STDs

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how could your life change if you find out that you are affected by a sexually transmitted disease (STD)? In fact, nobody is safe, because if people are sexually active they're potentially exposed to any STD. There are different kind of STD's, some are easier to live with and some other are fatal. More than 40 million people are living with some of these diseases and their number is rising rapidly. The worst affected region by far is Sub-Saharan Africa with almost 30 million people concerned. The world's highest rates are found in Southern Africa where adult prevalence most countries exceeds 25%. In 2003, the number of people living with some of these diseases reached 1.8 million in Eastern Europe and Central Asian, and 9.5 million in Asia and the Pacific.The number of affected people is rising every day, at the same time are we able to do something to avoid it? contraception plays a gigantic role in the solution of this problem. However, contraception also inhibit STDs. We will try to define what a STD is and how can we manage to deal between contraception and STD transmission inhibition.

• See Annex 1

What do STDs mean?

STD is the abbreviation of sexually transmitted diseases. STDs are contagious diseases which are spread by sexual contact. These diseases can be controlled by medications, but the symptoms are not always visible,and so the risk of contamination is high.
In addition, since their symptoms are not rapidly apparent, people can live feeling fine. However, many STD's cause problems in long term and if they stay untreated they can be fatal. So, anyone who is sexually active has to have regular check up for STDs!!!

• The symptoms not always exist...

In fact, STDs often exist without symptoms. This mean that everyone can be infected by any of them without knowing if this person has been infected. For exemple when women get infected by chlamydia, there is no trace of the existence of any symptoms. However, 90 % of men with the same infection will have symptoms. The existence of symptoms can change depending of the sexe of the person.

• Consequences of an untreated STD

The consequences of an untreated STD can be very important. Especially for women because they can transmit their illness to their newborn babies. The babies can suffer of that all their life. Because men don't carry babies, the consequences are smaller. In addition, The newborn babies may have a lot of different difficulties in their life such as cervical cancers etc...

• Method of diagnosing STDs

The traditionnal method of diagnosing STDs is by tests in laboratory. It is very important to go have a test, even if we think that it is useless, because we never know. Tests are free in some institutions, so there is no problem of money. It is better to know early if we are affected by one of those STD to treat it.

The most important diseases and their transmissions

• Bacterial way

• 1. Chlamydia infections:

• 1.1 Symptoms: urination itching and pain at the bottom of the belly during the sexual relations
• 1.2 Transmission: by sexual ways or from mother to child
• 1.3 Effects:

1. for women: infections of the trunks
2. for men: drop of the fertility
3. for the baby: reach of lungs and eyes

• 1.4 Treatment: antibiotics

• 2. Gonorrhea:

• 2.1 Symptoms:

1. for women: unusual vaginal loss, pain at the abdomen,burn during the urination and pain during the sexual relations
2. for men: thick flowing from the penis and pain/swelling of the testis

• 2.2 Transmission: by sexual ways even without physical manifestation and from mother to child
• 2.3 Effects: risk of sterility for men and women and occulaire complications for the baby
• 2.4 Treatment: antibiotics

• 3. Syphilis:

• 3.1 Symptoms: small non-painful lesion on the glans, anus, rectum, mouth, and throat
• 3.2 Transmission: by sexual ways and from mother to child
• 3.3 Effects: appearance of some pink blotches on the body and it must be fatal if it is not treated
• 3.4 Treatment: specific antibiotics

• Viral way

• 1. Genital herpes:

• 1.1 Symptoms: burn and small blisters on the genital organs and ganglions
• 1.2 Transmission: by sexual ways, contact between mucous membrane, kisses, and from mother to child
• 1.3 Effects:

1. important consequences for the baby
2. inflammation of the skin
3. linked to cervical cancer

• 2. Genital warts:

• 2.1 Symptoms: growth of kind of blisters in genital organs
• 2.2 Transmission: sexual ways and from mother to child
• 2.3 Effects:

1. for women: cervical cancer (uterus)
2. for men: cancer "de la verge"

• 2.4 Treatment: removal by freezing

• 3. AIDS and HIV infection: AID is caused by HIV virus which lead to infections and cancer

• 3.1 Symptoms: infections at the moment of the first contact with the virus
• 3.2 Transmission: sexual ways, from another to child, and by blood ways
• 3.3 Effects: weakening of the immune defenses, development of infected diseases and cancers or clever tumors
• 3.4 Treatment: combination of drugs

• 4. Hepatitis:

• 4.1 Symptoms: fever, tiredness, and go yellow
• 4.2 Transmission: sexual ways, from mother to child, and blood ways
• 4.3 Effects: growth diseases of liver
• 4.4 Treatment:

