Venereal Diseases
Venereal diseases, otherwise known as sexually transmitted
diseases or STDs, are illnesses caused due to some infection
that has, or is likely to, pass between person to person during
sexual activity. Sexual activity in this sense is not limited
to vaginal intercourse, but also includes virtually any sexual
variation including oral sex and anal sex
The abbreviation STD is becoming increasingly replaced by
STI, standing for sexually transmitted infection, which covers
a broader scope of conditions technically speaking, such as
a case where a person has an infection which has not yet become
an illness, like for example with the HIV virus and AIDS.
Additionally, in terms of perception, the word ‘infection’
comes across in a less negative light than ‘disease’, which
can be helpful in terms of education and treatment related
to certain venereal diseases.
Some sexually transmitted infections can also be spread
by non-sexual means, such as sharing needles in the case of
intravenous drug users, as well as being passed from mother
to child. These transmissions are still regarded as STIs or
STDs.
Often the terms STD and STI can be deployed in an interchangeable
fashion, but there are differences between the two and the
switch is not 100% accurate. In the case of an STI, some form
of infection will be present in the patient, whether due to
viral, bacterial or parasitic infection.
This infection may or may not lead to the development of
a disease as a result of the initial infection, and the patient
may never experience any symptoms of carrying the infection.
In the case of an STD, there will be an infection present
also, but it will have manifested as a disease with associated
symptoms and consequences. Which is why the term STI is more
often employed, as it is more flexible and wide-ranging. HIV
is an STI but not an STD. AIDS is both.
Several kinds of STIs are more likely to be transmitted
by means of the penis’s mucous membrane, rather than in any
other manner. Although many can be transmitted via the vulva,
and some by mouth-to-mouth contact. Though the head of the
penis produces no mucous as such, it is covered with a membrane
known as a mucous membrane, which innately allows certain
substances to pass easily through it. This is one of the primary
reasons why some diseases are far more likely to be transmitted
from person to person by means of sexual intercourse than
they are by any other fashion (for example close physical
contact).
It is also the reason why some infections spread more readily
as a result of oral sex than they do by, say, kissing.
In the case of HIV, the virus itself naturally occurs in
higher concentrations in genital fluids than it does elsewhere
in the body, such as in the saliva. Other STIs can be passed
from one person to another by minimal skin contact. Herpes
is a classic example of a venereal disease that requires no
real sexual contact in order to be spread from person to person.
Some sexually transmitted infections can be spread by a
person without said person even being aware that they are
infected in the first place, even if this is less likely than
in a case when symptoms are presenting.
Again, herpes can be spread by contact with the effected
area when the sores are visible, but can also be spread when
there are no visible sores or any other indication that the
disease is present. The chance of the latter happening is
somewhat less than the former, but a chance is a chance.
Any social behaviour that involves the bodily fluids of
one person intermingling with those of another should be considered
an activity which puts you at risk of acquiring a sexually
transmitted disease. Different diseases present with different
symptoms and complications, and by far the most feared and
notorious is AIDS, which is highly infectious, incurable,
and fatal.
Abstinence is by far the most effective and least fun way
to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Failing that, safe
sex should be practiced, including the use of condoms where
appropriate. Not even condoms, however, are a failsafe protection
against venereal diseases.
Avoiding sharing needles either during recreational drug
use or tattooing can also improve your chances of avoiding
infection. Some unlucky doctors have been known to contract
sexually transmitted infections as a result of being accidentally
punctured with an infected needle during the course of their
work.
Different types of people will therefore be broadly categorized
into ‘risk groups’, with medical staff, intravenous drug users
and tattoo fanatics living in central Africa at one end of
the scale, and devout nuns living on empty islands off the
coast of scotland at the other.
Recent studies have shown predictable links between a person’s
social and sexual networks, and their potential risk of contracting
a sexually transmitted disease, as well as the type of disease.
In particular, thought it seems obvious to say it, a person
will be at increased risk of contracting an STI if they have
multiple sexual partners, no matter how careful they think
they are.
Some common drug treatments for venereal diseases include
retrovir, vitonavir and norvir (for AIDS), penicillin and
doxycillin (syphilis and chlamydia), fluconazole (yeast infections)
and permethrin/lindane (crabs).
If you think you have a venereal disease, you should see your
physician as a matter of urgency, and be responsible with
regards to informing your current or previous sexual partners
about the possibility that they may also be infected. Some
sexually transmitted infections can have serious consequences
if left untreated, including cancer.
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