Living with STD’s/STI’s

Living with STDs/STIs is never fun, yet most individuals are unaware that they have one (Okhakhume, 2014). STDs/STIs afflict millions of individuals worldwide, with women being more susceptible than men. Most STDs are treatable, but others have developed drug resistance, making them difficult to manage. Some of these diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, herpes, and hepatitis, among others, are fatal, while others have severe consequences, such as pregnancy complications and neonatal deformities.

The consequences of sexually transmitted diseases range from chronic to acute, depending on a variety of criteria such as gender, kind of infection, age, and so on (Michael, 2014). Although most of these diseases are diagnosed in both male and female, research has shown their effects vary between men and women. In some cases, common STI’s/STD’s such as Chlamydia may take few days on men and months in women to show symptoms. Because of this factor, most of these infections such as Herpes have severe effects on women than on men because they proceed to advanced stages in women without their knowledge.

Since STD’s/STD’s are often shown by nonspecific signs such as abdominal pain and fever, they are in most cases mistaken for other illnesses, and that means the effects may be worse as compared to those of other infections. According to medical practitioners, certain STD’s if not diagnosed and treated at the right time can wreak havoc, and lead to severe and even life-threatening consequences.

According to Gayle (2013), some types of STD’s/STI’s such as papillomavirus (HPV) are among the major causes of reproductive system related types of cancer such as cervical, vulvar, virginal, penile, or virginal cancer. According to center for disease control (CDC), these types of infections can be dangerous because in most cases they do not produce symptoms until they reach advanced stages. Reports also indicate that this kind of diseases impact fertility and are common causes of ectopic pregnancies and sterility in men. Although some of the sexually transmitted diseases such as Papilloma Virus are common in men, they do not result to serious effects as they do to women.

Based on the fact that these infections damage the reproductive organs makes the patients to experience problems when passing urine, ejaculating or complications during periods. For example, for women, some STD’s such as pelvic inflammatory Disease lead to lifelong pelvic and pus-filled internal abscesses (Gayle, 2013). This condition leads to painful urination or bleeding between menstrual periods. Others such as Trichomoniasis damage male reproductive organs hence resulting in penile discharge, or pain when ejaculating or urinating.

Pregnant women can pass some types of STD’s such as HIV, genital Herpes, and Syphilis to their babies during pregnancy or delivery, hence resulting to brain damage, stillbirths, Pneumonia, deafness, blindness and low birth weight (Michael, 2014). Based on the fact that some of these infections may remain unnoticed in women, the chances of passing them to their babies are always high.

One of the common effects of STI’s/STD’s in men and women is loss of self-esteem (Okhakhume, 2014). In some cases, and especially with infections associated with stigmatization such as HIV, people tend to lose self-confidence by feeling that they are different from others. They also hold a view that they should not engage in some income generating activities because their conditions will make them lose their lives. Other infections especially those caused by viruses such as HIV/AIDS do not heal and therefore are always life-threatening.

Sexually transmitted infections have social and psychological consequences in both men and women. In some cases, the psychological impact of STD’s/STI’s can be severe especially when the patients find themselves in situations such as fear of recurrent outbreaks, transmission to their partners and challenges in developing new relationships (Michael, 2014). Overthinking about these infections makes the patients to develop anxiety or depression, hence making them prone to other complications.

Another effect of STD’s and STI’s in men and women is broken relationships (Okhakhume, 2014). This happens because married or people in relationships expect their sex partners to be faithful and therefore when issues of STD’s arise, lack of trust arises, hence leading to divorce or broken relationships. The fact that most people feel it challenging to inform doctors or their partners concerning STD’s/STI’s infections makes the patients to remain untreated, hence increasing the chances of spreading the infection to their spouses or other people.

Some STD’s such as Chlamydia, which is also known as “silent disease” often does damage unnoticed (Gayle, 2013). This leads to trouble especially for women because it may trigger serious problems if antibiotics do not stop the infection. While men rarely experience complications, these diseases may spread to the tube that transports sperms, hence leading to pain, fever, and even remote chances of sterility. Once a woman is infected with Chlamydia, she is up to six times likely to contract HIV if exposed to the virus.

STD’s may have severe effects on skin if untreated. For example, during the second stage of syphilis, the patient develops rash of red-brown sports on the palms and soles of the feet. Advanced stages of most of STD’s/STI’s also affect the skin around reproductive organs (Michael, 2014). They also lead to other complications such as hair loss, fever, swollen glands, sore throat, and headaches among others.

Although some of the STD’s/STI’s such as syphilis undergoes stages that may take longer to complete, lack of early treatment can lead to extensive damage to most of the central organs such as the liver, blood vessels, heart, brain, nerves, and liver (Michael, 2014). Based on the fact that most of these organs are vital for the survival of human beings, influencing their functionality puts life at risk.

Another notable effect of STD’s/STI’s is influencing sexual pleasure in both men and women (Okhakhume, 2014). This occurs because most of the symptoms associated with these infections such as irritation, pain or abnormal discharge occur in the reproductive organs, hence making the patients to experience pain or discomfort during sexual activities.

Most of the STI’s/STD’s are not limited to sexual organs (Gayle, 2013). Some of them can affect other body parts like the eyes, throat, Anus, or mouth in both men and women. Affecting these parts can lead to serious health issues. For example, affecting eyes can lead to blindness, affecting mouth can lead to sores that can make one to experience difficulties while taking foods and drinks, and so forth.

One of the long-term and short-term effects of STD’s/ STI’s in men and women is death. For some infections that go for long and different stages such as HIV/AIDS, the patient develops various illnesses such as pneumonia, persistent diarrhea, and recurring fever among others. While most of these diseases may not be cause for alarm because other factors can trigger them, they can be life-threatening especially when they arise during the last stages of HIV (Gayle, 2013). Other infections especially those caused by viruses such as genital herpes are incurable and therefore leads to premature death.

In conclusion, STD’s/STI’s have severe impacts on both men and women. Some of the effects comprise of risks of developing different types of cancer in reproductive organs, chances of infertility in women and sterility in men and possibilities of developing depression or anxiety. Women infected with STD’s/ STI’s also risks the lives of fetuses because STD’s/STI’s may cause brain damage, blindness, dumbness among others. These infections can also make women to experience ectopic pregnancies and chances of premature birth.

Based on the fact that most of the STD’s/STI’s affect the reproductive organs, they make patients to experience problems while urinating, ejaculating or abnormalities during menstrual periods. Some of the infections caused by viruses such as HIV/AIDs are incurable and therefore lead to loss of life. Most of the STD’s/STI’s also lead to stigmatization and lack of self-esteem in both men and women. In some cases, these infections have resulted to broken marriages and relationships because of lack of trust (Michael, 2014). STD’s/STI’s affect women and men differently because of various biological factors. Some of these infections especially those that undergo different stages may remain unnoticed, and therefore it is advisable to go for regular tests to avoid short and long-term effects.

References

Gayle, P. (2013). YouTube: An Effective Web 2.0 Informing Channel for Health Education to Prevent STDs. Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Trans discipline, 16, 25-58.

Michael, B. (2014). Health Wise. The Science Teacher, 81(3), 56-89.

Okhakhume, S. (2014). Influence of Self-Esteem, Parenting Style and Parental Monitoring on Sexual Risk Behavior of Adolescents in Ibadan. Gender & Behavior, 12(2), 89-105.