Sexually Transmitted Disease
Introduction to STDs
What is sexually transmitted disease?
Sexually transmitted disease basically means transmission of bacteria, viruses or parasite by sexual intercourse from person to person via blood, semen, or vaginal and other bodily fluids. In some situations these diseases can be transmitted nosexually as well, for example during pregnancy or childbirth from mothers to infants, or through blood transfusion or sharing of syringes. STD doesn’t always cause symptoms therefore perfectly healthy people may not know they have STD and transmit it to others.
Sexually transmitted disease include:
- Chlamydia
- Gonorrhea
- Trichomoniasis
- Genital herpes
- Syphilis
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS)
Symptoms of STDs:
- Burning sensation when urinating
- Rashes
- Itchiness, blisters and sores around the genitals / anus
- In rare cases warts around throat and mouth
- Warts around the genitals and anus
- Discharge from penis and anus
- Abnormal bleeding and or discharge from the vagina
- Pain during sexual intercourse
There are several methods adapted to diagnose different types of STDs
- Blood test used for syphilis, HIV
- Urine test used for trichomoniasis and sometimes gonorrhea
- Swab test used for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and herpes
- Lumbar puncture used in severe cases for syphilis and herpes if it has infected the brains and spinal cord
- Home test kit for several STDs
Who has to do STD testing?
- A sexually active women under the age of 25 who have multiple partners are advised to test for chlamydia test and a gonorrhea test yearly
- Females under the age of 21 are advised to do a pap smear to check for cervical abnormalities including precancerous changes due to HPV (human papillomavirus)
- Pregnant women are screened for HIV in Malaysia
- Men and women who have multiple sex partners and have unprotected sex during an intercourse should be tested for HIV and other STDs
- Males who have sex with males
- HIV positive people are at a higher risk to get other types of STDs as well
- Those who share syringes/injectables are advised to test for HIV
Citations
> https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sexually-transmitted-infections-stis/
> https://medlineplus.gov/sexuallytransmitteddiseases.html
> https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/std-tests/