Transmission of STDs
Sexually Transmissible Disease
STD or Sexually Transmitted Diseases were known as Venereal Diseases until the 1990’s. “Veneris,” which in Latin means Venus, the Roman Goddess of “Love”. So Venereal Disease could imply a disease that can be contracted from love.
The term STD refers to infections that are causing symptoms in a person, and the term “Sexually Transmissible Disease” is more than often used to explain transmittal of the disease through the mucus membranes that exist in the vulva, penis, rectum, urinary tract, mouth, throat, eyes and respiratory tract.
A mucus membrane is different than the skin, since it allows some pathogens into the body. The source and transmission of infections are from saliva, urine, venereal fluids, sweat and feces and that is why transmitting diseases can happen very easily from person to person. Other STD’s are Genital Herpes, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia.
Meningitis, on the other hand, is not an STD or Sexually Transmitted Disease, but rather an STI or Sexually Transmitted Infection, since sex is not the only way it can be transmitted.
In the 1980’s there came about STD’s that could not be treated and cured by modern medicine such as AIDS (Acquired Immune Efficient Syndrome) and Genital Herpes. AIDS has an asymptomatic, a period where a patient is the carrier of an infection or disease with no symptoms and where the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV which causes AIDS, replicates itself and the disease is at that time transmitted to others.
If a person has been diagnosed having an STD it is important to:
- avoid sex until treatment has taken place
- follow closely the prescription and treatment recommended by a doctor
- inform recent sexual partners and make sure they go for treatment in order to prevent the spread of the STD to other healthy partners and related people.
Some infections can be transmitted through the skin such as Herpes Simplex (a virus that causes blisters around the nose, mouth, buttocks and genitals as well as any other location on the skin) and HPV (Human Papillomavirus) another name for Genital Herpes. It depends on the type of STD, but a person who shows no sign of an infection may still spread it. HIV and AIDS are different since they can be spread without any symptoms.
In general any sexual behavior that involves the transmission of bodily fluids has some risk involved since the sick person may contaminate the healthy individual, and although most of the attention has until now been on HIV and AIDS, the key word to remember is “Sexually Transmitted Disease” and not “Sexually Caused Disease”.
HIV for example can be transmitted to the baby or fetus either during pregnancy or breastfeeding where bodily fluids are present and passed on to the fetus or infant.
The use of condoms has been greatly advised by healthcare professionals since they can decrease the risk of contracting or spreading the STD during sexual activity, although the use of condoms is no guarantee and total safeguard against STD’s.
People who have many sexual partners can spread the STD sexually transmitted disease the fastest and to more people than anyone else. Moreover any type of bodily fluid and exposure to a sexually transmitted disease such as sharing of needles, tattoo needles, and blood transfusions put the caregivers and drug users at a great risk of contracting the disease.
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