Sexually transmitted infections Health Dictionary

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Sexually Transmitted Infections: From 1 Different Sources

(STIs) Infections transmitted primarily, but not exclusively, by sexual intercourse. Common STIs include chlamydial infections, genital herpes, pubic lice, genital warts, trichomoniasis, syphilis, gonorrhoea, and HIV infection. Antibiotics can be used to treat most bacterial STIs. Confidential tracing and treatment of an affected person’s partners is an essential part of the management of STIs (see contact tracing).

Practising safer sex can help prevent STIs.

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association

Salmonella Infections

See FOOD POISONING; ENTERIC FEVER; DYSENTERY.... salmonella infections

Fungal And Yeast Infections

These infections, also called mycoses (see MYCOSIS), are common and particularly affect the skin or mucosal membranes in, for example, the mouth, anus or vagina. Fungi consist of threadlike hyphae which form tangled masses or mycelia – common mould. In what is called dermatophyte (multicellular fungi) fungal infection of the hair, nails and SKIN, these hyphae invade the KERATIN. This is usually described as ‘RINGWORM’, although no worm is present and the infection does not necessarily occur in rings. PITYRIASIS versicolor and candidosis (monoliasis – see CANDIDA), called thrush when it occurs in the vulva, vagina and mouth, are caused by unicellular fungi which reproduce by budding and are called yeasts. Other fungi, such as ACTINOMYCOSIS, may cause deep systemic infection but this is uncommon, occurring mainly in patients with immunosuppressive disorders or those receiving prolonged treatment with ANTIBIOTICS.

Diagnosis and treatment Any person with isolated, itching, dry and scaling lesions of the skin with no obvious cause – for example, no history of eczema (see DERMATITIS) – should be suspected of having a fungal infection. Such lesions are usually asymmetrical. Skin scrapings or nail clippings should be sent for laboratory analysis. If the lesions have been treated with topical steroids they may appear untypical. Ultraviolet light ?ltered through glass (Wood’s light) will show up microsporum infections, which produce a green-blue ?uorescence.

Fungal infections used to be treated quite e?ectively with benzoic-acid compound ointment; it has now been superseded by new IMIDAZOLES preparations, such as CLOTRIMAZOLE, MICONAZOLE and terbina?ne creams. The POLYENES, NYSTATIN and AMPHOTERICIN B, are e?ective against yeast infections. If the skin is macerated it can be treated with magenta (Castellani’s) paint or dusting powder to dry it out.

Refractory fungal infection can be treated systematically provided that the diagnosis of the infection has been con?rmed. Terbina?ne, imidazoles and GRISEOFULVIN can all be taken by mouth and are e?ective for yeast infections. (Griseofulvin should not be taken in pregnancy or by people with liver failure or porphyria.) (See also FUNGUS; MICROBIOLOGY.)... fungal and yeast infections

Opportunistic Infections

A variety of diseases which occur in some individuals who do not have healthy immune systems. These are microorganisms which do not usually cause diseases in a healthy individual. They are seen in AIDS patients and include Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, massive or overwhelming herpes infections, atypical mycobacteria, toxoplasmosis or chronic or overwhelming candidiasis.... opportunistic infections

Mouth Infections

See: STOMATITIS, CANCRUM ORIS, CANKER, ULCERATION. ... mouth infections

Chlamydial Infections

Infectious diseases caused by chlamydiae, a group of microorganisms. Two main species of chlamydiae cause disease in humans.

The first, CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS, has a number of strains. In men, it is a major cause of nongonococcal urethritis, which may cause a discharge from the penis. In women, the infection is usually symptomless, but it can lead to salpingitis. A baby born to a woman with chlamydial infection may acquire an acute eye condition called neonatal ophthalmia. In parts of Africa and Asia, certain strains of CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS cause trachoma, a serious eye disease.

A second species of chlamydiae, CHLAMYDIA PSITTACI, mainly affects birds but can occasionally spread to people who have contact with pigeons, parrots, parakeets, or poultry, causing a type of pneumonia called psittacosis.

Treatment for chlamydial infections is with antibiotic drugs.... chlamydial infections

Dermatophyte Infections

A group of common fungal infections affecting the skin, h air, and nails, also known as tinea and, popularly, as ringworm.... dermatophyte infections

Fungal Infections

Diseases that are caused by the multiplication and spread of fungi. Some fungi are harmlessly present all the time in areas of the body such as the mouth, skin, intestines, and vagina. However, they are prevented from multiplying by competition from bacteria. Other fungi are dealt with by the body’s immune system.

Fungal infections are therefore more common and serious in people taking long-term antibiotic drugs (which destroy the bacterial competition) and in those whose immune systems are suppressed by immunosuppressant drugs, corticosteroid drugs, or by a disorder such as AIDS. Such serious fungal infections are described as opportunistic infections. Some fungal infections are more common in people with diabetes mellitus.

