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STIs, symptoms and treatments

Chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis)

Transmission

Unprotected vaginal or anal penetration and/or oral sex (fellatio)
Mother-to-baby transmission during childbirth.

Symptoms

Often presents no symptoms
Sometimes causes a tingling or burning sensation while urinating, lower abdominal pain or pain during sex, bleeding
Women: vaginal discharge
Men: discharge secreted from the end of the penis.

Complications

Women: infection of the fallopian tubes potentially causing infertility or ectopic pregnancy
Men: reduced fertility.

Prevention : Male/female condoms

Incubation period : 1-12 weeks

Screening :

Genital/anal PAP smear test
Urine sample
Testing of partner(s)

Treatment

Antibiotics for the infected person and their partner(s).

Gonorrhoea

Transmission

Unprotected vaginal or anal penetration or oral sex (fellatio); the infection is rarely transmitted through cunnilingus.
Mother-to-baby transmission during childbirth.

Symptoms

Often presents no symptoms
Discharge from the vagina, penis or anus, an unpleasant smell; pus may be present
Pain in the vagina or head of the penis, pain while urinating or during sexual intercourse, itching or irritation in the anal region, occasional bleeding between periods, sore throat, redness and irritation in the mouth and throat.

Complications

Men: may spread to the prostate and epididymis
Men and women: may lead to infertility, and more rarely, other complications such as inflammation of the joints, skin, heart and conjunctiva.

Prevention : Male and female condom

Incubation period : 2-10 days or more if there are no symptoms.

Screening :

Genital/anal PAP smear, throat swab
Urine sample or blood test
Testing of partner(s)

Treatment

Antibiotics for the infected person and their partner(s).

Syphilis

Transmission

Unprotected vaginal or anal penetration or oral sex (fellatio);
By contact with a skin wound (chancres and secondary-stage syphilis rashes are highly contagious)
Kissing, if a chancre is present in or on the mouth
Through blood (sharing syringes or items used to inhale drugs)
Mother-to-baby transmission.

Symptoms

There are three stages:

Stage 1: lasts 10-90 days: A chancre (small painless sore) may appear on the skin or mucus membranes (penis, head of the penis, testicles, clitoris, vagina, anus, breasts, rectum, lips, mouth or throat). The chancre disappears without treatment after 3-6 weeks; however, the affected individual continues to carry syphilis.
Stage 2: These symptoms sometimes appear automatically after the chancre, but they may also appear several years after sexual contact: skin rashes (chest and back, and a telltale rash on the palms and soles of the feet, as well as the genitals). Possible joint or muscular pain, fever and/or patchy hair loss. These symptoms disappear without treatment but the infection remains present (latent syphilis).
Stage 3 (lasting up to approx. 30 years after sexual contact): severe damage to the vital organs and nervous system (heart, brain, eyes and bones).

Complications

Neurosyphilis: The bacteria may invade the central nervous system leading to meningitis (asymptomatic or with headache), and attack the eyes and hearing. This complication is more commonly found in HIV-positive patients.

Prevention : Male/female condoms

Incubation period : Blood tests give positive results 15-20 days after infection, but for complete certainty it is necessary to allow three months to elapse between the last point of possible infection and the test to conclude that a negative result is a 100% reliable indication of the absence of syphilis.

Screening :

Conventional blood test: a blood sample is taken and the result is known within one week.
Quick blood test: a droplet of blood is taken from the fingertip, with the result available within 20 minutes.

Treatment

Treatment via antibiotic injection for the patient and their partner(s)Six months after treatment has ended, a further blood test is necessary to confirm its success.It is essential that follow-up tests are carried out.

HPV = Human Papillomavirus Condyloma

Transmission

Sexual contact (oral, anal, vaginal or penile)
Contact between the skin and infected lesions during sexual touching (transmission via the fingers)
Mother-to-baby transmission during childbirth.

Symptoms, complications

1-8 weeks following infection: small painless warts (which may also be invisible) called condyloma appear on the genitals or anus
Cervical cancer
Cancer of the penis (rare).

