The year 2014 has seen a massive increase in the number of patients affected by Gonorrhoea. The most infected age group is between 15 and 24. This is mainly due to lack of knowledge in this age group about the disease. Here are some facts about Gonorrhoea that one must know.

Gonorrhoea Transmission
Gonorrhoea, also known as drip, is transmitted when a normal person comes in contact sexually with an infected person. Infected fluid of a mother can also pass to her newborn infant during delivery. The disease can affect both the genders.

Cause of Gonorrhoea
Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria cause the disease. The bacteria grow in mucus membranes and usually grow in the warm and moist areas of humans' reproductive tracts such as uterus and fallopian tube of women. These can also grow in anus, mouth as well as throat. As a matter of fact, the infection can be passed even via oral or anal sex.

Symptoms of Gonorrhoea
An infected person will develop symptoms of the disease in 2 to 14 days. Men may feel burning or painful sensation while urinating. Other symptoms are as follows:

1. Swollen and painful testicles
2. Swollen or redness at the tip of the penis
3. Penis may have a drip or discharge
4. Frequent urination
5. Recurrent soreness of throat

Females have milder symptoms of the infection. This makes it difficult to diagnose, and is sometimes misinterpreted as common vaginal yeast or other bacterial infection.

Following are a few symptoms of the disease in women:

1. Burning or painful urination
2. Frequent urination
3. Vaginal discharge
4. Soreness in throat
5. Fever
6. Lower abdominal pain
7. Pain while sexual intercourse

If the disease is not treated, infection spreads in blood stream leading to rashes, fever and even pain in the joints. Such unnoticeable symptoms make it difficult to treat.

Testing Methods of Gonorrhoea
One method is that penile or vaginal discharge samples are taken from patients and examined under a microscope by adding reactive stain. However, this is not an accurate assessment.
Another test is conducted where exposing samples are incubated. In case of infection, colony of gonorrhoea shows growth. Preliminary test may take 24 hours. Final assessment may take around three days. Samples can be from the patient's anus, joint fluid, blood, throat, vagina or tip of the penis.

Treatment
The disease is treatable under proper medical supervision. However, the bacterial resistance to Azithromycin drug has made it more difficult for treatment.

Protection
It is highly recommended to have a protected intercourse. Women of age group less than 25 need to have STI evaluation once a year.

Know All About Gonorrhoea

In most diseases, early detection of the disease is the key to control the symptoms, cure, reduce progression and improve prognosis. This holds true for sexually transmitted diseases too. As soon as there is a mild degree of suspicious of having contracted a sexually transmitted disease, it is advisable to go for a test. Most of the STDs can develop into serious complications over a period of time, ranging from infertility to even death.

Complications: Why early diagnosis is important: When left undiagnosed and untreated, most STDs progress to cause severe damage from sterility to cancer to even death. Listed below are some complications associated with each of the common STDs.

Chlamydia: If left untreated, can lead to epididymitis and testicles shrinking and infertility in males. This is a condition where there is pus formation in the scrotum. In women, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease which is deep-seated and unable to cure completely. This brings with it symptoms ranging from abdominal pain to uterine infections to sterility.
Syphillis: Undiagnosed syphilis can lead to blindness and deafness. It can also be passed onto the newborn and lead to severe disabilities.
Gonorrhea: If diagnosed early, it can be cured completely with antibiotics. However, if left untreated, it can lead to infertility.
HIV/AIDS: Early diagnosis can help in curtailing the disease. If detected late, then the damage is quite extensive and treatment is both expensive and cannot help restore a lot of functions. 
Symptoms of Sexually transmitted diseases: If there is a doubt of having contracted an STD, then it is very important to get tested for the same. Some of the most common symptoms are listed below.

Women: The most common symptoms in women including painful urination, burning sensation, abnormal vaginal discharge (sometimes bleeding), warts, and abdominal pain.
Men: Testicular pain, urethral pain, painful urination, pain and inflammation in the prostate, sores, fever, and abdominal pain.
Prevention: Always practice safe sexual practices. When in doubt, refrain from sex until diagnosis and treatment is complete.

Testing for STDs: Some of the standard tests include:

1. Herpes- HSV I & II - 
2. Testing HIV-- Kits and ELISA available for testing 
3. Blood test for syphilis antibodies 
4. Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea - from urine as well as swabs for culture
It is understandable that getting tested for STDs is an embarrassing situation. However, there are options available where anonymity can be maintained when getting tested for STDs. This is a wise choice to make as the risk is not just for the person affected but for the partner and in some cases even for the fetus. Early testing can help prevent complications like infertility and cancer.

