Many people with STDs may not show the symptoms and may pass the infection to their sexual partners without their knowledge. It is therefore important to practice safer sex at all times and to get regularly tested for STDs if you are sexually active, if you have multiple sexual partners, or if your partner experiences symptoms of infection.
STDs can also be transmitted non-sexually through blood transfusions, from mother to the unborn child, or through sharing sharps. The infections can be viral like hepatitis B, bacterial like syphilis, or parasite infections. STD testing in Lake Nona helps to catch the infection early enough before complications occur.
What Are the Symptoms of STDs?
Most people with STDs are asymptomatic. Some of the symptoms that show that you have an STD include pain when passing urine and burning sensation on the urethra. There may be an abnormal vaginal discharge with a bad smell. The discharge may be thicker than usual and maybe yellow or brown.
Another sign of STDs is ulcers and bumps on the genital organs or in the mouth. Men may also experience abnormal discharge from the urethra. Pain during sex is another sign of an underlying STD. A person with an STD may also experience fever and chills as a sign of an underlying infection. Lower abdominal pain or lower back pain may also be experienced as well as a body rash.
Who Is at Risk of Getting an STD?
A person who has unprotected sex is at an increased chance of getting an STD. Using condoms is one effective way of preventing transmission of infections as well as unwanted pregnancies. Having oral sex also puts you at risk of sexually transmitted infections in the mouth. Having multiple sexual partners also increases the risk of getting an STD.
Being sexually abused also increases the risk of STDs because the perpetrators rarely use protection. People who inject drugs can transmit STDs like HIV and Hepatitis B as they share needles. Alcohol abuse increases the risk of STDs because it impairs judgment and therefore makes the person engage in risky sexual behaviors like unprotected sex.
STDs mainly affect young people as well as women of color more than Caucasians. People from a lower socioeconomic status are at a higher risk because some engage in transactional sex to get money. If you are immunosuppressed, you are at a higher risk of getting STD. Babies of mothers who have an STD are at risk of acquiring the STD during childbirth.
The most effective way of preventing STDs is abstaining from sex. Other ways include using condoms, having one sexual partner, avoiding sharing needles, avoiding alcohol abuse, and testing pregnant women for STDs during pregnancy and starting them on treatment to protect the unborn child. Vaccination for HPV and Hepatitis B as well as taking PREP for HIV also helps in prevention.
What Are the Complications of STDs?
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a common complication of STD that causes inflammation of the uterus, the fallopian tubes, the ovary, and the peritoneum. It presents with lower abdominal pain, pain during sex, nausea and vomiting, and fever. PID can lead to other complications like infertility due to scarring and pelvic abscess. Treatment is given with antibiotics and abstaining from sex.
Other complications of STDs include chronic conditions like HIV & AIDS and increased risk of cervical, oropharyngeal and anal cancers. Blindness in children, heart diseases, and arthritis are other complications of STDs.
STDs can be asymptomatic or can present with symptoms like abnormal vaginal and penile discharge, vaginal bleeding, and genital ulcers. Risky sexual behaviors increase the risk of STDs which can complicate to cause PID, HIV, cancers, and heart diseases. Abstaining and practicing safer sex are some of the ways to prevent STDs.