Health Check-up for Expectant Moms for Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Despite the advances in prevention of STIs, an estimated one million to three million people in the United States have new STIs each year. However, some patients do not receive a history or physical examination. If the risk of acquiring an STI is not recognized, then the consequences could be worse than one would have presumed. This has significant implications for many conditions such as cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, and others. It implies a lack of knowledge about STIs and a lack of proper screening before undergoing a medical procedure or operation. If more physicians were involved in providing education about STIs, more patients with STIs would be identified and treated.

Sexual risk behavior is linked to many factors including sexual activity itself. There is a great deal of variance by risk behavior, and a substantial proportion of people with no risk behavior develop STDs. The reasons for this variability have been poorly studied but it is likely that the heterogeneity in STD risks arises in part because of sexual characteristics and differences in both partners' risk-taking behaviors and vulnerability to STDs.

Most STDs are not likely to be prevented by altering the prevalence of sexual behavior, including use of barrier contraception, that are associated with lower risk of acquisition. A plausible strategy to prevent STDs through primary prevention may not exist, and in this case, it would entail altering risk-promoting behaviors as well as the prevalence and types of sexual partners. STDs with a high likelihood of prevention through primary prevention may be more amenable to treatment interventions that are likely to succeed.

Transmission of both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases between heterosexuals is more common in industrialized than in developing countries, and disproportionately so in women. These observations may have important public health implications as the AIDS epidemic progresses.

For most infections, there are no associated physical signs. However, for chlamydia infection, an increased temperature, sore throat and a lower abdominal or genital ulceration might be a sign of infection. Pregnancy-associated infections may show signs of inflammation such as breast enlargement. HIV may cause a swollen body louse (body louse) or genital ulcers, or changes in the immune system such as a fever accompanied by increased numbers of white blood cells (a high white blood cell count). A lump might be present in the testicles or prostate, and there may be a swelling around the testes or in the prostate in men with AIDS. Contact with infected blood may be a sign of infections such as syphilis or HIV.

The treatment algorithms of many treatment centers are not based on clear evidence and rely on the clinical decisions of their physicians. Many of the treatments cited in public information and in medical literature, such as oral contraceptives and testosterone replacement therapy, have not been demonstrated to be effective. While these practices are common, they are misleading to both the general public and clinicians.

More than the majority of adolescents had not learned about the risk factors for STI, and this was particularly evident among boys. Adolescents from developing countries who had not been exposed to education on the risks of STI may be unaware of their own risk of contracting STI. Therefore, health educators in developing countries may wish to incorporate the development of knowledge on STI transmission into school education programmes. The most important factor in preventing STI transmission was education about contraceptive use.

When people consider getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and chlamydia, it is important to realize that they can take months or even years of waiting before being tested to see if they test positive. They also should know that they can be tested for such conditions as HPV and HBV and be assured that their tests will help them in the prevention of disease. The key to staying alive with sexually transmitted diseases is always behaving responsibly and regularly staying healthy and always using condoms when having sex. In addition, there are certain medical treatments that may stop or slow down the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the future. But for some, [there is no treatment] at all.

Recent findings has demonstrated that people prefer to receive sexually transmitted disease health check ups at home rather than in clinics. However, one in five of the women surveyed reported not receiving either an STI or human papillomavirus test at her last appointment. This could be a result of not wanting an appointment and being unwilling to pay, as well as lack of knowledge about STIs and human papillomavirus in the population. These women should be informed about health benefits and that they would have had access to free services if they had undergone cervical screening and testing, as women who did not have any previous appointments with a doctor or STI test, or women who were unable to accept appointments, had been offered them.

All of the recent research articles in the sexually transmitted disease (STD) field suggest that the primary treatment approach for symptomatic STDs need to be aimed at both rapid acquisition and rapid clearance. In addition, the current literature suggests that the primary target population for STDs should, in general, include youth, particularly high-risk youth in adolescence, along with STD-infected men who, prior to infection, may be more sexually active than STD-naïve men. However, the current literature does not provide guidance for optimizing the prevention of STDs.

There has not been any significant advances in the treatment of STDs for the past decade. While there is a need for a larger effort by the HIV/AIDS prevention community to raise the profile and the need for better treatments for STDs, as for the past 30 years, HIV has been the target of countless research efforts.