Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

S–Y
sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention
Doctors diagnose and treat about 12 million new
STD infections annually in the United States, and
more than 70 million Americans live with incurable
STDs. Nearly all STD infections are preventable
through sexual abstinence, which is a certain
though often undesirable preventive measure, or
through safer sex practices, which include using
latex condoms with every sexual act and regular
screening tests for STDs.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES (STDs)
Curative Treatment
chancroid
CHLAMYDIA
GONORRHEA
lymphogranuloma venereum
nongonococcal URETHRITIS
SYPHILIS
TRICHOMONIASIS
Treatment but No Cure
GENITAL HERPES
HEPATITIS B
HIV/AIDS
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV)
HEPATITIS C and TUBERCULOSIS also are often contracted
through sexual contact though are not traditionally
considered STDs. Untreated STDs can
have significant health consequences including
INFERTILITY, CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM damage, generalized
organ damage, and death. STDs can affect
anyone who is sexually active. However, certain
groups of people are more vulnerable to STD
INFECTION and to the consequences of untreated
STDs. Health experts classify these groups as special
focus populations
• men who have sex with other men (MSM)
• injectable DRUG users
• men and women who have unprotected sex
with multiple partners
46
• men and women entering correctional facilities
• adolescents and young adults
• women and infants
STDs may not cause symptoms, especially in
women. A person who is unaware that he or she
has an STD continues to spread the infection. The
infection also has long-term personal consequences.
For women, the key complication of
untreated or repeated STD infection is PELVIC
INFLAMMATORY DISEASE (PID), a leading cause of
infertility. PID also can cause chronic PAIN and
contribute to ECTOPIC PREGNANCY (also called tubal
pregnancy), a life-threatening circumstance in
which a pregnancy takes root in the fallopian tube
or elsewhere in the abdominal cavity instead of
the UTERUS.
Oral contraceptives (birth control pills),
diaphragms, intrauterine devices
(IUDs), and spermicides do not protect
women from contracting STD infections.
Men may also have STDs without symptoms,
though often develop urethritis (INFLAMMATION of
the URETHRA) with discharge that leads to examination
and diagnosis. In men and women alike,
untreated SYPHILIS goes into stages of REMISSION. In
most STDs, the infection remains contagious
whether or not symptoms are present. The male
latex condom is the most effective barrier against
transmitting STDs. The pathogens that cause STDs
cannot pass through the latex. However, contact
between body fluids and mucous membranes can
occur around the condom, so its protection is not
foolproof. It is essential to use condoms properly
(putting them on immediately upon erection and