Prevention :

Male/female condoms
Vaccinations in girls (quadrivalent vaccine types 6, 11, 16 and 18)^[1]

[1] http://www.infovaccins.ch/index.php/14-accueil/11-vaccination-contre-le-papillomavirus-hpv-retablissons-la-verite (Vaccine that protects against two members of a family of approximately 20 viruses that may in rare cases be linked to cervical cancer – 2.3% of cases of HPV in industrialised nations).

Screening : Medical examination and cervical smear test (screening every two years), to be repeated following treatment as the infection may return.

Treatment

Warts to be treated with cream and if necessary, local extraction or laser removal treatment.

Herpes

HSV = Herpes simplex virus
HSV-2 = Genital herpes,
HSV-1 = Oral herpes

Transmission

Sexual relations: by direct contact with the vesicles (small spots) found on the vulva, penis or anus or by discharge from the cervix, vagina, urethra or anus
Where herpes affects the mouth (cold sore), transmission from the mouth to the vulva, penis or anus is possible but uncommon.
Mother-to-baby transmission.

Symptoms, complications

Vesicles (sacs) full of liquid, then spots on the genitals or anus. Pain which is often severe
Pain while urinating
In children: neurological disorders and other serious health problems.

Prevention :

Male/female condoms
Dental dam during cunnilingus and anilingus

Incubation period:

Viruses may appear 2-20 days following infection.

They may appear several years after the infected individual contracted them

Screening

Medical examination, smear test* or blood test (if no symptoms present)
Caesarean section in cases of acute-phase genital herpes.

Treatment

Creams or appropriate antiviral treatments can alleviate symptoms and minimise recurrences but do not eliminate the virus. Individuals are carriers for life.

The disease often evolves by outbreaks (triggered by fatigue, stress, exposure to the sun, depressed immune system, etc.)

Hepatitis B

Transmission

By sexual contact and bodily fluids (blood, pre-ejaculatory fluid, sperm and vaginal discharge)
From a tattoo or piercing carried out in non-sterile conditions.
Through skin wounds if there is contact with blood.
Via the mucous membranes of the mouth, vagina or anus.

Symptoms, complications

No symptoms in the genital area
Presence of fever, fatigue or jaundice in 10% of cases
Serious liver disease (cirrhosis and/or cancer).

Prevention :

Hepatitis B vaccine
Male/female condoms

Incubation period: 1-6 months

Screening

Conventional blood test: a blood sample is taken and the result is known within one week
Quick blood test: a droplet of blood is taken from the fingertip, with the result available within 20 minutes.

Treatment

A majority of infected individuals will naturally eliminate the virus before they become chronically ill.
In cases of chronic hepatitis, appropriate treatments exist that can suppress the virus. Complete recovery is rare.

Hepatitis C

Transmission

Contact with blood, even small quantities. Transmitted in particular by sharing used syringes or the equipment used to prepare to inhale drugs.
From a tattoo or piercing carried out in non-sterile conditions.
Low risk of transmission during sexual activity.

Symptoms, complications

Fatigue and exhaustion, loss of appetite, digestive problems and fever. Jaundice occurs in 10-15% of cases.
The infection becomes chronic in approximately 80% of cases. Between 10 and 20% of chronic sufferers go on to develop cirrhosis of the liver and 1-5% progress to liver cancer.

Prevention :

There is no vaccination
Male/female condoms
Use clean equipment to inject or inhale drugs
Do not share toiletries such as toothbrushes, razors or nail clippers. This precaution is important because unlike HIV, the hepatitis virus can survive outside of the body for up to several weeks.

Incubation period: 2 weeks to 6 months

Screening

Conventional blood test: a blood sample is taken and the result is known within one week
Quick blood test: a droplet of blood is taken from the fingertip, with the result available within 20 minutes.

Treatment

Hepatitis C is treated with antiviral medication. The most recent drugs are able to eradicate the virus in some people.

AIDS virus HIV

Transmission

Transmission occurs through sperm, vaginal discharge, semen (anal or vaginal penetration without a condom or fellatio without a condom).
Blood transmission (open wounds, sharing syringes or paraphernalia for inhaling drugs, menstrual blood)
The viral load is very high during the first few weeks following infection, which means the risk of transmitting the virus is very high as well. The higher the viral load, the more contagious the individual. Viral load is a measure of the amount of HIV virus present in the blood of an infected person.
Mother-to-baby transmission (during pregnancy, labour or breastfeeding).