Fungal infections can be classified into superficial (affecting skin, hair, nails, inside of the mouth, and genital organs); subcutaneous (beneath the skin); and deep (affecting internal organs).

The main superficial infections are tinea (including ringworm and athlete’s foot) and candidiasis (thrush), both of which are common. Subcutaneous infections, which are rare, include sporotrichosis and mycetoma. Deep infections are uncommon but can be serious and include aspergillosis, histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and blastomycosis. The fungal spores enter the body by inhalation.

Treatment of fungal infections is with antifungal drugs, either used topically on the infected area or given by mouth for generalized infections.... fungal infections

Staphylococcal Infections

Infections caused by bacteria of the genus STAPHYLOCOCCUS.

Different types of staphylococci are responsible for a variety of disorders, including skin infections such as pustules, boils, and abscesses, and a rash in newborn babies (see necrolysis, toxic epidermal); pneumonia; toxic shock syndrome in menstruating women; urinary tract infection; food poisoning; and, if the bacteria enter the circulation, septic shock, infectious arthritis, osteomyelitis, or bacterial endocarditis.... staphylococcal infections

Streptococcal Infections

Infections caused by bacteria of the STREPTOCOCCUS group.

A particular type, haemolytic streptococci, can cause tonsillitis, strep throat, scarlet fever, otitis media, pneumonia, erysipelas, and wound infections.

Another type is often responsible for urinary tract infection, and another can cause bacterial endocarditis if it enters the bloodstream.... streptococcal infections

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (stds)

Sexually transmitted diseases – traditionally called venereal diseases – are infections transmitted by sexual intercourse (heterosexual and homosexual). In the United Kingdom they are treated in genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics. The incidences of these diseases are more common among people who have several sexual partners, as STDs are very infectious; some of the major STDs, particularly AIDS/HIV, are also transmitted by blood and so can result from needle-sharing by drug addicts, or by TRANSFUSION. The ‘traditional’ STDs – SYPHILIS, GONORRHOEA and CHANCROID – now comprise only 10 per cent of all such diseases treated in STD clinics: these clinics also treat patients with CHLAMYDIA, TRICHOMONIASIS, HERPES GENITALIS, MOLLUSCUM CONTAGIOSUM and genital WARTS. SCABIES and pubic lice (see PEDICULOSIS – Pediculus pubis) can also be transmitted by sexual intercourse, and HEPATITIS B is also recognised as an STD.

The incidence of STDs rose sharply during World War II but the advent of PENICILLIN and subsequent antibiotics meant that syphilis and gonorrhoea could be treated e?ectively. The arrival of oral contraception and more tolerant public attitudes to sexual activities resulted in an increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections. The diagnosis of NONSPECIFIC URETHRITIS (NSU), once given to many patients whose symptoms were not due to the traditional recognised infections, was in the 1970s realised to be wrong, as the condition was proved to be the result of infection by chlamydia.

Most STDs are treatable, but herpes is an infection that could become chronic, while hepatitis B and, of course, AIDS/HIV are potentially fatal – although treatment of HIV is now proving more e?ective. As well as the treatment and subsequent monitoring of patients with STDs, one of the important functions of clinics has been the tracing, treatment and follow-up of sexual contacts of infected individuals, a procedure that is conducted con?dentially.

Apart from AIDS/HIV, the incidence of STDs fell during the 1980s; however in some countries the agents causing syphilis and gonorrhoea began to develop resistance to antibiotics, which showed the continued importance of practising safe sex – in particular by restricting the number of sexual partners and ensuring the regular use of condoms. In the United Kingdom the rates per million of the male population infected by syphilis rose from 8.8 in 1991 to 9.7 in 1999; in females the ?gures were 4.0 to 4.5, respectively. For gonorrhoea, the ?gures for men were 399.4 in 1991 and 385 in 1999, with women also showing a reduction, from

216.5 to 171.3. In 1991, 552.6 per million of men had chlamydia, a ?gure which rose to

829.5 in 1999; for women in the same period the incidence also rose, from 622.5 to 1,077.1 per million. For genital herpes simplex virus, the infection rate for men fell from 236.6 per million to 227.7, whereas the ?gures for women showed a rise, 258.5 to 357. The incidence of AIDS/HIV is given under the relevant entry. (These ?gures are based on information in United Kingdom Health Statistics, 2001 edition, UKHSI, published by the O?ce of National Statistics.)... sexually transmitted diseases (stds)

Sexually Transmitted Disease

(STD) any disease transmitted by sexual intercourse, formerly known as venereal disease. STDs include *AIDS, *syphilis, *gonorrhoea, some *Chlamydia infections, genital *herpes, and *soft sore. The medical specialty concerned with STDs is genitourinary medicine.... sexually transmitted disease

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