A sexually transmitted disease (STD) is a disease that can be transmitted from person to person through sexual contact. After contracting an STD, the body will usually show symptoms of illness, including painful bumps, warts, fevers and pain. Some STDs, if undetected, may even be life-threatening. STD cures vary, depending on the type of STD. Some STDs can be cured with antibiotics; some require topical treatment; some cannot be cured at all. To get treatment for an STD, you should consult a doctor at an STD clinic in Singapore. When an STD infects a patient, changes happen in the body that could affect the patient’s biology. Here is how that happens.

Contracting an STD

When a patient contracts an STD, symptoms usually don’t show straight away. However, before a patient experiences symptoms, the STD would have started infecting their body.

Bacterial STDs will start to infect affected cells and multiply, often causing pain in the region. This can be in the form of warts, boils and other skin conditions. Bacterial STDs usually develop where the infection begins. That could be in the mouth, on the genitals, inside the female reproductive system or on other parts of the body, like the anus. Generally, bacterial STDs are identifiable by pain in a specific region related to where the STD first starts to infect the body. Generally, a course of antibiotics prescribed by an STD doctor is able to cure a bacterial infection, though it may take a few days before the patient fully recovers.

Viral STDs, on the other hand, work by attacking the body’s cells and immune system. One common viral STD is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which attacks the body’s immune system by reducing the effectiveness of the body’s white blood cells. Viruses are generally much harder to cure than bacteria, and would often need antiviral treatments. Some viruses, like HIV, do not even have a cure at the time of writing. However, other viral STDs like Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) have vaccines that can build up the body’s resistance to the virus. Viral STDs affect the body as a whole, causing symptoms like jaundice (Hepatitis A), periodic warts (HPV) and fever (HIV).

Health implications from STDs

When left unchecked, STDs can start to infect cells in other parts of the body. Gonorrhoea, a bacterial STD that is commonly known for causing pain when urinating, can spread to other parts of the body. It can cause Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), a condition in which the internal female reproductive organs are infected, potentially leading to infertility.

Another bacterial STD, syphilis, can spread to various mucus membranes around the body, causing rashes on the skin. Typically, the symptoms of syphilis patients will subside after a while. However, the STD is still latent in the body. In later stages, syphilis can even affect different organs across the body, affecting the brain, heart or nervous system. STDs can cause many health problems if they go undetected, so it is recommended that you get an STD test in Singapore if you ever think that you have contracted an STD.

Conclusion

Visiting an STD clinic is the best way to ensure that your body is free of STDs and the health repercussions that come with it.