Sexually Transmitted Infections

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Understanding the etiology, diagnosis, and management of common sexually transmitted infections is important in promoting sexual health and preventing serious reproductive complications.

Basic anatomy and physiology: Understand the anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system that includes the female and male genital organs to get better knowledge about STIs.
Types of sexually transmitted infections: Familiarize yourself with the different types of STIs, including bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Such as HIV/AIDS, genital warts, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, trichomoniasis, genital herpes, hepatitis B and C.
Routes of transmission: Explore the different ways that STIs can be transmitted such as vaginal, anal and oral sex, sharing needles, or during childbirth or breastfeeding.
Symptoms: Learn about the typical symptoms of different STIs, including discharge, itching, painful urination, ulcers, sores or rash, and fever.
Diagnosis and testing: Understand various methods of diagnosing STIs, including laboratory tests, physical examination, and medical history including sexual history.
Treatment options: Know about the different treatment options for STIs that include antibiotics, antiviral or antifungal medications.
Prevention techniques: Familiarize yourself with different prevention techniques such as abstinence, condom usage, vaccination, reducing the number of sexual partners, and regular STD screenings.
Complications and long-term effects: Understand the potential complications of STIs, including infertility, ectopic pregnancy, cervical cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, and transmission to newborns.
STI education and counseling: Understand how to educate and counsel patients, including approaches to discussing safe sex and sexually transmitted infections.
Partner testing and notification: Understand how to notify partners of STI infections and encourage them to test and seek treatment.
- "A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or oral sex."
- "STIs often do not initially cause symptoms, which results in a risk of passing the infection on to others."
- "Symptoms and signs of STIs may include vaginal discharge, penile discharge, ulcers on or around the genitals, and pelvic pain."
- "Bacterial STIs include chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis."
- "Viral STIs include genital herpes, HIV/AIDS, and genital warts."
- "Parasitic STIs include trichomoniasis."
- "STI diagnostic tests are usually easily available in the developed world, but they are often unavailable in the developing world."
- "Some vaccinations may also decrease the risk of certain infections including hepatitis B and some types of HPV."
- "Safe sex practices, such as use of condoms, having a smaller number of sexual partners, and being in a relationship in which each person only has sex with the other also decreases the risk of STIs."
- "Comprehensive sex education may also be useful."
- "Most STIs are treatable and curable; of the most common infections, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis are curable, while HIV/AIDS and genital herpes are not curable."
- "In 2015, about 1.1 billion people had STIs other than HIV/AIDS."
- "About 500 million were infected with either syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia or trichomoniasis."
- "At least an additional 530 million people have genital herpes."
- "290 million women have human papillomavirus."
- "STIs other than HIV resulted in 108,000 deaths in 2015."
- "In the United States, there were 19 million new cases of STIs in 2010."
- "Historical documentation of STIs in antiquity dates back to at least the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) and the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (8th/7th centuries BCE)."
- "There is often shame and stigma associated with STIs. The term sexually transmitted infection is generally preferred over sexually transmitted disease or venereal disease, as it includes those who do not have symptomatic disease."
- "Comprehensive sex education may also be useful."