stis, symtoms and treatmemts

Disease	Symptoms	Spread	Diagnosis	Treatment	Notes
Chlamydia	Often there are no symptoms at all ! Sometimes you will have a white discharge, sometimes smelly, from the penis or vagina. There may be some itching. You may have pain or burning when having a pee! Or you may get bleeding in between your periods or after sex..	Bacteria spread through sexual intercourse in the semen or in vaginal discharge.	Can be detected by taking a swab from the vagina (you can do this yourself)! Or by peeing in a pot!	If antibiotics are given at anytime can be completely cured of Chlamydia.	Because some people don’t have any symptoms (or don’t get treated) Chlamydia can remain in the body. This may mean they can’t have babies (male and female infertility). Long term infection often causes pain in the lower part of the abdomen (tummy) for women and in the testes for men.
Crabs (Pubic Lice)	Scratch marks maybe seen from the severe itching.	The louse is spread from clothes, bed linen or close contact with someone else who has lice.	The lice can be seen. They are a bit larger than a pin head.	They can be treated with various powders and ointments.	Lice can be caught by sharing bedding and are common when sleeping conditions are poor.
Genital Herpes	Very painful spots around the male or female genitals or inside the vagina. The pain may be so bad that the person finds it difficult to pass urine. The spots look similar to “cold sores” that people get around the mouth.	Although it is possible to spread the cold sore virus to the genitals, Genital Herpes is caused by a different type of virus spread through sexual contact.	It’s usually obvious from the appearance of the spots, but the virus can be detected by taking a swab from these blisters.	Anti-viral treatments (tablets, cream or ointment) used early, can make the condition less severe, and more manageable but there is no cure.	Once caught the virus remains inside the body forever. It may come back (recur) and the person needs to know about this so they can receive treatment as soon as possible in each future occurrence.
Genital Warts	Small lumps on and around the genitals and surrounding skin. They may be uncomfortable but not usually sore, but they may be itchy.	A virus spread through sexual contact. Usually a different type from those which cause wart on the hands and feet (verrucas) - although even these may spread to other parts of the body and may take months or even years to disappear.	Warts on male genitals and around the outside of female genitals can often be seen although they may be very small. Inside the urethra or vagina or cervix they are harder to spot. Sometimes they can be detected on the cervical smear test.	By surgery (freezing or burning) or applying solutions which remove the warts. Treatment may take several weeks.	The patient needs to be checked later to make sure that the warts don’t regroup. Women may need to have further tests to make sure there are no warts on the cervix.
Gonorrhoea or Clap	A yellowish or greenish discharge from the penis or vagina, sometimes with itching and burning when passing urine.	Bacteria which spreads through sexual intercourse in the semen or vaginal discharge.	Can be detected by taking a swab from the discharge.	Because this disease usually produces a lot of discharge people do go for treatment and it can be completely cured with antibiotics.	If the disease isn’t treated it can lead to long term infection which causes pain and infertility (cannot have babies).
Hepatitis B	Symptoms may not appear for weeks or months after the virus has been caught. The first signs are usually seen in the eyes which become yellow and then the skin may become yellow (jaundice). The disease affects the liver and may lead to serious complications.	The virus is spread through bodily fluids such as semen, vaginal discharge or blood.	The virus can be detected by blood tests.	There is no cure; patients may need to go into hospital for treatment of their symptoms.	Some people do not get rid of the virus and become carriers so patients need further checks to see if this happens. They will need advice on how to avoid giving the virus to other people.
HIV	Within about 6 weeks nearly half the people who catch HIV may have a ‘flu-like’ illness with swollen glands for a couple of weeks. This gets better without treatment. It may be many years before other symptoms occur (such as the development of infections related to AIDS).	The Human Immuno-deficiency Virus is spread through sexual contact from semen or vaginal fluid; from infected blood and from mother to baby by breast-feeding.	A blood test for antibodies (the body tries to destroy the virus by making antibodies). This takes time - the test can take several months to become positive.	There is no cure for the virus. Some treatments may delay the development of AIDS but this can take 6-15 years to develop.	People with HIV need regular checks. They will need advice on how to prevent spreading the virus to other people.
Syphilis	The first sign is usually a single painless spot which appears after about a week and clears up on its own. Several weeks or months later the person may develop a rash (often on the hands or feet) this is not painful and does not itch. This will also clear up on its own. Other symptoms may then occur years later and affect all parts of the body.	Bacteria are spread through sexual intercourse in semen or vaginal discharge	Syphilis is usually detected by blood tests.	In its early stages it is easily cured with antibiotics.	There are no long-term problems if the disease is treated early but it’s much harder to deal with and can lead to dementia (madness) in the later stages.
Thrush	In women a white creamy discharge from the vagina with itching and sometimes spots or redness caused by a change in the pH of the vagina. Men usually have spots and itching around the genitals.	Fungus/yeast, most people who have thrush don’t catch it from sexual contact. The fungus is often present on skin normally and an infection can start after taking antibiotics or from becoming sore from sports such as cycling or horse riding.	Yeast from the fungus can be detected by taking a swab from the discharge.	Can be cured with anti-fungal treatments.	Some people have problems with thrush. This may be due to something simple like using bubble bath which can wash away the natural oils from the vagina. As the fungus can be spread from sexual contact the person should be asked if they have a sexual partner who should be treated as well.
Others (including non specific urethritis	Soreness, itching, discharge (sometimes smelly), worry.	Some of these people will have bacteria caught from sexual contact. Others may just be worried that they might have caught something.	A swab test from the genitals or any discharge may show different types of bacteria from the ones mentioned above.	If bacteria are found on the swab test these can be treated with antibiotics.	It is not always possible to be able to tell every patient exactly what is causing their problems. No discoveries and methods of diagnosis are being found all the time