STDs / STIs

Signs and Symptoms:
rapid weight loss; dry cough; recurring fever or profuse night sweats; profound and unexplained fatigue; swollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck; diarrhea that lasts for more than a week; white spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth, or in the throat; pneumonia; red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids; memory loss; depression and other neurological disorders

Modes of Transmission:
Vaginal, anal and oral contact; body fluids; and from mother to child in breast milk

Complications:
Opportunistic infection (i.e. cancer, pneumonia), brain damage, death

Signs and Symptoms:

• 80% of women and 40% of men have no symptoms.
• Women may have vaginal discharge and/or pelvic pain. When the infection spreads from the cervix to the Fallopian tubes (tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus), some women still have no signs or symptoms; others have lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse, or bleeding between menstrual periods. Chlamydial infection of the cervix can spread to the rectum.
• Men’s symptoms are more apparent: burning during urination, discharge from penis, burning and itching around the opening of the penis, swelling in the testicles

Modes of Transmission:
Mother to baby during vaginal delivery; vaginal, anal and oral sexual contact

Complications:
If untreated, 20-40% of females will develop Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID); may cause sterility

Signs and Symptoms:

• Women: often no symptoms; often mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection; bloody urine/discharge.
• Men: often no symptoms; painful urination; swollen genitals; rashes on arms and legs; discharge (yellowish white)
• Symptoms of rectal infection in both men and women may include discharge, anal itching, soreness, bleeding, or painful bowel movements.
• Rectal infection also may cause no symptoms. Infections in the throat may cause a sore throat but usually causes no symptoms.

Modes of Transmission:
Mother to baby during vaginal delivery; vaginal, anal and oral contact

Complications:
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID); may cause sterility and arthritis

Viral – more than 100 different strains or types
No “cure” for HPV infection, although in most women the infection goes away on its own
More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted, and they can infect the genital area of men and women including the skin of the penis, vulva (area outside the vagina), or anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix, or rectum. Most people who become infected with HPV will not have any symptoms and will clear the infection on their own.

Signs and Symptoms:
Pink, gray, or flesh-colored warts (painless), abnormal pap smear

Modes of Transmission:
Skin-to-skin contact

Complications:

• Highly contagious – looks like cauliflower
• Can take up to 18 months to remove all warts; patient under doctors care for life
• There are no tests to detect HPV infection in men
• Warts must be cut, frozen or burned with acid cream
• All new cervical cancer is caused by HPV

Signs and Symptoms:

• Stage 1: Sores can appear on mouth, genitals, and rectum (small, firm and painless); appear on spot where syphilis entered body; last 3-6 weeks and heal on their own
• Stage 2: Sores heal; white patches on tongue; low-grade fever/flu-like symptoms (swollen lymph glands, headaches, muscle aches, tiredness); hair loss; will clear up without treatment; rash on palms of hands and/or soles of feet
• Stage 3: Begins when secondary symptoms heal; damage to organ systems and ultimately death; no symptoms, just positive blood/fluid tests

Modes of Transmission:
Mother to baby during vaginal delivery; vaginal, anal and oral contact, as well as through kissing; direct contact with a syphilis sore.

Complications:
There is an estimated 2- to 5-fold increased risk of acquiring HIV infection when syphilis is present.

Signs and Symptoms:

• Women: Thin, foul-smelling watery or frothy green vaginal discharge; vaginal irritation, redness; pain during sex; burning upon urination/frequent urination; lower abdominal discomfort
• Men: Discharge from the urethra; urge to urinate; burning sensation with urination or ejaculation

Modes of Transmission:
Vaginal, anal and oral contact

Complications:
The genital inflammation caused by Trichomoniasis can increase a woman’s susceptibility to HIV infection if she is exposed to the virus. Having Trichomoniasis may increase the chance that an HIV-infected woman passes HIV to her sex partner(s).

Two Types:

• HSV-Type 1: commonly causes fever blisters on the mouth or face
• HSV-Type 2: typically affects the genitalia
• Both viral types can cause either genital infection or oral infection
• Transmitted with or without the presence of sores or other symptoms

Signs and Symptoms:
Painful skin lesions (blisters, ulcers, fissures); genital discharge; vulvar irritation; swollen lymph glands; malaise; aches

Modes of Transmission:
Direct contact: kissing, sexual (vaginal, anal and oral contact) or other skin-to-skin contact

Complications:
Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV infection, and it can make HIV-infected individuals more infectious.

Signs and Symptoms:
Jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, grey-colored bowel movements, joint pain

Modes of Transmission:
Mother to baby during vaginal delivery; infected needles or “works”; vaginal, anal and oral contact; blood or body fluids

Complications: Some people who become infected with HBV develop chronic (lifelong) infection. Chronic infection increases the risk for cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer, and liver failure. About 15%-25% of people with chronic HBV infection might die prematurely from liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.