs?
There are many different tests for each of the different STDs. There is not one test that will screen for all STDs. Some STDs are hard to test for if you do not have any symptoms. Some STDs can be tested through simple blood work or a urine test; some can only be tested for through culturing body fluid from the penis, vagina or open sore on the body. When you go in for testing, it is important to ask your health care provider which tests will be done and which will not. Sometimes, weeks or months need to pass to give your body enough time to develop antibodies that will show up in a test, indicating you have a particular STD.
11. Where do I go to get tested?
Your local health department, community clinic, private doctor or Planned Parenthood are all good resources to check into for STD testing. The CDC National STD Hotline can provide information on free or low cost clinics in your area that do STD testing. You can call them at 1 (800) 227-8922 or 1 (800) 342-2437, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
12. What's the difference between confidential
and anonymous testing?
All medical care that you receive should be confidential. This means that the information you discuss with your health care providers must stay in your files at the clinic and not be released to anyone without your permission. All testing and results are handled as confidential matters.
Anonymous testing is when your name is not associated with the test or the results in any way. You may be given a number or code word to identify yourself during testing and when receiving results. Speak to you health care provider about the testing process used.
13. What's the best type of protection
during sexual activity?
If you choose to have sex, latex condoms give you good protection because they are barriers - something that keeps you away from your partner's sexual fluids. Other birth control methods only protect you from unwanted pregnancy. Using a condom is NOT 100% protection against pregnancy or STDs--only abstinence is--but a condom offers the best protection from STDs and pretty good protection from pregnancy if you do have sex. The best protection is to use birth control pills or other reliable form of birth control to prevent pregnancy AND a new latex condom with each sexual encounter to protect against STDs.
14. What is a dental dam?
A dental dam is a flat piece of latex that is made for use during dental procedures. They can be purchased in some medical supply stores or in some adult bookstores. Dental dams can be used as a barrier between the mouth and the vagina or anus during oral, vaginal, or anal sex. A split and flattened, unlubricated condom can also be used if you don't have dental dam.
Visit the The Body website at http://www.thebody.com/surveys/sexsurvey.html and take the risk assessment test to find out if you are at risk
Abstinence @ http://www.worldwidegroovecorp.com/abstinence
Montgomery County Health Department @ http://www.montcopa.org/health/services.htm
American Social Health Association @ www.ashastd.org or For teens: www.iwannaknow.org
Planned Parenthood @ www.ppsp.org
Planned Parenthood's online magazine that provides sexual health and relationship information for teens @ www.teenwire.com
PA Department of Health @ www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/site/default.asp
The Body @ http://www.thebody.com/index.shtml
National HIV Testing Resources @ www.hivtest.org
Practice Sex Safely!
Sources of material:
Parini, S.M. (1998). Understanding Sexually TransmittedDiseases, Part II @ http://www.springnet.com
Mirjana Rogl Butina MD, dermatovenereologist, Dpt. Dermatovenereology, Clinical Centre, Zaloška 2, 1525 Ljubljana, Slovenia @ http://www.mf.uni-lj.si/acta-apa/acta-apa-00-1/rogl.html
http://sehha.com/diseases/id/gonorrhea/gonorrhea.htm
American Social Health Association, (2001). Answers to Your Questions About Teen Sexual Health and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Triangle Park, NC: Retrieved October 4, 2001 from the World Wide Web @ http://www.iwannaknow.org/
Spena, Grace, RN, MSN. Personal interview. 23 October, 2001. (MCCC College Nurse @ gspena@mc3.edu)
Back to Health Promotion Nursing Center
Developed by NUR 211 nursing
students as part of their Health Promotion Nursing Center Volunteer Activities.
December, 2001 (Jillian Alfred, Paula Byrum, Jennifer Doyle, Maureen Finn, Connie
Fiorentino, and Darlene Garner)
For comments or additional questions, contact ddalrymp@mc3.edu.
