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Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Understanding venereal diseases
By Henrylito D. Tacio
Health 101
VENEREAL diseases (named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love) have been around a long time. The Old Testament makes many references to it. Notables who have suffered from VD include Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Catherine the Great of Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte, Oscar Wilde, John Keats, and Vincent van Gogh.
Today, VD has been superseded by the broader term sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which include the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids). As Aids is incurable and the number of persons afflicted with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) increasing, STDs have been relegated in the picture.
Unknowingly, these "neglected" STDs--gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia and trichomonas, to mention a few--are on the rise, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO). "The burden of the curable STDs is far greater than the discomfort and pain caused by initial infection," the WHO said in a recent statement.
"They cause many serious complications, especially for women. These include spread of infection to the pelvis (pelvic inflammatory disease) which in turn is a major cause of infertility in many parts of the world," the UN health agency said.
The two most common VD are gonorrhea and syphilis.
Commonly known as "the clap," gonorrhea is caused by a bacterium ("Neisseria gonorrhoea"). It occurs among people who have sex with multiple partners, especially in those who do not practice safe sex. Oral sex with an infected partner can produce a gonorrheal infection of the throat.
Gonorrhea can also be transmitted to the rectal areas (the last section of the large intestine) of both men and women.
Although the disease is relatively easy to treat, those infected do not acquire immunity to it, and may get infected repeatedly. Left untreated, the disease can cause sensitive complications like infertility and arthritis (if infection enters the bloodstream and affects the joints).
If a pregnant woman has gonorrhea, she can pass it to her child during delivery. This can cause blindness in the child.
Among men, the symptoms include pain or burning sensation when urinating; thick, pus-like discharge from the penis; and in some cases, red, swollen testicles. In women, six out of ten show no symptoms.
For this reason, women have a higher risk of developing complications and of unknowingly spreading the disease.
However, the prevalent symptoms among women include vaginal discharge and tender of the cervix or vagina; painful and frequent urination; pain in the lower abdomen (if infection reaches the womb, fallopian tubes, and ovaries); and sore eyes.
Diagnosis of gonorrhea is made by culturing the bacteria. Antibiotic treatment regimens included use of penicillin, tetraacycline, ampicillin, or other drugs. Some strains of gonorrhea (penicillin-resistant strains) are much more difficult to treat than others, report Drs. Wayne A. Payne and Dale B. Hahn, editors of "Understanding Your Health."
Like gonorrhea, syphilis is caused by a bacterium ("Treponema pallidum").
However, it is more dangerous than gonorrhea as it can cause lesions of the skin, and inflammation of the bones, invade joints, eyes, and especially the brain and cardiovascular system. It can even be fatal if it remains untreated for a long period of time. The untreated pregnant woman can give syphilis to her unborn child.
The first symptom of syphilis, the chancre sore, appears between 99 days after initial exposure. It generally appears at the point where the disease's harmful bacteria entered the bloodstream--usually the genitals. It is painless and resembles a cold sore.
Syphilis then advances into its second stage. Anywhere from a week to six months, a rash appears--all over the body, or just on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet--accompanied by mild fever and headache. If untreated at this stage, syphilis enters its third or "latent" stage, where there are no outward symptoms. The infectious agents remain dormant within the body cells.
Health authorities said the disease could recur for a third time 15 to 25 years after initial contact. In late stage syphilis, tissue damage will be profound and irreversible. Damage to the cardiovascular system, central nervous system, eyes, and skin occurs, and death from the effects of the disease is likely.
During the first stage, syphilis is transmitted through vaginal, oral, or anal sexual contact; at the second stage, by mere direct casual contact (like kissing or touching an open sore). After the first few years of latent stage, the disease is not likely to be spread to others.
For feedback and comments, write me at tasyo2002@yahoo.com.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (June 7, 2005 issue)
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