1. at the high phase: treatment of the symptoms (fever, tiredness...)
2. at the column phase: therapy

• Protozoan way

• 1. Trichomoniasis:

• 1.1 Symptoms (essentially for women): itches, burn at the vulva and vagina level
• 1.2 Transmission: sexual ways
• 1.3 Effects: infections without seriousness
• 1.4 Treatment: antibiotics

• Fungal

• 1.Candidiasis:

• 1.1 Symptoms: similar to Trichomoniasis
• 1.2 Transmission: frequently infected non-sexually
• 1.3 Treatment: antifungal drugs

• See Annex 2&3

How does contraception be linked to STDs?

It is a little hard to define precisely the link between contraception and STD's. In one hand, contraception doesn't allow the creation of life but if two partners want to have a baby they have to stop the contraception to allow the regular cycle of reproduction. Although, in another hand if the partners decide to stop contraception they are exposed to increased risks of STD contamination. Despite, they have never had another sexual partner before.
The condom is the most efficient way to avoid pregnancy and STD's contamination, but it has to be used perfectly. It means that condoms have to be used at every sexual relations and with a correct way. If the condom is used with a classic way (it means irregular and incorrect way) and not with a perfect way, the risk of being pregnant is from 10 to 14 per cent. Therefore, it is not the condom failure. We speak about condom failure when it breaks or slides during the sexual relation.
In addition, it was proved that STD's can not pass through an undamaged latex condom.
It was also tested that if a person who is infected by the HIV virus has a sexual relation with one who is clean (using regularly a condom), the risk for the clean person to be infected is less than 1% per year. Therefore, it means that if an infected person uses with an irregular way the condom it can be as dangerous as if he doesn't use it at all.
There are several ways for contraception. Some are more adequate to men and others are more adequate for women (see previous informations concerning different ways of contraceptions).

AIDS/HIV the most dangerous and incurable STD...

Nowadays, sexually transmitted infections (STI) are usual in LEDCs and also in MEDs. In fact, STI including HIV are the most important cause of illness among the young population (15-44 years old). Almost one million new cases of STIs occur daily in the world.

• Transmission ways...

There are three ways of VHI transmission:
1) Transmission by sexual contact:

Most people who have VHI, have acquired it through an unprotected sexual relation with their partner, who has VHI. Because they are not protected the person who has the illness will pass to his/her partner by sexual secretion. The best way to protect ourselves of the contamination of this illness is to use a condom correctly. It means, well conserved, well placed. The condom has un efficacity to protect of HIV of 90 % to 95 %.

2) Transmission of a mother to his newborn baby:

The transmission of HIV can occur in the last month of the pregnancy. That's why mothers who are infected by HIV have to have a strict control on their pregnancy otherwise the baby can have a lot of problems at his birth. In Addition, infected mothers can't feed they babies with their own milk because it is a risk to the baby to get inefected.

3) Exposure to infected body fluids:

This way of transmission concern people who take drugs. THe HIV is transmitted to the other person if the blood of the person who has the HIV contacts the blood of the person who doesn't have the HIV. That's why people who take drugs have to clean the syringe to so, take the risk of infection. Besides, people who have tatoos have to be careful where they go do their tatoos and make sure the the person who is going to do his/her tatoo clean correctly the material used.

• What happen in our body when we get infected?

The HIV attacks our immune system. Thanks to our immune system our body can fight against infections. That's also the way of the body to help stop cancers. Therefore, people who get infected by HIV are more likely to have more infections and cancers.

• How can we fight against HIV?

The best way of prevent people against thsi illness is to have a vaccine against it, but unfortunately it is doesn't exist yet. Althought, we can still fight against it making people understand that it is very important to have protected sexual relations. We can educated people in LEDCs who doesn't even know what this illness is. We can explain what happen when they have unprotected sexual relations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the only way to inhibit STD's is the condom, there is no best way. The pill doesn't inhibit at all the transmission and the contamination of STD's, it just acts as a way of contraception because it inhibits the fertilization to start. Whereas, this latex barrier, the condom, acts as a way of contraception in addition of avoiding the risk of transmitting some diseases to our partner (in the case where we are infected) or get infected. Of course, the best way to protect itself and our partner is the combination of the condom and the pill, the protection is absolutely assured! They avoid to get infected by STD's and have undesirable babies.
Even if some diseases can be treated, they remain dangerous for health, for fertility and for the possible baby. They create severe complications and some are fatal. It is better to have fun with a total security...you can better profit this intimate moment with your partner!

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