What are the Kinds of STDs?
There are many different kinds of STDs, all exhibiting a variety of symptoms and consequences. The following are some of the most popular list of STDs.
Bacterial STDs
Some of the popular and widespread kinds of STDs fall under bacterial infections. These include Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Syphilis. Oftentimes, the onset of the bacterial infection is usually undetected for of lack of symptoms. When the symptoms do appear, they are fairly common and sometimes mild and temporary, thus the disease go undetected.
Chlamydia has the most reported number of cases of STDs in the US population. Chlamydia poses a serious threat to women’s health as it causes pelvic inflammatory disease or PID which can cause infertility.
Gonorrhea is characterized by painful, sometimes frequent urination, bloody or cloudy penile or vaginal discharge and painful intercourse in patients. It is easy to treat especially when intervention is applied early on. However, it is can be potentially harmful to health when left untreated. The disease is a significant cause of PID and can lead to infertility in both men and women.
Syphilis is a highly contagious disease that can be easily treated in the initial stages. It is characterized by sores on the area where transmission of infection occurred, which is usually on the genitals. It is potentially fatal if left untreated as it can permanently lead to damage of the neural or cardiovascular system or of other internal organs.
Some other bacterial STDs include chancroid, donovanosis, lymphogranuloma venereum, and ureaplasma urealyticum.
Viral STDs
Some of the most infamous and dreaded among the kinds of STDs fall under viral infections. HIV or AIDS is a viral STD which attacks the body’s natural immune system, making it susceptible to all kinds of infection. While it is a known STD, it can also be transmitted through sharing of infected needles and by passing the infection from an infected pregnant woman to the unborn child.
Hepatitis is an infection that can cause liver inflammation and can seriously jeopardize a patient’s health. Hepatitis patients usually exhibit jaundice and vomiting. Hepatitis in itself is rarely fatal. However it can lead to other lethal conditions such cirrhosis and cancer of the liver.
Human papillomavirus or HPV is also one of the most common STDs. Symptoms of the disease include genital warts which may be characterized as flesh or grayish bumps. However, some strains of HPV can lead to cancer of the cervix or penis.
Other forms of sexually transmissible viral infection include herpes simplex, Molluscum, Mononucleosis, and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus.
Parasitic and Fungal STDs
Other lesser known kinds of STDs are parasitic infections which include pubic lice and scabies. There are also some common fungal infections that are transmissible through sexual contact such as jock itch and yeast infection. GP