STI

The text states that 19 million new cases of STI’s occur each year in the United States and 9 million are among people between the ages of 15 and 24. Clearly STD’s are something that people, especially the young population needs to be well informed about. There are five common STIs; Chlamydia, HPV, Herpes, HIV, and AIDS. It is important that people know how to identify if they might have an STI, how to prevent these infections, and also what they are. Chlamydia trachomatis is a bacterial infection that is caused by sexual contact and infects the genitalia of both the male and female. 1.3m new cases of Chlamydia are reported each year in the US and a large majority of those cases are among adolescent girls. Thin, clear discharge and discomfort when peeing begin to appear 1-2 weeks after the infection. Half the cases of men do not show any symptoms at all, and more than half of women show no symptoms. So how will you ever know you have this infection? Get tested, and get tested frequently. When you do get tested, the infection can be detected through a urine sample for both males and females, and through pap smear for women as well. Chlamydia is curable with azithromycin or one of the tetracyclines. If this infection goes untreated it can lead to a plethora of complications ranging from urethral damage to problems with pregnancy and risks for newborn infants of infected mothers. Reiter’s syndrom, proctitis in men who had anal intercourse, pelvic inflammatory disease and epididymitis are all other symptoms of untreated Chlamydia. HPV, human papillomavirus is an infection resulting in genital warts. Warts appear around the vulva, scrotum, vaginal walls, anus, cervix, around the urethral opening of the penis, shaft of penis 3-8 months after sex with an infected person. Many people infected are symptomless. HPV is responsible for many cases of cervical cancer as well as cancer of the anus and penis. Identifying the warts can make diagnosis, but