Sexually active? Consider yourself infected with at least four STDs!

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Majority of men and women who are sexually active hardly consider the fact that they may be carrying certain sexually transmitted infections!

Yet, experts are saying that anyone who has engaged in unprotective sex is exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, even if the ‘carelessness’ is just once!

Indeed, physicians say that the more sexually active you are, the more necessary it is for you to get tested regularly, while you must be

honest with any new partners and your doctor about your sexual activity.

Be informed that condoms can’t protect against all STDs, and not all STDs come with symptoms —even ones that can do severe damage.

Sexually transmitted infections such as HIV and syphilis have symptoms which begin to manifest after a predictable time, but there are some STDs that only get to manifest when the damage has been done, sometimes beyond repair.

The following are the STDs that don’t have obvious symptoms.

Gonorrhoea

• Gonorrhoea is most common in sexually-active women under 25, and the majority will never experience symptoms.

• Though they are two different diseases, chlamydia and gonorrhoea are commonly diagnosed together

• The mild symptoms (if they ever show up) are similar: breakthrough bleeding, vaginal discharge, burning and pain that can easily be mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection. These show that the symptoms of the bacterial infection are spreading further from where it originated.

• If gonorrhoea goes unnoticed and untreated for too long, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, scarring, and damage to the reproductive organs.

• It can also increase your risk of getting HIV.

• In extreme cases, it can cause life-threatening infections in other parts of the body such as the blood, brain, heart, and joints.

• Gonorrhoea during pregnancy raises the risk of premature birth, low birth weight, miscarriage, and serious health complications (like blindness and blood infection) for the newborn.

Herpes

• While most people think of herpes as painful, red blisters, not everyone gets those.

• Up to 90 percent of people with herpes simplex 2 are never diagnosed.

• Herpes simplex 2 is the strain most often implicated in genital herpes.

• Herpes simplex 1 is the one that causes mouth sores.

• Herpes simplex 1 can cause genital herpes if it’s spread from mouth to genitals during oral sex.

• Condoms won’t protect you from the virus if it’s present on skin that falls outside of the condom.

Chlamydia

• Chlamydia is one of the most common STIs in women under 25.

• Most people will never experience symptoms.
• Abnormal vaginal discharge or a burning sensation during urination may occur several weeks after sex with an infected partner.

• At that point, the infection has probably been going on for a while and is moving up the urinary tract and into the body.

• It’s easy to confuse these symptoms for a less-serious infection, like a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis.

• Bleeding between periods, lower back and abdominal pain, and pain during sex are also potential symptoms.

• If left untreated, chlamydia can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes, resulting in pelvic inflammatory disease.

• Pelvic inflammatory disease can cause scarring in the fallopian tubes, which can lead to blockage and permanent damage that causes infertility.

• Scarring can also cause an ectopic pregnancy, which can be life-threatening for both mom and baby.

• Chlamydia can also cause premature birth and can be passed to baby during delivery, causing eye infection or pneumonia.

• It increases a woman’s risk of contracting HIV from an infected partner.

Human papilloma virus

• HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, and one of the ones that condoms can’t always protect against.

• You could be carrying it and passing it and not have any physical signs.

• Some strains cause genital warts, but many others don’t.

• If you’re over 30, routine testing is recommended along with your pap smear.

• Some strains of HPV can cause cervical cancer, which is why getting a regular pap smear is so important.

The bottom line: Take this as your official reminder to always practice safe sex, and get tested regularly, especially if you have many new partners or are thinking of becoming pregnant at any point later in life.

Credit: Punch