If left untreated, syphilis and gonorrhea can have serious consequences. Non-viral STDs, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, can be cured with the right treatment. However, they often have no symptoms or the symptoms come and go, making it look like the infection has gone away when it hasn't. Additionally, you can transmit some STDs to your baby in the womb or during delivery, which can cause serious or fatal complications.
Sexually transmitted diseases that you can contract include genital herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV. HIV and herpes are chronic conditions that can be managed but not cured. Hepatitis B also becomes chronic, but it can be controlled. You may not realize that you have certain STDs until you have permanent damage to your reproductive organs (making you infertile), vision, heart, or other organs.
Having an STD can weaken your immune system and make you more vulnerable to other infections. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a complication of gonorrhea and chlamydia that can make women unable to have children. If you transmit a sexually transmitted disease to your newborn child, the baby may suffer permanent harm or death. Syphilis falls firmly within the realm of the type of STD that is only dangerous to adults if left untreated for a significant period of time.
Not all STDs are life-threatening; however, all STDs have the potential for additional complications if not treated properly. In addition, sexually active people over the age of seventy should also be aware of the threat posed by STDs. It is important to get tested and treated for STDs as soon as possible since they can easily be transmitted from one person to another. Keep in mind that early and rapid diagnosis of an STD increases the chances of limiting the effects of the disease.
Untreated STDs can grow uncontrollably for years in the body and cause the development of potentially serious or fatal diseases. In fact, unlike other diseases, STDs tend to be shrouded in mystery and the dangers of STDs are often misrepresented. STDs are infections that are transmitted between partners through genital sexual activity, such as vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, or oral sex. The good news is that most STDs are curable and even those that have no cure can be effectively controlled or minimized with treatment. In Kent, Washington, FamilyCare of Kent offers on-site services, travel medications and sexual care, such as STD & testing, treatment, prevention of HIV infection (PrEP), contraceptive methods and IUDs.
