Facts About Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually transmitted diseases or sexually transmitted infections are illness that spread from one person to the other through direct physical contact with an infected person or contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person. It is among the most common infectious diseases today. Any infection that is acquired through sexual contact is known as sexually transmitted infection. These infections can either spread when an uninfected person engages in vaginal, oral or anal sex with a person that already has a STD.
Despite the advancements made in the medical and technological fields, there is little awareness about the facts of STDs among common people. As a result, many of the people, who come into exposure of an STD infected person, are not even aware that they stand the risk of getting infected. Most people do not know the answer to important questions such as what are STDs, what are its causes, symptoms of STDs, treatment and prevention of STDs as well as other facts about STDs. Low awareness among people about STDs only help in its rapid transmission from an infected person to another uninfected person. Therefore, it is important to know about the facts of STDs in order to minimize the risks of getting exposed to STDs.
Here are some of the facts about STDs:
- Nearly 19 million men and women in the United States are affected with STDs every year
- Although people get infected with a STD if they engage in sexual intercourse with an infected person, STDs are also transmitted through contact with inanimate objects such as sex toys with contaminated body fluid on it.
- Having multiple sexual partners only heightens the risk of a person of being infected with STD
- Although STDs can affect men and women of any age or background, teenagers or young adults are among the most infected STD people
- Most people hold the wrong perception that they stand the risk of being getting infected with a STD, if they use toilets that are already being used by an infected person. However, toilet seats are not a source of infection
- STDs can also spread from an infected mother to her baby, either before birth or immediately after birth. Some forms of STD may cause permanent disability among kids or even cause their death
- Sometimes, STDs may cause tubal pregnancies that can cause serious complications for the mother as well as for the child
- Health complications and critical illness caused by STDs tend to be more serious and more frequent in case of women as compared to men since often there are no visible signs and symptoms for women. As a result of which, they do not undergo medical examination or tests until serious problems develop.
- Some severe forms of STDs may spread into the womb and fallopian tubes, thereby causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This may further cause infertility and ectopic pregnancy
- Many a times, there may be no symptoms at the early stages of the infection or even if symptoms appear they may be easily confused with symptoms of other illness
Knowing these facts about STDs will help you to guard against the risks of being infected with an STD and prevent its transmission to an uninfected person.