Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually Transmitted Diseases STDs, a.k.a venereal diseases, infectious diseases passed from one person to another during sexual contact. STDs are the most common infections known. More than 12 million people in the United States, including 3 million teenagers, are infected with STDs every year. The United States has the highest STD rate in the world about one in ten Americans will contract an STD during his or her lifetime. People who do not know they are infected risk infecting their sexual partners and, in some cases, their unborn children. If left untreated, these diseases may cause pain or may destroy a woman's ability to have children. Some STDs can be cured with a single dose of antibiotics, but AIDS cannot be cured. Those most at risk for contracting STDs are people who have unprotected sexÐ'--without using a condom, people who have multiple partners, and people whose sex partners are drug users who share needles. Static's show that Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 are most likely of catching STDs than older adults, because younger people usually have multiple sexual partners than an older person in a long-term relationship. Teenagers may be embarrassed to tell their sexual partners they are infected Teenagers may also be embarrassed or unable to seek medical attention for STDs. This means that they only more likely to pass the disease to other young people and have a greater risk of suffering the long-term consequences of untreated STDs. STDs are transmitted by infectious bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and single-celled organisms called protozoa that live in warm, moist parts of the body, like the genital area, mouth, and throat. Most STDs are spread while having sex, but oral sex can also spread disease. Some STDs are passed from a mother to her child while pregnant, when the disease enters the baby's bloodstream, during childbirth as the baby passes through the birth canal, or after birth, when the baby drinks infected breast milk. AIDS can be transmitted by blood contact such as open wounds, between people who share infected needles or received through an injection of infected blood. Some people believe that STDs can be transmitted through shaking hands or other casual contact, or through contact with inanimate objects such as clothing or toilet seats, but they can't. Chlamydeous, is from trachoma is bacterium, is the most commonly transmitted STD in the United States. About 500,000 chlamydia infections are reported each year. Since chlamydia may not produce noticeable symptoms, it usually goes untreated. People who do not know they are infected may not seek medical attention and may continue to have sex, not knowing they're spreading the disease. When symptoms do develop, men may experience painful or burning urination or a discharge from the penis. Women may experience burning urination, vaginal secretion, or mild lower abdominal pain. If left untreated, chlamydia damages reproductive tissue, causing inflammation of the urethra in men and maybe in women. Chlamydia infections are diagnosed by testing penile and vaginal discharge. Gonorrhea, is made by neisseria gonorrhea, infects the membranes in certain genital organs. About 325,000 gonorrhea infections are reported each year in the United States. Like chlamydia, gonorrhea is often symptomless, and men are more likely to develop symptoms than women are. Symptoms may be similar to those of chlamydia and include burning urination and penile or vaginal discharge. Babies born to mothers with gonorrhea are at risk of infection during childbirth; such infections can cause eye which can make the baby blind. Gonorrhea is treatable with several antibiotics. A potentially life-threatening STD is syphilis, which comes from Treponema palladiums. Experts say there are about 100,000 new