With Valentine's Day around the corner and the emphasis on romance, it is not just the young. Mid-life romance and sexual activity is associated with health related quality of life.

If you are just getting back into the dating scene what lurks out there that you need to know about?


CHLAMYDIA

  • silent symptoms
  • may present as discharge and pain
  • easy to screen
  • curable antibiotics

 
GONORRHEA

  • one of  most frequently reported STD
  • cause serious problems, especially for women, if not treated early 40% PID if not treated can cause sterility
  • Symptoms are similar to Chlamydia
  • possible to have gonorrhea without symptoms
  • Treatment: Antibiotics
  • is not cured,  cause chronic pain, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and arthritis


HPV

  • (Genital Human Papillomavirus)
  • There are sometimes no visible signs of symptoms. HPV infections cause abnormal cell growth on the female cervix
  • Visible signs of the disease include condylomata, which range from soft, pink, cauliflower-like warts to hard, smooth, yellow-gray warts
  • they may develop inside the vagina, where they are hard to detect
  • linked to cervical cancer. 33% of all women have this virus. Can cause cervical or penile cancer and genital pain
  •  Treatment - HPV cannot be cured. There are several ways to remove visible genital warts, but the virus stays in your body and can cause future outbreaks
  • Currently the fastest growing STD

 
HERPES (HSV-2)

  • chronic, lifelong viral infection
  • Symptoms vary - some people have no visible symptoms
  • Other experience burning sensation in the genitals, lower back pain, and pain when urinating
  • Painful blisters around the sex organs may appear
  •  may produce fever, enlarged lymph glands, flu-like symptoms
  • Treatment: Though painful and episodic it can be treated but there's no cure


HEPATITIS B

  • silent killer
  • Symptoms can be silent for years
  • Spread through infected blood and bodily fluids such as semen
  • vaccine exists, but there's no cure
  • can cause cancer of the liver

 
SYPHILIS

  • Treatment: Fortunately, syphilis can be treated with proper antibiotics. The most common is penicillin injections
  • Less Common Known STD
  • Bacterial Vaginosis
  • Candida
  • Chancroid
  • Granuloma Inguinale
  • Molluscum Contagiosum
  • Trichomoniasis