Sexually transmitted diseases or STDs are diseases that are passed among people through sexual contact. A few of these diseases are solely transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids like semen, blood or vaginal discharge. Those STDs mostly result in the formation of small lesions or ulcers and can spread through contact with the affected skin. Otherwise, the symptoms are mainly related to urethral or vaginal discharge and other urinary symptoms.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Infections
Although the diseases are primarily transmitted through sexual means, they are also transmittable in non-sexual ways. An infected mother can pass it to her child during pregnancy or during the labour. Drug abusers who can transmit the disease from an affected person to another through the sharing of hypodermic needles.

The severity and seriousness of STDs vary as some of them are easily cured with drugs, while others need specific treatment as well as drugs. Then there are a few diseases with no cure at all.

The sexually transmitted Infections or STIs are any infections that usually passes between individuals through sexual contact. Earlier, both STDs and STIs came under the same category called Venereal Diseases or VD.  An infection can be caused by a germ, bacteria, parasite or virus present in the body, while the affected person doesn’t necessarily show any symptoms. But as discussed, in the case of STDs, the affected person shows discomforts of having the disease.

HIV, chlamydia, genital herpes, genital warts, gonorrhoea, some forms of hepatitis, syphilis, and trichomoniasis are some of the known STDs transmitted through sexual and non-sexual ways. A person who is already infected with an STD is at higher risk of contracting HIV while having unprotected sex. The risk gets higher in case of open genital sores, which provides a break in the skin through which the virus can enter the body. Once the HIV enters the bloodstream, it slowly develops a condition commonly known as AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which in effect, is the progressive failure of the person’s immune system.

Symptoms
If you are suffering from an STD, you will come across one or more of these symptoms in your body. Women come across unusual or bad-smelling vaginal discharge, severe itching or burning in the genital area, unusual bleeding, pain in the pelvic region, pain during sex and rashes or open sores in the genital areas. Men come across symptoms like painful urination, genital rashes and open sores, discharge from penis and pain in the scrotum.

Sometimes other symptoms which would seem unconnected at first can occur both in men and women, which includes discharge from the anus, jaundice, arthritis, oral thrush, sores or bumps around mouth and rashes on the body.

Getting tested
If you have one or more of the symptoms mentions, it is strongly recommended that you consult your gynaecologist or Urology specialist in Dubai and get yourself tested. An STD or STI could cause great harm to your otherwise good health if it goes undetected and untreated.