STD Testing - Why You Should Never Delay?

There is a contrast between intimacy satisfaction and intimacy happiness. Happiness tends to be a byproduct of the relationship. Therefore, while it just takes one partner to be sexually satisfied, it takes two to make the conditions for sexual happiness. A key indication of sexual bliss in a relationship is a couple's capacity to endlessly rejuvenate the sexual energy between them. Consequently, the term sexual happiness depicts couples who can revive, reestablish and extend their sexual desire with each other for a very long time or even forever. Here are a few ways through which one can integrate happiness and sexuality:

Since sexual happiness is a result of the relationship, both the partners need to be happy with each other in general to achieve happiness rather than satisfaction.
Staying in shape can be very beneficial. Being sound and fit promotes better sex. Not just are fit individuals perform better sexually, but also it is proven that healthier and fit individuals have a more noteworthy longing for sex. There are numerous reasons behind this. Healthy, fit individuals are not only more joyful, but also physiologically, they are capable of producing more sex hormones due to a number of other health factors.
Enthusiasm is not found in sex; it is found in individuals. To completely grasp sexual enthusiasm, you should be completely present in the moment. As such, you should bring your psyche, body, and soul to your partner. This implies being conscious, aware, and present mentally as well as emotionally.
Decreasing or managing sex levels can also help one integrate happiness and sexuality. Life is clearly unpleasant many times, and our reaction to all the anxiety can be devastating when it comes to sexual experiences. Not only does a lot of stress or anxiety decrease the yearning for sex, it also additionally hinders sexual performance. Hence, one should vent out to their partners or try therapy or yoga for stress release.
Routine tend to repel romance and consistency cools the flames of sexual excitement and energy. To neutralize these twin constrains, you should deliberately plan and design different rituals of sexual pleasure. Indulge in customs of joy and particular actions, thoughts, activities, and exercises like back rub, animate, and stimulation of the sexual and emotional pleasures.
Being happy in general is very important. Being cheerful and idealistic is the establishment of numerous parts of a successful life. Inquiring about actions that make your partner happy are more advantageous, beneficial, and have better connections, including better and more continuous sex.
Sex is very important in a relationship for knowing and feeling that your partner still fancies you, yet having sex once a week is a practical and an achievable objective for people who tend to be very busy. A study demonstrates that regular sex additionally makes individuals more joyful than a high income.

Sexual Happiness and Satisfaction - How You Can Integrate Them?

One of the most common physically transmitted diseases is chlamydia. Chlamydia is a type of infection caused by the bacteria "Chlamydia trachomatis". The symptoms of Chlamydia are similar to the symptoms of Gonorrhoea (a bacterial sexually transmitted infection). Chlamydia infection causes permanent fallopian tube damage in women, leads to future ectopic pregnancy (the fertilised egg attaches itself outside the uterus) and infertility.

Symptoms of Chlamydia 
Men and women afflicted with chlamydia exhibit different symptoms.
The symptoms of chlamydia in women include:
1. Abnormal, sometimes foul-smelling, vaginal discharge
2. Bleeding between menstrual cycles
3. Painful periods
4. Abdominal pain, accompanied with fever
5. Pain during intercourse
6. Burning or itching around or in the vagina
7. Painful urination

Men usually display the following symptoms if they have chlamydia:
1. Minimal amounts of cloudy or clear discharge from the head of the penis
2. Painful urination
3. Itching and burning around the slit of the penis
4. Swollen and painful testicles

Treatment options available
1. Chlamydia is diagnosed by taking a swab from the cervix (in women) or the urethra (in men). These swabs will be sent to the laboratory for analysis. Urine samples can also be taken to check for the appearance of bacteria.

2. Since chlamydia is a bacterial infection, it can be easily treated with antibiotics. Oral antibiotics such as azithromycin or doxycycline are commonly prescribed by doctors. Azithromycin is usually prescribed in a large, single dose. The dose may also be stretched out for five days. Doxycycline is taken two times daily for a week.

3. With the right antibiotic therapy, the infection will clear up in 1 to 2 weeks approximately. It is very important that you finish the medication course if you wish you heal completely without having to suffer from further bouts of this disorder.

4. Women with critical chlamydia may need hospitalisation, pain medicine and IV (intravenous, or directly through the vein) antibiotics. Pregnant women with chlamydia infection can be safely cured with antibiotic such as erythromycin ethylsuccinate, amoxicillin and azithromycin.

