Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Some contagious diseases are passed on through person to person contact. Diseases that are passed when body fluids are exchanged during a sexual act are called sexually transmitted diseases. For short, they are called STDs. Some examples are HIV, Chlamydia, Syphilis and Gonorrhea. Some like Gonorrhea are curable but others such as HIV are incurable and eventually leads to death especially if the victim has a weak immune system.
Note: Sexually Transmitted Diseases are also known as sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Human immunodeficiency virus, HIV for short, is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV weakens a person's ability to fight infections making it easier to catch other diseases. If left untreated, HIV develops into the disease AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). AIDS is the stage of the infection where the body's immune or defence system is badly damaged by the virus.
Although related, there is a difference between HIV and AIDS. HIV is the virus and AIDS is the disease. HIV is what causes AIDS. There's no cure for HIV/AIDS, but medications can dramatically slow the progression of the disease. These drugs have reduced AIDS deaths in many developed nations.
Some people infected by HIV develop a flu-like illness within two to four weeks after the virus enters the body. Possible signs and symptoms include:
Fever
Headache
Muscle aches and joint pain
Rash
Sore throat and painful mouth sores
Swollen lymph glands, mainly on the neck
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Cough
Night sweats
HIV/AIDS can't be cured so it's important for everyone to avoid getting it. Here are some ways to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS:
Do not share needles.
Use clean needles.
Do not have sex (abstain from sex).
Use a condom when having sex.
Stick to one sex partner.
Activity: Persons who have HIV/AIDS are treated badly by persons in society. This is called discrimination. Watch the video below and list ways in which HIV sufferers are treated badly.
Homework: Write a paragraph explaining how you would treat someone suffering from HIV/AIDS.