Archive for the 'Sexually Transmitted Diseases' Category

Genital herpes is a common infection in the United States.

A minimum of 45 million people aging 12 and more (one of five adolescents and adults) in all countries are suffering from genital herpes simplex virus.

Genital herpes simplex virus-2 infection is common in women more than men.

Approximately 70-80% of the people have facial herpes and only 10% have genital herpes. Rate of genital herpes infection is dropping down in the United States.

However, most of the people do not know that they have this infection. One in four infected people have no symptoms, two in four have mild symptoms and no diagnosis is required, and one in four has severe symptoms that they need to be diagnosed.

Herpes simplex virus-1 causes the genital herpes, but commonly it infects the mouth and lips (fever blisters or cold sores). A person will get this HSV-1 by oral-to-genital contact or genital-to-genital contact with the person who has this HSV-1 infection.

Complications associated with herpes virus

Herpes virus can play a role in the proliferation of HIV virus that causes AIDS. Herpes makes the people vulnerable to the HIV infection and it makes the HIV infected people more infectious.

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If you suspect to have vaginal infection, it is necessary for you to have an appointment with your primary care physician to confirm.

Depending on the condition, the diagnoses may include normal vaginal discharge, Candidiasis, Trichomonas vaginalis, and bacterial vaginosis (BV).

If you have vaginal discharge, especially after sex with unpleasant smell or vaginal itching, then you might have bacterial vaginosis, but most of the women do not show any such symptoms. Samples of fluid and cells from vagina will be taken to see if the vaginal infection is present.

Laboratory Studies Confirms Bacterial Vaginosis!

Laboratory studies, which help to detect the bacterial vaginosis include:

Whiff Test. In this method, potassium hydroxide solution (few drops) is added to the sample of vaginal discharge. Production of strong fishy odor confirms bacterial vaginosis.

Vaginal pH. If the patient has bacterial vaginosis, this test causes rise in vaginal pH above 4.5 (normal vaginal pH is 3.8-4.5). If the vaginal pH is more than 4.5, then it confirms BV.

Wet Mount. Normal saline (salt) solution is mixed to the sample of vaginal discharge after placing on a microscope slide. This is examined under microscope to identify the presence of bacteria, to look for WBCs, which indicates infection, and to look clue cells (indicator of bacterial vaginosis).

World AIDS day is celebrated worldwide on December 1st of every year. It was in 1988, the World Health Organization established December 1st as World AIDS Day.

On this day, Governments, AIDS programs, various AIDS awareness organizations, individuals, etc.., are provided with an opportunity to raise awareness about AIDS.

“Leadership” is the focus of this year’s World AIDS days. This is the theme set by the UNAIDS, which is the joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS.

According their latest estimates, there are nearly 33.2 million HIV infected individual, which includes 2.5 million children.

And in 2007, nearly 2.5 million people newly got infected with HIV virus. Nearly half of them who got infected are below 25 years old and they are getting killed with AIDS at an age less than 35.

AIDS, which means Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is an infectious disease. In fact, AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV virus. Right now, there isn’t any vaccine available for AIDS.

The AIDS medicines and therapies that are available can only extend the life span of the infected person, but cannot cure it. As, right now there isn’t any cure or vaccine available, it better to prevent. Raising awareness among the people helps them to protect against AIDS.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, which spreads easily during sexual contact.

Treponema pallidum is a species that causes syphilis in humans.

It is an infectious disease. It is mainly seen in adults between 20-29 years of age who are sexually active.

There are three stages of syphilis, primary syphilis, secondary syphilis, and tertiary syphilis.

During the primary stage, primary sores or chancres will be formed in 2-3 weeks after getting infected, but no symptoms will be seen. These sores will disappear in 4-5 weeks.

If the primary syphilis is not treated properly, secondary syphilis occurs in about 2-8 weeks after primary syphilis. The tertiary syphilis is the final stage and it will spread to the brain, heart, skin, bones, and nervous system.

Blood tests to detect the syphilis bacteria:

Blood tests will be done to detect the bacteria that cause syphilis and to diagnose this disease. Tests that are used to screen this disease are venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test, rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test, enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test, and many more.

For many people, tuberculosis (TB) is the first symptom of immune dysfunction associated with HIV infection.

Active tuberculosis is an AIDS defining illness.

One in ten people with HIV will get active tuberculosis within one year of being diagnosed with HIV.

If you have HIV with CD4+ cell count very high that is in the range of 300 to 400, tuberculosis occurs early.

If your HIV virus is in starting stage, tuberculosis affects and infects only the lungs. As your CD4+ cell count drops, tuberculosis is more likely to appear in other parts of the body.

