Common Modern Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Pathological Prevention and Treatment of Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and Herpes

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). After penicillin and other antibiotics became widely available in the late 1950s, STDs seemed to be finally disappearing. However, in the late 1970s, with rising divorce rates and increased sexual activity, STD incidence surged. Gonorrhea is caused by bacteria adapted to warm, moist environments, and mucous membranes are precisely such an environment. Gonorrhea can be transmitted through same-sex or opposite-sex contact, including sexual intercourse and oral sex. Gonorrhea is not transmitted through accidental contact with towels, toilet seats, or other everyday items. The initial symptoms of gonorrhea in men are difficulty urinating and a thick, purulent discharge from the penis. There may also be burning or painful urination. Symptoms usually appear within two weeks of infection, but some people may be asymptomatic. Gonorrhea is more common in men, but it poses a greater risk to women. The complication of gonorrhea, pelvic inflammatory disease, occurs in 90% of cases in women and can lead to ectopic pregnancy. If early symptoms of gonorrhea are not treated or detected, they will quickly disappear. Gonococci can migrate deeper into the reproductive tract or urethra, leading to epididymitis, the most common complication in men. If left untreated, it can cause permanent or fatal damage. Gonorrhea, if diagnosed early, is easily cured with penicillin-type drugs. The best prevention is to use condoms during sexual intercourse. Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that enters the body through the mucous membranes of the anus, mouth, urethra, and vagina. Accidental contact with wine glasses, doorknobs, and other everyday items will not transmit syphilis, as Treponema pallidum can only survive in human tissues. Like gonorrhea, syphilis symptoms are often difficult to detect or absent, especially in women. The initial symptom may be vulvar pain, which usually occurs ten to twenty days after infection (average twenty-one days). Sometimes there are no symptoms at all. Because only a chancre is present without other lesions or itching, it is easily overlooked or mistaken for other diseases. The chancre will heal on its own within 1 to 5 weeks. Untreated Treponema pallidum spreads silently throughout the body. After 6 months, skin erythema or pain may appear; these are the symptoms of the secondary stage. The third stage of syphilis is the incubation period, during which there are no symptoms and it usually lasts from 5 months to 2 years after the onset of the disease. Untreated syphilis in its final stages may be asymptomatic or cause serious, even fatal, damage to the nervous system or other organs. Syphilis can be cured with penicillin or other drugs if detected early. Herpes is increasingly attracting attention due to its high incidence and difficulty in treatment. However, herpes is a self-limiting infection that causes only mild discomfort in most healthy people. Although the herpes virus is lifelong once it enters the body and often recurs, the worst part is that the virus can often be transmitted to the baby from an asymptomatic mother during childbirth. The symptoms of active herpes are small, painful, vesicular lesions. These lesions appear on the vulva, anus, buttocks, lower thighs and back, and mouth. The lesions begin as raised red patches, then become clustered vesicles, and finally become flat-edged ulcers. Symptoms usually appear 2 to 10 days after exposure and disappear within 3 weeks. In the early stages of infection, the virus can migrate through nerve fibers to the nerve cells in the lower spinal cord and remain dormant for a long time. Relapses are often milder and shorter in duration. One-third of genital herpes patients experience an average of three relapses per year. Most patients, especially those with healthy lifestyles, experience few or no relapses. Herpes can be transmitted through sexual intercourse or contact with active lesions. Recent studies have shown that herpes can be transmitted even without visible sores or other symptoms. Oral sex is another route of transmission. The primary way to combat genital herpes is prevention. Once lesions are discovered, all sexual activity must be stopped until the scabs fall off. Using condoms during intercourse helps prevent the disease, but it is not 100% effective. The damage caused by genital herpes is often psychological. The impact of acknowledging having genital herpes on interpersonal relationships is so significant that numerous support groups have been established in various states across the United States.