What is a sexually transmitted disease (STD)?

An STD is an illness that is spread through sexual contact.

How can sexually transmitted diseases be avoided?

1. The less sexual partners a person has, the lower the risk of infection from a STD.
   
   
2. Most sexually transmitted diseases can be avoided to a large extent by practicing safe sex and by using a condom.
   
   
3. Most sexually transmitted diseases can be cured if they are diagnosed and treated in their early stages.
   

The most common diseases and their symptoms are described below:

Gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacteria that grows and multiplies quickly in moist, warm areas of the body such as the cervix, urethra, mouth, or rectum.

In women, the cervix is the most common site of infection. However, the disease can also spread to the uterus (womb) and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease leading to infertility.

Gonorrhoea is most commonly spread during genital contact, but can also be passed from the genitals of one partner to the throat of the other during oral sex. Gonorrhoea of the rectum can occur in people who practice anal intercourse. In pregnant women, gonorrhoea can be passed from an infected woman to her newborn infant during delivery if left untreated.

The early symptoms of gonorrhoea are often mild, and many women who are infected have no visible symptoms of the disease. If symptoms of gonorrhoea develop, they usually appear within 2 to 10 days after sexual contact with an infected partner, although a small percentage of patients may be infected for several months without showing symptoms.

Symptoms in women include:

1. painful, burning sensation when urinating
   
   
2. yellowish or bloody discharge from the vagina
   
   
3. bleeding between periods
   
   
4. abdominal pain.
   
   

1. burning sensation during urination
   
   
2. yellowish-white discharge from the penis.
   
   

Other symptoms affecting the rectal area include itching, discharge and sometimes painful bowel movements.

A diagnosis is made through detection of bacteria in samples taken from the urethra, cervix, throat or rectum. The condition is treated with antibiotics, and treatment should also be given to the patient's partner. As with Chlamydia, further testing is recommended once treatment has ended to check whether the infection has cleared.

Treatment for Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is treated with penicillin or other antibiotics in pill form or by injection, however, the disease is becoming more and more resistant to many standard medications.  

Antibiotics that are currently used are: 

• Cefixime

• Ceftriaxone

• Ciprofloxacin*

• Ofloxacin*

• Tetracycline

* The antibiotics Ciprofloxacin and Ofloxacin should not be taken if you have Gonorrhea and are:

• pregnant

• younger than 18 years old

Gonorrhea and Chlamydial infection, another common STD, often infect people at the same time

A combination of antibiotics is taken which will treat both diseases, such as:

•  Azithromycin

• Ceftriaxone

• Doxycycline

All sexual partners should be tested and treated if infected, whether or not they have symptoms of the infection.

If untreated the Gonorrhea infection can spread: 

• Into the reproductive tract

and through the bloodstream infecting: 

• brain (rarely)

• heart valves

• joints

The most common result of untreated Gonorrhea is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), a serious infection of the female reproductive organs.

How to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

Avoid high-risk behaviours and practise safe sex.

1. Though not necessarily practical or desirable, abstinence is the only way to completely prevent STDs.
   
   
2. Avoid sex with many different partners.
   
   
3. Always use condoms.