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Chancroid

WTF is Chancroid?

I know I have never heard of it! Chancroid causes ulcers or sores on your genitals. Left untreated, chancroid may make the transmission of HIV easier. Owwwys.
It’s mostly common in Africa and Asia but it’s creeping into the USA, so watch it.

How is it transmitted?
~ From skin to skin contact (As you’d expect) but not only from sexual contact. If you touch these sores they’ll transmit, like warts

~ If you get some of the pus on you from one of the sores, you’ll get it too, so watch out on toilet seats and whatnot.

Symptoms
• Symptoms usually occur within 10 days from exposure. They rarely develop earlier than three days or later than 10 days.
• The ulcer or sore begins as a tender, elevated bump, that becomes pus filled and boil like.
• It is soft to the touch. ( The sores I mean )
• The ulcers can be very painful in men, but women are often unaware of them. (Because if caught sexually, they would be on the inside of the woman)
Treatment
Chancroid can be treated with antibiotics. Successful treatment does two things:
• It resolves symptoms (or causes them to disappear).
• It prevents transmission.
And IT DOESN’T COME BACK ^_^

HOW DO I PROTECT MYSELF?! I’M GETTING PARANOID

That’s easy. Your choices are:

No sex. I know this is hard for some people, in that case you can:

Use Condoms! Or if you’re allergic you can:

Use Spermicides, and if you can’t afford them, I say go back to the first one.

When your sores have gone, you can have sex again!

This was also done for us by vanessa (Hostile_Heart) heart

Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called “the great imitator” because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases.

*How do I get Syphilis?
Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore. Sores occur mainly on the external genitals, v****a, a**s, or in the rectum. Sores also can occur on the lips and in the mouth. Transmission of the organism occurs during vaginal, a**l, or oral sex. Pregnant women with the disease can pass it to the babies they are carrying. Syphilis cannot be spread through contact with toilet seats, doorknobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bathtubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.

(The syphilis bacterium can infect the baby of a woman during her pregnancy. Depending on how long a pregnant woman has been infected, she may have a high risk of having a stillbirth (a baby born dead) or of giving birth to a baby who dies shortly after birth. An infected baby may be born without signs or symptoms of disease. However, if not treated immediately, the baby may develop serious problems within a few weeks. Untreated babies may become developmentally delayed, have seizures, or die.)


What are the signs and symptoms?

Many people infected with syphilis do not have any symptoms for years, yet remain at risk for late complications if they are not treated. Although transmission appears to occur from persons with sores who are in the primary or secondary stage, many of these sores are unrecognized. Thus, most transmission is from persons who are unaware of their infection.

*Primary Stage
The primary stage of syphilis is usually marked by the appearance of a single sore (called a chancre), but there may be multiple sores. The time between infection with syphilis and the start of the first symptom can range from 10 to 90 days (average 21 days). The chancre is usually firm, round, small, and painless. It appears at the spot where syphilis entered the body. The chancre lasts 3 to 6 weeks, and it heals without treatment. However, if adequate treatment is not administered, the infection progresses to the secondary stage.

*Secondary Stage
Skin rash and mucous membrane lesions characterize the secondary stage. This stage typically starts with the development of a rash on one or more areas of the body. The rash usually does not cause itching. Rashes associated with secondary syphilis can appear as the chancre is healing or several weeks after the chancre has healed. The characteristic rash of secondary syphilis may appear as rough, red, or reddish brown spots both on the palms of the hands and the bottoms of the feet. However, rashes with a different appearance may occur on other parts of the body, sometimes resembling rashes caused by other diseases. Sometimes rashes associated with secondary syphilis are so faint that they are not noticed. In addition to rashes, symptoms of secondary syphilis may include fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and fatigue. The signs and symptoms of secondary syphilis will resolve with or without treatment, but without treatment, the infection will progress to the latent and late stages of disease.

*Late Stage
The latent (hidden) stage of syphilis begins when secondary symptoms disappear. Without treatment, the infected person will continue to have syphilis even though there are no signs or symptoms; infection remains in the body. In the late stages of syphilis, it may subsequently damage the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. This internal damage may show up many years later. Signs and symptoms of the late stage of syphilis include difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, and dementia. This damage may be serious enough to cause death.


~How can Syphilis be diagnosed?~

Some health care providers can diagnose syphilis by examining material from a chancre (infectious sore) using a special microscope called a dark-field microscope. If syphilis bacteria are present in the sore, they will show up when observed through the microscope.
A blood test is another way to determine whether someone has syphilis. Shortly after infection occurs, the body produces syphilis antibodies that can be detected by an accurate, safe, and inexpensive blood test. A low level of antibodies will stay in the blood for months or years even after the disease has been successfully treated. Because untreated syphilis in a pregnant woman can infect and possibly kill her developing baby, every pregnant woman should have a blood test for syphilis.

~Will it reoccur?~

Having syphilis once does not protect a person from getting it again. Following successful treatment, people can still be susceptible to re-infection. Only laboratory tests can confirm whether someone has syphilis. Because syphilis sores can be hidden in the v****a, rectum, or mouth, it may not be obvious that a sex partner has syphilis. Talking with a health care provider will help to determine the need to be re-tested for syphilis after treatment has been received.

~What is the treatment for Syphilis?~

Syphilis is easy to cure in its early stages. A single intramuscular injection of penicillin, an antibiotic, will cure a person who has had syphilis for less than a year. Additional doses are needed to treat someone who has had syphilis for longer than a year. For people who are allergic to penicillin, other antibiotics are available to treat syphilis. There are no home remedies or over-the-counter drugs that will cure syphilis. Treatment will kill the syphilis bacterium and prevent further damage, but it will not repair damage already done.
Because effective treatment is available, it is important that persons be screened for syphilis on an on-going basis if their sexual behaviors put them at risk for STDs.
Persons who receive syphilis treatment must abstain from sexual contact with new partners until the syphilis sores are completely healed. Persons with syphilis must notify their sex partners so that they also can be tested and receive treatment if necessary.

~The safest way to stay safe from this or any other sexually transmitted diseases is to restrain from sexual activity, but if you do have sex, use a condom.~

That's a lot of info......... looks like you've got some really good sources though. If only I had such an eye for sources this good....... then maybe all my research papers would be that much easier.

DOES CONDOMS PREVENT STD'S?

Not necessarily. I just finished and assignment for AP World History, and out of the 40 some items on there, about 10 aren't named that anymore, at least 15 were off the map or the same place on the map, and the rest I had to draw in on the map. It was rediculous.

sexually transmitted diseases

diseases you get from having sex. most are quite painful, which is why you shouldnt have sex until you are married. then as long as you are only with your spouse, and vice versa, you will not contract a disease