STD awareness

A sexually transmitted disease (STD) is an infection, typically bacterial or viral, that is transmitted through sexual contact. Those who are sexually active should have STD awareness and understand the importance of screening.

“If you’re sexually active, you should be evaluated for screening yearly; sometimes more often depending on your risk factors,” said Dr. Bayless Drum, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor. “A lot of STDs are asymptomatic, which is why it is important to get screened for them.”

Symptoms

While STDs often are asymptomatic, they can still cause the body harm if not treated properly.

“For example, you could be asymptomatic from a chlamydia infection and not know you have it, and that infection could travel up from your cervix through your uterus and up into your fallopian tubes. In the long run this could cause pain or even infertility.” Drum said.

Women and men can experience different symptoms of STDs. Abnormal vaginal discharge or a change in normal discharge in women can be a sign of an STD, such as if the discharge changes in abundance, is yellow or green, or even bloody. Other symptoms in women include lower abdominal pelvic pain with fever, a rash on any part of the body or bleeding that is triggered by intercourse or occurs between periods.

Men might experience a rash, burning with urination, abnormal discharge from the penis or even a sore throat.

Testing

Testing for STDs depends on your risk factors as well as your sexual activity pattern. Different screenings include urine tests, vaginal swabs, oral swabs, rectal swabs and blood tests. Anyone can get screened by their primary care provider, OBGYN or health department. Baylor’s Teen Health Clinic offers free testing for anyone ages 13-24 in various locations.

“A conversation about getting screened should happen yearly whether that’s with an OBGYN or primary care doctor,” Drum said. “Women see their OBGYN yearly, but men who are young and healthy are not necessarily seeing a primary care provider every year, so it’s important for them to know they need to see someone for their testing. They often don’t know they need to be getting screened for their long-term health and for their partners’ health.”

Treatment

Treating STDs depends on the type of infection. STDs are often treated with a course of pills, antibiotics or injections. Expedited partner therapy entails making sure patients’ partners also receive treatment. This therapy is applied to both gonorrhea and chlamydia in the state of Texas. In general, patients and their partners must avoid sexual activity for seven days after completing their treatment to cure the infection. They must follow-up with their provider to make sure they were properly treated and not re-exposed.

Infections of the cervix or penis, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia or Trichomoniasis, can be treated and completely cured. HIV, syphilis and hepatitis can become more chronic, so patients would follow a physician’s long-term treatment and management plan.

If left untreated, patients could transmit the infection to other partners, which can cause them harm as well. Syphilis and HIV can be symptomatic or asymptomatic for long periods. Without symptoms, the infection can cause complications in pregnancy, lead to infection of the pregnancy itself and can lead to long-term consequences related to those infections. Syphilis can affect the brain, cause infections elsewhere in the body and affect pregnancy. HIV might live asymptomatically for a time and affect future pregnancy.

Prevention

Practicing safe sex is critical for STD prevention. Prevention steps include:

1. A conversation with your partner before you engage in sexual intercourse and making sure you are both up to date on your screenings since your last partner.
2. Routine condom use during intercourse.
3. Making sure you are up to date on vaccines.

Vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B (HBV) exist to prevent these viruses. If you are exposed to either, the vaccines help fight off the infection.

Annual screening is crucial for STD awareness and prevention. If you are sexually active, talk to your OBGYN or primary care provider about your patterns to understand how often you should test.

By Homa Warren