If these symptoms appear, it means you have contracted a sexually transmitted disease!

Sexually transmitted diseases are diseases that are transmitted through sexual intercourse. They mainly occur in the genital area, making the skin prone to herpes and blisters. They can also easily cause AIDS, which is very harmful to human health. People with sexually transmitted diseases will show different symptoms depending on the different symptoms of the disease, which can cause pain and suppuration in the urethra.

Clinical manifestations

Since sexually transmitted diseases are a general term for a group of diseases, their symptoms vary from disease to disease. After being infected with sexually transmitted disease pathogens, some people have obvious clinical manifestations, but some people do not have any symptoms. Different sexually transmitted diseases caused by different pathogens have different clinical manifestations. The following briefly describes the clinical features of common STDs

1. Syphilis

(1) Primary syphilis is mainly manifested by painless ulcers (chancres) in the genitals, which usually begin to appear 2 to 4 weeks after infection;

(2) Secondary syphilis is mainly manifested by skin rashes and flat warts as well as lesions in bones and joints, eyes, nerves, internal organs, etc.

(3) Tertiary syphilis is mainly manifested by severe damage to the nervous system, cardiovascular system and other major organs.

2. Gonorrhea

Men often experience pus discharge from the urethra and feel urinary pain, urgency, frequency or itching; women experience itching and burning sensation in the vulva, accompanied by purulent vaginal discharge.

3. Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection

The main symptoms are mucous or mucopurulent discharge from the urethra, painful urination, lower abdominal pain or pain during sexual intercourse.

4. Genital warts

The main manifestations are the appearance of single or multiple nipple-shaped, cockscomb-shaped, cauliflower-shaped or mass-shaped growths in the vulva, vagina, cervix and other parts.

5. Genital herpes

It starts with itching, burning, and pain in the genitals, thighs, or buttocks. Subsequently, multiple erythema, papules, and blisters may appear on the genitals, buttocks, anus, or other parts of the body. The initial onset may also be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever and headache.

Causes

1. Common pathogens

(1) Viruses can cause genital warts, genital herpes, and AIDS. Common ones include herpes simplex virus, human papillomavirus, molluscum contagiosum virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis virus, and HIV.

(2) Chlamydia can cause lymphogranuloma venereum and chlamydial urethritis/cervicitis. Mainly various serotypes of Chlamydia trachomatis.

(3) Mycoplasma can cause non-gonococcal urethritis. Including ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis pneumoniae.

(4) Treponema The pathogenic microorganism that can cause syphilis is Treponema pallidum.

(5) Bacteria can cause gonorrhea and chancroid. Common ones include Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus ducreyi, Clostridium difficile, Gardnerella, anaerobic bacteria, etc.

(6) Fungi can cause vulvovaginal candidiasis. The main pathogenic microorganism is Candida albicans.

(7) Protozoa and parasites can cause vaginal trichomoniasis, scabies, pubic lice, etc. These pathogens are widely present in nature and grow and multiply at suitable temperatures, causing disease.

2. Transmission routes

(1) Sexual transmission: Homosexual or heterosexual intercourse is the main way of transmission of STDs. Other sexual behaviors such as oral sex, fingering, kissing, touching, etc. can also cause infection.

(2) Indirect contact transmission: Non-sexual contact transmission between people is relatively rare, but some sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and fungal infections, can occasionally be transmitted through towels, bathtubs, clothes and other items under certain circumstances.

(3) Blood-borne transmission of syphilis, AIDS, and gonorrhea can all cause pathogenemia. If the recipient receives such blood, sexual infection may occur.

(4) Mother-to-child transmission: When a pregnant woman has syphilis, the fetus can be infected through the placenta; when a pregnant woman has gonorrhea, the fetus can be infected due to intra-amniotic infection. During delivery, newborns may develop gonococcal or chlamydial eye inflammation or chlamydial pneumonia when passing through the birth canal.

(5) Nosocomial transmission: medical personnel fail to strictly protect themselves and become infected; medical equipment is not strictly disinfected, pathogens are not killed, and can infect others when used again; organ transplantation and artificial insemination operations.

(6) Other routes such as insect vectors, food and water are not important in the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.