Sexually transmitted infections Flashcards
Sexually transmitted infections STI
Infections preferred over disease becuase it is a broader and more inclusive term
–> STD refers to only infections causing symptomes (STI also without symptoms)
Chlamydia
Chlamydia trachomatis is a bacterium spread by sexual contact and infects the genital organs
- best prevention is a condom
Symptoms of chlamydia
Thin and usually clear discharge and mild discomfort on urination
- appears 7-21 days after the infection
- 50% male is asymptomatic
- 75% female is asymptomatic
–> can still infect others
Diagnosis and treatment chlamydia
Diagnosis: urine sample for men and vaginal cell or urine sample for women
Treatment: quite curable (antibiotica??)
Chlamydia symptoms for women
- pain when urinating
- unusual vaginal discharge
- pain in the tummy or pelvis
- pain during sex
- bleeding after sex
- bleeding between periods
Chlamydia symptoms for men
- pain when urinating
- white or watery discharge from the tip
- burning or itching in the urethra
- pain in the testicles
If chlamydia is left untreated
Women: it can spread to the womb and cause a serius condition called pelvic inflammatory disease. This is a major cause of ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women
Men: epididymitis the infection can cayse swelling in the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles and the testicles themselves. Could effect fertility. Uretrhal damage
Gonorrhea
Also called the clap or the drip
- caused by a bacterium (neisseria gonorrhoeae or gonococcus)
- olders of the sexual diseases
Gonorrhea symptoms
Appear 2-5 days after infection
- a think green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, pain when urinating and in women bleeding between periods
- however aroun 1 in 10 infected males and almost half infected females are asymptomatic
- if left untreated, women risk pelvic inflammatory disease (pelvic pain and infertility). In men, it causes painful infection in the testicles and prostate gland, which may lead to reduced dertility in a small number of cases
Diagnosis of gonorrhea
Men: sample of discharge is examinated or a urine test
Women: cervical discharge, urine test and a pelvic exam
Both: a swab from the throat or rectum could be taken and cultured if necessary
Syphilis
Caused by the Treponema pallidum bacterium
- can cause damage to the nervous system and even cause death
- makes one more vulnerable to HIV and vice versa
Stage of syphilis
Syphilis proceeds in stages
- primary stage
- secondary stage
- latent syphilis (may last for years)
–> in the latent stage, the disease is no longer infectious, except that pregnant women can still pass it on to the fetus (congenital syphilis)
- late syphilis (tertiary-stage)
Primary syphilis
The first symptoms usually develop around 2 or 3 weeks after infection
- the main symptom is a small, painless core or ulcer, resembling a crater
- the sore will typically be on the penis, vagina or around the anus, but sometimes appears in the mouth or on the lips, fingers or buttocks
- most people only have one sore, but some have several
- swollen glands in your nech, groin or armpit
–> these symptoms usually pass within 2 to 8 weeks. But if left untreated it may progress to a second stage
Secondary syphilis
Beginning a few months after the appearance of the sores (chancre)
- a blotchy red rash that can appear anywhere on the body, but often develops on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- the rash does not itch or hurt
- small skin growths on the vulva or around the anus
- white patches in the mounth
- flu-like symptoms, such as tiredness, headaches, joint pains, and fever
- swollen glands
- occasionally patchy hair loss
–> these symptoms usually pass within a week, although they may come and go over several months before they disappear
Tertiary/late syphilis
Syphilis can spread to parts of the body such as the brain or nerves and cause serious and potentially life-treatening problems
- meningitis
- strokes
- demential symptoms
- loss of coordination
- numbness
- vision problems or blindness
- heart problems
–> syphilis is still treatable at this stage, but it is sometimes not possible to reverse any damage that has already been done
Diagnosis of syphilis
Physical examination of the genitals or other parts of the body to look for growths or rashes caused by syphilis
- blood test: can also show if you have had it in the past
- swab test: fluid from the sore
Treatment is antibiotics
Genital Herpes
A disease of the genital organs caused by a herpes simplec virus
- highly contagious and easily spread through sexual intercourse and oral-genital sec
–> condoms do not provide full protection
Symptoms of genital herpes
Small, painful bumps or blisters around genitals, anus, thights or buttocks
- bumps/blisters typically appear within 2-3 weeks of infection
- usually found on the vaginal lips, penis or anus
Tingling, burning or itching around genitals
Painful urination
In wome, unusual vaginal discharge
Treatment for genital herpes
There is no cure
- drugs prevent or reduce recurring symptoms
- cream for the pain
Long term consequences of genital herpes
- meningitus
- narrowing of the urethra due to scarring (difficulty with urination)
- increased risk of becoming infected with HIV
- transfer of virus from mother to infant durin childbirth (–> c-section)
HIV/AIDS
Human immune deficiency virus (HIV) causes Acquired immuni deficiancy syndrome (AIDS)
- it destroys the body’s natural system of immunity to diseases
HIV virus
HIV is one of the retroviruses
- reproduce only in living cells of the host species
- the host cell is invaded and each time it devides, the genetic code of the virus is multiplied
–> HIV invades a group of white blood cells (lymphocytes) called T-helper or T4 cells
