Molly’s Story – Be Smart. Be Well.

As we all know, genital herpes is a very widely spread disease of the genital area. Infection caused by it is messy and highly contagious. It affects both women and men, and it is transmitted usually through sexual contact, as well as through other ways.

It can be transmitted through direct contact with contaminated items, like towels, panties,and toilet seats. It can also be transmitted through kissing and in rare cases through oral sexual contact.

It can be transmitted like that because these particular types of viruses can survive outside their natural environments, even for whole minutes, so be careful what is it that you touch, try on, or when you use public restrooms!

Many of the individuals who carry the disease present no symptoms at all. That is highly dangerous because it cannot warn the healthy individuals about its existence. A large number of people get infected every year, because they ignore the symptoms or because they do not present any.

Incubation period of the virus is between three to seven days after the exposure. Usually, the first infection is violent, severe and it has extended evolution, or it can present no symptoms at all, depending on the reactivity of the patient and the individual immune response.

Genital herpes is manifested at the genital level, where small bags of liquid show up, which later transform into open sores. Before the clinical lesions appear, the patient can feel local burns, itches, and sometimes-purulent surfaces.

After two to four days, the grouped blisters break and they transform into painful ulcerations. These ulcerations ca extend and the pustules covered with crusts can cover big surfaces of the skin.

As we mentioned, this infection affects both women and men, no matter what type of sexual activity they develop. People who practice anal sex can get lesions at the anus level. Women however can experience a great amount of pain if the virus is located at the urethra level. Stinging and burning feelings will definitely bother the infected woman, and this condition shall need immediate treatment.

Headaches or cold, even fever, these are few of the symptoms, which can be produced by the exposure to this virus. The lesions caused by it can sometimes spread to the haunches. For treatment of the condition there are anti-viral medicines, which shorten the evolution and reduces the severity of the infection.

Unfortunately, until present days, the specialists could not develop a treatment to prevent the latency state of the virus. Also there is no such remedy for permanent removal of the virus from the human organism. The virus can only be controlled.

Extended treatment in time has proven to be effective for preventing the frequency of the recurrence of the genital herpes, as well as for reducing the infection level. The anti-viral treatment must be proceeded for up to fourteen days, and if the lesions of the skin do not heal after this period of time, the treatment can be extended for seven more days.

What really counts is seeing a doctor in the matter and not leaving the condition unattended, and, most important thing of all, protection for preventing the contamination.

Chicago TV reporter gets Botox on the air: Dean Richards

When you look @ pictures of STD’s, does it make you think twice about having unprotected sex?

WARNING: These photos are graphic, but no genitals are shown. It’s photos of feet, mouth, hands, etc.

Absolutely. I am curious where you got the information or pictures on these diseases. Is the Herpes simples 1 or 2? It almost looks more like canker sores. The HPV, that is not the genital HPV obviously since they like to live in warm moist areas. The Pic of Gonorrhea looks more like a pic I once seen for syphllis. The best place to get accurate information is from the CDC websites. They have pictures there.

Sexually Transmitted Disease

Do they test for STD’s at MEPS?

I went to MEPS for the Marines to get my physical done, and I was wondering if they do STD testing? I ask because I am thinking about getting tested at Planned Parenthood, but it cost 120$

yes they do but they do it at Basic Training not MEPS., and you’re in the wrong section by the way (you should be in the government section)

Afraid that may have an STD?

Alright – my long term boyfriend and I separated for several months but we're together now. I got a new boyfriend in the mean time and we had sex and protected nad messed around unprotected. Now I'm taking antibiotics for another illness and I have a yeast infection of it, I immediately get tested before doing anything with my boyfriend. Is it okay to be tested while on antibiotics and infection Yeast? I can not go to my reg doctor because my whole family goes there, so I'm thinking about family planning, but the prices are a scandal to its more than 400 fully tested and have no insurance! What should I do? I'm afraid of the leg every time my chances of being back with my ex (now we're together, but if I have something I'm sure it is hard to accept but if something like HIV so I did not expect it). What should I do? I went nuts last night – I can not go through another night as well.

You can go to your regular doctor. Meanwhile, do not have sex until you get the green light and a certificate of good health.

Health Care Stakeholder Discussion: Women

what could this be please help?

January 1st of 08 I started dating this guy for 3 months and I had unprotected sex with him, I started to get a lot of symptoms like Headaches, Yeast infection, Mouth sores, Fatigue, swollen tonsils and my Muscles aches all the time. I had an hiv test done in the middle of June and it was negative. My doctor tested me for mono, hpv, chlamydia, herpes, hiv, gonorrhea and my thyroid everything was negative

Get another STD test. Get HIV, trichnomiasis test and Herpes again. Sometimes HIV test results can take a while before you can get good results.

Harold and Harry’s sex education demonstration

Sexually transmitted diseases, commonly known as STDs, are diseases that can be transmitted through sexual interactions with persons already infected with it. These diseases are also known as sexually transmitted infections (STI) or venereal diseases (VD). STDs are also known to spread by means of child birth and breastfeeding. Although many diseases such as the common cold or influenza can spread through sex, they are not called a sexually transmitted disease because sex is not the main vector of these diseases.

Well known for the past 100 years, STDs are a major challenge to present day health care. Because of its infectious nature, persons infected with sexually transmitted diseases are growing everyday in number. This geometric growth of infected persons has persuaded the government of different countries into taking necessary actions such as growing social consciousness.

There are a large number of known STDs and they all are different in nature. These diseases are the effect of various type of germ infections, namely bacterial, viral, fungal etc. Even there are parasites and protozoa STDs. While most of the STDs are treatable and curable, some are not. Of the later group, HIV (Human Immuno Virus) or AIDS is a big example. Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia are some of the bacterial STDs, while HIV, Herpes, Hepatitis A, E and C are viral.

Symptoms of STDs can not be listed as the term STD refers to a group of diseases. Every such disease has its own symptom. But it often occurs that a person infected with a sexually transmitted disease is unaware of it. A person may never feel sick or may never show any symptom towards a sexually transmitted disease and may still be infected.

Sometimes the case may also be that a person who may have an STD is too reluctant to admit it. It is so unfortunate because not only those persons are hard to detect, they make it easier for another person to get infected.

While treatment of an STD depends on the particular disease and may or may not be an easy job to do, prevention of these diseases is easier. Sexually transmitted diseases can be prevented by as simply as practising safe-sex, meaning that one should always use a condom if unsure of his/her partner’s sexual history.

Today governments and NGOs of many poorly developed countries are trying hard to make condom use popular, while in developed countries like the USA, various posters and advertisements are being used to put an end to this dangerous spread of an STD by increasing awareness. Introducing sex education in school syllabus may be another way to act against these diseases.

IPFW Psi Chi February Meeting Part 3