Symptoms, complications

Symptoms may appear 2-4 weeks following infection (sometimes there are none at all); they then give way to allow a chronic infection to take hold (“chronic” means a longlasting infection for which long-term treatment is necessary, or an infection which is impossible to eradicate):
Fever, diarrhoea, skin rashes (blotches with small spots on the body), fatigue, the appearance of ganglions that increase in size, muscular pain
The symptoms of an infection may go unnoticed in an infected person.

Prevention :

There is no vaccination
Male/female condoms

Incubation period: The majority of tests available can detect the virus with certainty six weeks following the point of possible infection.

Screening

Conventional blood test: a blood sample is taken and the result is known within one week
Quick blood test: a droplet of blood is taken from the fingertip, with the result available within 20 minutes (wait 3 months following the point of possible infection to ensure a completely reliable result)
Self-testing: the person carries out their own test (wait 3 months following the point of possible infection to ensure a completely reliable result)
If any of these tests produces a positive result, it must immediately be confirmed by a blood test.

Treatment

There is no treatment that cures the virus. However, long-term treatments exist that can slow the progress of the disease – known as”triple-combination therapy”.

This triple combination of treatments acts to prevent or delay the development of the AIDS phase by blocking the replication of the virus. These treatments therefore increase the life expectancy of HIV-positive people, but they are not a cure.

Vaginal mycosis

Transmission

Sexual contact (oral, vaginal, anal, penile), sexual touching
Vaginal mycosis is not regarded as a sexually-transmitted infection.

Symptoms, complications

Itching
Vaginal discharge which is white with a thick, creamy texture
Burning
Inflammation of the head of the penis.

Prevention :

Male/female condoms
Medical examination and sample of the affected area, smear test.

Treatment

Appropriate medication
Cream to be applied to mucous membranes or pessary to be inserted into the vagina.

Trichomoniasis

Transmission

By sexual contact. The parasite can survive for several hours on toiletry items such as towels. Contamination may be accidental in some cases.

Symptoms, complications

In women (especially aged 16-35): Vaginitis is common, causing copious yellowish, unpleasant-smelling vaginal discharge as well as itching, burning while urinating and a frequent need to pass urine, etc.
In men: In many cases there are no symptoms, however, pus may leak from the penis in the morning alongside an itching sensation from inside the penis.

Prevention : Male/female condoms

Incubation period : A few days to a few weeks.

Screening : Vaginal smear or urine sample.

Treatment

Treatment by pessaries. These are contraindicated during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The individual’s partner must be treated at the same time.

SCABIES

Transmission

Intimate contact such as touching, or contact with the clothes or personal belongings of the sufferer.
Highly contagious: The parasites are found in bed linen and on pillows, armchairs, clothes, etc. These items can easily transmit the parasite.

Symptoms, complications

Very strong itching, especially at night, skin lesions on the wrists, between the fingers, on the buttocks, thighs, genitals, navel and nipples; some specific skin lesions called scabies burrows appear on the wrists and palms or between the fingers; nodular scabies consists of red nodules that cause the genitals to itch.

Diagnosis is often difficult because characteristic scabies lesions are not always found alongside burrows, itching or the appearance of vesicles. On occasions, it may be necessary to try out a treatment to confirm a diagnosis of scabies.

Treatment

Topical treatments and medication can treat the infection.

Crabs (pubic lice)

Transmission

Intimate contact such as touching, or contact with the clothes or personal belongings of the affected person.

Symptoms, complications

On the body, areas of hair and the scalp: violent itching that causes skin lesions.

Prevention : Practising basic hygiene rules, regular monitoring

Incubation period : 8-10 days.

Screening : No further tests are essential to diagnose the infection. Diagnosis relies on the context in which the condition occurs and the symptoms noted.

Treatment

Treated by applying lotions, creams or shampoos.
Partner(s) are also treated.
All clothes must be washed at a temperature of at least 55°C.
Aerosols can be used on contaminated objects such as sofas, carpets, mattresses, toiletries, etc.

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