Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are diseases that can be transferred from one person to another through sexual contact. As per the reports from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over millions of cases reported annually in the United States. Adolescents and young adults (15-24) are the age groups at the greatest risk for acquiring sexually transmitted diseases. STDs can have severe consequences, especially in women, if not treated. Some can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility, while others may even be fatal.

There are many diseases, which are transmitted sexually, but commonly known sexually transmitted diseases in women are mentioned below.

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV): Bacterial Vaginosis is the name of a condition in women where the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Discharge, odor, pain, itching, or burning sometimes accompanies it.

Chlamydia: Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, which can damage a woman's reproductive organs. Even though symptoms of chlamydia are usually mild or absent, serious complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur "silently" before a woman ever recognizes a problem.

Genital herpes: Sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) is genital herpes. Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2. When person gets infected, they typically appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers that may take two to four weeks to heal the first time they occur.

Gonorrhea: It is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can grow and multiply easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix (opening to the womb), uterus (womb), and fallopian tubes (egg canals) in women, and in the urethra (urine canal) in women and men. The bacterium can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus.

HIV/AIDS: Testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be an effective tool in preventing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Individuals who are infected with STDs are at least two to five times more likely than uninfected individuals to acquire HIV if they are exposed to the virus through sexual contact. In addition, if an HIV-infected individual is also infected with another STD, that person is more likely to transmit HIV through sexual contact than other HIV-infected persons.

Hepatitis: It is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis viruses. Hepatitis A, B, C, D & E are various types of hepatitis diseases. Hepatitis viruses' hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis D virus (HDV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), causes these diseases. These are the diseases, which are sexually transmitted or may spread out during epidemics.