Your partner needs testing and treatment as well to avoid further spread and reinfection. It is vital not to engage in any sexual activity while the treatment is ongoing. A further retest should be done three months later to make sure the infection is rectified.

Symptoms of Chlamydia and Ways to Treat the Disease

For nearly 30 years, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) have been shrouded in myths and misconceptions. In some cases, these mistaken ideas have prompted the very behavior that cause more people to become HIV positive. Here are the top five myths about HIV, along with the facts to dispute them.

Myth No. 1: I can get HIV by being around people who are HIV-positive.

The evidence shows that HIV is non communicable and does not spread through touch, tears, sweat or saliva. You cannot catch HIV by:

    Breathing the same air as someone who is HIV-positive
    Touching a toilet seat or doorknob handle after an HIV-positive person
    Drinking from a water fountain
    Hugging, kissing, or shaking hands with someone who is HIV-positive
    Sharing eating utensils with an HIV-positive person
    Using exercise equipment at a gym

You can get it from infected blood, semen, vaginal fluid, or mother's milk.

Myth No. 2: I can get HIV from mosquitoes.

Because HIV is spread through blood, people have worried that biting or bloodsucking insects might spread HIV. Several studies, however, show no evidence to support this, even in areas with lots of mosquitoes and cases of HIV. When insects bite, they do not inject the blood of the person or animal they have last bitten. Also, HIV lives for only a short time inside an insect.

Myth No. 3: I'm HIV positive, my life is over.

In the early years of the disease epidemic, the death rate from AIDS was extremely high. But today, antiretroviral drugs allow HIV positive people and even those with AIDS to live much longer, normal and productive lives.

Myth No. 4: My partner and I are both HIV positive there's no reason for us to practice safer sex.

Practising safer sex, wearing condoms or using dental dams can protect you both from becoming exposed to other (potentially drug resistant) strains of HIV.

Myth No. 5: You can't get HIV from oral sex.

It's true that oral sex is less risky than some other types of sex. But you can get HIV by having oral sex with either a man or a woman who is HIV positive. Always use a latex barrier during oral sex.

Top 5 Myths & Misconceptions About HIV & AIDS!

Chlamydia is one of the most common STD. It is a bacterial infection, caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. Occurring in both males and females, it can be transmitted via oral, genital, or anal sex. it has been dubbed as silent infection, as the affected person hardly ever presents with symptoms. It is extremely common though about 1 in 20 females in the age group of 15 to 25 can be affected. The disease, if left untreated, can cause severe reproductive issues including infertility in both males and females. Let us look at symptoms in men and women separately.

Men: About 50% of men infected with Chlamydia will go with no symptoms. It may take about 3 weeks for the symptoms to manifest and will include

    Small amounts of discharge from the penis
    Discomfort or pain with urination
    Painful, swollen, and inflamed testicles
    Burning and itching around the tip of the penis

Depending on the mode of transmission, the eyes, throat, and rectum can also be infected and there could be throat infection or conjunctivitis also.

If left untreated, Chlamydia can affect the sperm quality and lead to infertility in men in the long run.

Women: The infection is "silent" even in females and does not manifest itself with a lot of symptoms, only 30% of infected females present symptoms including:

    Abnormal, white or light yellow vaginal discharge
    Painful sex
    Bleeding or spotting in between regular periods
    Sometimes even bleeding during sex
    Burning or itching sensation around the vagina
    Severe abdominal discomfort
    Fever

In females, the infection usually travels up the urinary and reproductive tract. So, from vaginitis, it can lead to urinary tract infection, cervicitis, bartholinitis, and even pelvic inflammatory disease. If it reaches the fallopian tubes and/or the uterus, then the chances of fallopian tubes getting blocked is high. There can be scarring of the tubes and this can lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy in areas other than the uterus, for example the fallopian tubes). This can be very dangerous and can be life-threatening situation too.

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a serious bacterial infection of the uterus and the fallopian tubes. Untreated Chlamydia infection often results in PID and requires antibiotics and bed rest.
Chlamydia infections have two negative sides to it, on one hand, it is difficult to detect given the absence of symptoms. On the other hand, there are serious implications leading to even fertility. It is therefore very important to prevent it. It is best to use a condom, especially with unknown partners; and in case of any doubt, one should get themselves tested and treated.

Symptoms of Chlamydia in Men and Women

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