by Alison Bowler

Created on: November 10, 2009

To have any sexually transmitted disease (STD) a person must have had close sexual contact with an infected person. Some STDs respond to treatment allowing a complete cure, others require medication to help control the symptoms. Without treatment, some STDs have long-term serious even fatal consequences.

If a person is symptomatic, they will often o to a clinic or doctor for diagnosis and treatment. However, many people with STDs are asymptomatic but can still pass the infection on to a sexual partner.

Anyone with a diagnosis of a STD can prevent passing it on to a sexual contact. The use of a condom prevents many cases. Completing a full course of antibiotic therapy before indulging in any unprotected sexual activity cures many diseases, so preventing the infection of a partner.

If any of your sexual partners are asymptomatic then they may be transmitting the disease to others unknowingly. A frank honest conversation between yourself and your sexual partner can prevent them infecting others.

What are the consequences of untreated infections? That depends of the person and the infection.

Chlamydia

Easily treated with antibiotics such as doxycycline this disease is frequently asymptomatic particularly in women. About 75% of women and 50% of men with chlamydia are asymptomatic.

Untreated women frequently develop Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). Damage to the fallopian tubes by PID causes infertility or lead to an ectopic pregnancy. Without surgical intervention, ectopic pregnancies usually cause fatal complications to the pregnant woman.

Men suffer fewer problems with this infection if untreated. However, occasional cases of Orchitis or epidimytis occur which lead to sterility. The also run the risk of Reiter's syndrome which causes arthritis, skin lesions and eye lesions.

Pregnant women pass the infection to their newborn child at birth causing the child respiratory and eye infections.

Gonorrhea

This is another disease that responds well to antibiotics. Like chlamydia, this is more commonly asymptomatic in women.

This infection also leads to PID in women. A newborn, infected at birth, suffers severe eye infections that can lead to blindness.

A complication of untreated gonorrhea seen in both men and women is septic arthritis causing pain and immobility to a joint or joints.

Herpes

Although there are drugs that will alleviate the symptoms, no drugs cure this recurrent infection. A person with this must take precautions to prevent passing it onto another partner.

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