Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

Contagious diseases usually transmitted during genital contact. In the United States the most commonly reported infections are sexually transmitted, and the incidence has risen over the past 20 years despite improved methods of diagnosis and treatment. Once known as “venereal diseases,” these conditions are sometimes acquired in childhood as a result of child abuse. Some of the major sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are also transmitted by blood.

STDs affect boys and girls of all backgrounds and economic levels and are most common among teenagers and young adults. Nearly two-thirds of all STDs occur in people younger than age 25. The incidence of STDs is rising in part because in the last few decades, young people have become sexually active younger but are marrying later. As a result, sexually active teenagers today are more likely to have multiple sex partners.

STDs include GONORRHEA, SYPHILIS, chancroid, SCABIES, HERPES, genital WARTS, pubic LICE, trichomoniasis, genital candidiasis, HEPATITIS B, nonspecific URETHRITIS, CHLAMYDIA, CYTOMEGALOVIRUS, and AIDS.

Symptoms
Most of the time STDs cause no symptoms, especially in women. If symptoms do develop, they may be confused with other diseases that are not transmitted sexually. Even if an STD does not cause symptoms, however, a teenager who is infected may be able to pass the disease on to a sex partner. This is why many doctors recommend periodic testing or screening for teens who have more than one sex partner.

Health problems caused by STDs tend to be more severe and more common among girls and women, partly because girls may not have symptoms and thus do not seek care until serious problems occur. Some STDs can spread into the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE, which in turn is a major cause of infertility and tubal pregnancy. STDs in girls and woman also may be eventually associated with cervical cancer. For example, human papillomavirus infection causes genital warts and cervical cancer.

In addition, STDs can be passed from a mother to her child before, during, or immediately after birth; some of these infections in the newborn can be cured easily, but others may cause a baby to be permanently disabled or die.

Treatment
When diagnosed and treated early, many STDs can be treated effectively, although some infections have become resistant to the drugs used to treat them and now require newer types of antibiotics. When being treated, patients should notify all recent sex partners, complete the full course of medication, and take a follow-up test to make sure the infection has been cured. Patients also should avoid all sexual activity while being treated for an STD.

Prevention
The best way to prevent STDs is to avoid sexual contact with others. To reduce the risk of developing an STD, teens who are sexually active should:

• have only one partner
• correctly and consistently use a condom
• prevent and control other STDs to decrease susceptibility to HIV infection
• delay having sex, because the younger a person is having sex for the first time, the more vulnerable to an STD
• have regular checkups for STDs even in the absence of symptoms, especially if having sex with a new partner
• avoid having sex during menstruation—HIVinfected women are more infectious, and HIVuninfected women are more susceptible to becoming infected during this time
• avoid anal intercourse, but if practiced, use a condom
• avoid douching, because this removes some of the normal protective bacteria in the vagina and increases the risk of getting some STDs