Your HIV levels increase when immune system responds to tuberculosis and therefore it progresses to HIV disease. This, in turn increases other infection risks.

Tuberculosis and HIV positive:

As tuberculosis spreads through air, the increase in active tuberculosis among people infected with both tuberculosis and HIV results in more people with latent tuberculosis, more transmission of tuberculosis bacteria, and more TB disease in whole population.

HIV infections are increasing in latent TB patients. As HIV weakens the immune system, more people are developing active tuberculosis.

If you have genital warts, the psychological and emotional impact of having genital warts is the worst part of HPV.

Most human papilloma virus (HPV) infections go on their way within six months to two years without causing any complications or long-term side effects.

Genital warts are soft, moist, flesh colored and appear on your genital area within weeks or months after infection.

Some types of HPV cause genital warts which appear on the genital areas of men and women including cervix, vagina, vulva, rectum and penis.

Some infections can be linked to other problems like recurring warts, other sexually transmitted infections and cervical cancer.

Recurring warts: Warts can recur in some people within months or years after the infection even after the treatment and no exposure to the HPV. The reason behind this is virus stays in the skin without showing any signs and appears suddenly. Recurring warts can be related to stress or weak immune system which enables the virus to become active.

Link between HPV infection and cervical cancer:

All types of HPV can cause mild abnormalities of pap test which do not have serious consequences. Ten out of thirty identified genital HPV types can lead to development of cervical cancer. According to the research, cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable within two years in most of the women.

Chlamydia may cause infertility in men and most of them do not have symptoms at all. Sexually active men and men with multiple partners are at highest risk. Chlamydia can occur with other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like gonorrhea and syphilis. So, men with Chlamydia must be diagnosed for other sexual diseases.

Men with Chlamydia infection:

In men, Chlamydia develops symptoms similar to those of gonorrhea and can cause epididymitis and orchitis. Epididymitis is a painful infection of the tube system that is a part of the testicles, which can lead to infertility. The symptoms include burning on urination or defecation, itching of the penis, pain or swelling of the testicles and discharge from penis or rectum. But, up to twenty five percent of men may not have symptoms.

Gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disorder is caused by a bacterium called neisseria gonorrhoeae.

This bacterium can develop and multiply easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract.

A woman is more prone to develop this in the areas like cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes, and both men and women can get at urethra.

There is also a chance to grow this bacterium in anus, eyes, and throat.

Gonorrhea is near as serious as HIV transmission, but is a reflection of sorts. Usually gonorrhea occurs in between the age of 20-29 years in men and 15-24 years between women. It is the second most commonly reported infectious disease in the United States.

Every year, about 700,000 people in US get gonorrhea and it is the second most commonly reported infectious disease after Chlamydia. Gonorrhea is one of those diseases for which treatment options are fewer.

The bacterium which causes gonorrhea cannot live outside of the human body for more than a few seconds. It lives only on moist surfaces. So, this disease can be termed as contagious disease.

Gonorrhea in women:

Gonorrhea symptoms are not seen particularly at the starting stages. Some of the symptoms include:

Women with HIV infection who become pregnant have a lower risk of progression to AIDS and death, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center report.Their findings, posted last week on the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, suggest that “the complex set of immunologic changes” that occur during pregnancy may be interacting in a beneficial way with combination drug therapy.

For related information on pregnancy and HIV risks, visit:

http://www.news-medical.net

According to the latest researches, HIV infected mothers can become pregnant. Women are using antiviral drugs safely in pregnancy. The HIV treatment involves 3 anti-HIV drugs, called combination therapy or HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy). These treatments completely changed the lives of pregnant women [HIV Prevention].

Treatment gave much benefit to HIV infected mothers and their children. The HIV treatment will protect the baby also. Once you are taking the treatment for HIV, you can reduce the risk of your baby becoming HIV positive.

Will being pregnant makes HIV worse?

Being pregnant with HIV virus does not make the health of woman worse. Pregnancy also does not make HIV progress much faster. Temporary drop in CD4 count occurs during pregnancy. The drop can be usually of 50 cells/mm3, but it can also vary.

There are many risk factors of oropharyngeal cancer. The risk factors include poor diet, consumption of mate, chewing of betel quid, and infection with human papilloma virus (HPV).

Oropharyngeal cancer occurs when malignant cells form in the tissues of oropharynx. Oropharynx is the middle part of the throat behind the mouth. Most oropharyngeal cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, which are thin, flat cells that line inside of the oropharynx.

There are about 80 different types of human papilloma virus (HPV). This is also called as wart virus as certain types of HPV cause warts on genital parts and some other parts of the body. Among different types of HPV, HPV 16 is the most common type. Oral HPV can raise the risk of oropharyngeal cancer.