- cells critical to the body’s immune response in fighting off infections
- when HIV reproduces, it destroys the infected T-cells
HIV infections
HIV is transmitted by the exchange of body fluids: semen, blood, possibly secretions of the cervix and vagina
- sexual intercourse (also anal)
- contaminated blood
- contaminated hypodermic needles
- infected woman to her baby during pregnancy or childbirth
HIV staging
The centers for disease control has established the following categorization of HIV infection:
- stage 0: initial infection and development of antibodies to the virus over 2 to 8 weeks; T-cell count remains around 1000
- stage 1: T-cell count drops but is still above 500
- stage 2: T-cell count between 200-499
- stage 3: AIDS; T-cell count below 200
HIV diagnosis
Blood test that detects the presence of antibodies to HIV are easy and cheap to perform
- not accurate until after antibodies form, which takes a while
- time from initial infection until a test can detect the antibodies is called the window period and is about 30 days
Other tests detect antigens and antibodies and shorten the window to about 18 days
Laboratory test are more accurate than home tests
HIV treatment
No cure; now a manageable long term disease
- prevention PrEP
Treatment aims:
- stops the virus from multiplying, but they cannot repair the immune system
- slows the progression of the disease
- to prevent opporunistic infectioins
Recent progress in AIDS research
Working on developing a vaccine
- HIV has many forms and mutates rapidly
- strain may be different from one country to the next
–> people with two copies of a mutation on the CCR5 gene appear to be resistant to HIV infection
Viral hepatitis
There are 5 types, but hepatits B is of most interest –> long term can cause serious liver disease involving cirrhosis or cancer
- many adults infected with hep B are asymptomatic
- abdominal pain
- dark urine
- fever
- joint pain
- loss of appetite
- nausea and vomiting
- weakness and fatigue
- yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)
Diagnosis of viral hepatitis
- blood tests detect signs of Hep B virus and determine wether it’s acute or chronic
- liver ultrasound: a special ultrasound calles transient elastography can show the amount of liver damage
- Liver biopsy: a small sample of the liver is removed to check for liver damage
Treatment and prevention of general hepatitis
Treatment: antiviral treatment
Prevention: vaccine
Zika virus
Discovered in rhesus monkeys and in humans
- in Brazil 2015 doctors noticed an unusual number of babies with microcephaly and linked it to ZIKA
- the main risk of catching the disease is from infected mosquitoes via bites
- ZIKA can be spread in bodily fluids
–> practice safe sex for a tleast 6 months to avoid spreading it
Trichomoniasis
Caused by the protozoan trichomonas vaginalis
- a form of vaginitis, transmitted mainly through sexual intercourse
Symptoms of trichomoniasis
- symptoms usually develop within a month of infection
- up to half of all (wo)men infected with trichomoniasis are asymptomatic, but it is contagious
- in women, it may cause abnormal vaginal discharge or red blothches on the walls of the vagina and on the cervix
- in men, it may cause discharge from the penis
Diagnosis and treatment of trichomoniasis
Diagnosis:
- physical examination
- swab test from the vagina or penis
- in men, a urine sample can also be tested
Treatment: antibiotics (metronidazole) taken orally
–> if left untreated: pelvic inflammatory disease, problems with birth, and increased susceptibility to HIV infection
Pubic lice
Tiny lice that attach to the base of pubic hairs and feed on blood from their human host
Symptoms:
- itching in the affected areas, especially at night
- inflammation and irritation caused by scratiching
- blue spots or small spots of blood on your skin, such as on your thighs or lower abdomen
Treatment: Nix and Rid
Scabies - schurft
Caused by itch-mite
- very infectious, but usually not that serious, but needs treatment
- the rash usually spreads across the whole body - apart from the head
- intense itching, especially during the night
- it can take up to 8 weeks for the rash to appear
Treatment: use of cream or lotiion that you can apply over your whole body
–> everyone in the household needs to be treated at the same time - even if they don’t have symptoms
Biological factors for STI
- lack of symptoms makes certain infections easier to spread
- infections that create open sores allow infections to more easily enter and exit the body
- resistance tot treatment or lack of a cure
Psychological factors for STI
- use of birth controll may create false feeling of safety of condom use
- stigma and shame of getting tested discourage some people from finding out their status
- people are unrealistically optimistic about their health
- commitment may lead you to view a partner as safe, which reduces the [erceived need for condoms
Behavioral factors for STI
- early initiation of intimate sexual activity
- sequential sexual relationships
- concurrent sexual relationships
- high-risk sexual partners
- high-risk sexual behavior
- inconsistent and incorrect condom use
- substance abuse
- sexual coercion
- lack of knowledge or concerns about STI’s
Vaginits
Vaginale ontsteking of irritatie (geen STI)
- goed vulva wassen en drogen
- katoen ondergoed
- losse broeken
- van de anus wegvegen
- nooit anaal tot vaginaal
Candida
Vaginitis door het candida schimmel
- pil, menstruatie, diabetes, zwangerschap, antibiotica als oorzakaken
- dikke afscheiding en jeuk
- medicatie als behandeling
Bacteriele vaginose
Een vaginale infectie die een gelijkende afscheding produceert. Heeft ook een vieze geur
Prostatitis
Ontsteking van de prostaatclier, vaak door E. Coli, gonorrhea of chlamydia
