Sexually transmitted infections:

Another Test Perspective: Gonorrhea, Syphilis and Chlamydia

These information materials were prepared for CA(S)PITA, a Health Humanities project on STIs.

The journey involved fifteen people, actors and actresses, even without experience. It includes those who participated in a series of theatrical meetings held by the Officine Arte Teatro association. Some professors from the Department of Molecular Medicine and Disease supervised the entire project and provided the advice necessary to convey scientifically and medically correct messages. Enjoy the reading!

Disease One.

GONORRHOEA

  • A bacterium causes this venereal disease. I spread through unprotected sex, whether oral, vaginal or anal.
  • Immediately, in the days immediately following the unprotected sex.
  • I can take on different forms, also depending on the type of sex. Oral sex can cause a sore throat, often with mild and non-specific symptoms. Following anal sex, I develop anal gonorrhoea, which, although usually asymptomatic, can lead to putrid secretions, often paired with bleeding and widespread discomfort.

The symptoms are more nuanced depending on your sex.

In men, I sometimes develop as a continuous and generally visible loss of putrid material from the urethral orifice. If not identified quickly by a test and treated, it can develop into epididymitis, an inflammation that develops with pain in the scrotum. If not given medical treatment, it can even cause infertility.

In women, people identify me by yellowish putrid discharge, pain when peeing and pelvic pain. If not identified and treated, it can develop into a pelvic inflammatory disease with the risk of ectopic (extrauterine) pregnancies and infertility.

Although rarely (1-3% of cases), in both women and men, I can present with arthritis that appears 2-4 weeks after unprotected sex. Arthritis presents with pain often present in the ankle, knee, wrist, and elbow… in short, it can also develop in places far from the genital system.

  • You can cure me with antibiotics. The timing of treatment is key to avoid damage. During therapy, you must abstain from sex until the end of treatment.
  • Condoms, or dental dams in the case of oral sex, can lower my chance of passing on. Laboratory tests are available to reveal the presence of the infection.

Disease Two

SYPHILIS 

  • I spread through unprotected sex, whether oral, vaginal or anal, and through blood.
  • I manifest in 3 stages:

1. primary syphilis: People identify me by tests and by generally painless ulceration, defined as syphilis. It is a lesion similar to a superficial laceration (for example, when you fall from your bike and scratch yourself on the asphalt, but very superficial and red). The lesion is hard to the touch. I appear early after sex, between ten and ninety days. They then disappear spontaneously, even if the disease progresses.

2. secondary syphilis: I appear weeks after primary syphilis and are identified by pustules similar to chickenpox. Unlike chickenpox, the lesions called “syphilitic roseola” are also present on the palms of the hands and feet. These lesions could be mistaken for monkeypox (monkeypox).

3. tertiary syphilis: I can appear even many years later (from five to thirty years!) after secondary syphilis. People identify me by multi-organ lesions, which can reach up to the brain. People also identify me by psychotic symptoms, with memory disorders and a state of mental change. If not given medical treatment, it can even be fatal.

They also exist in a latent form, with no symptoms, but the person is still ill.

  • You can cure me with antibiotics. The timing of treatment is key to avoid damage. Be careful because I have this singularity: a previous infection does not confer immunity so that I can infect you again in the event of a new exposure.
  • Condoms, or dental dams in the case of oral sex, can lower my chance of passing on. Laboratory tests are available to reveal the presence of the infection.

Disease Three

CHLAMYDIA

  • A bacterium causes this venereal disease. I spread through unprotected sex, whether oral, vaginal or anal.
  • Good question! get a test for me. The symptoms are very subtle!
  • Here are my different manifestations…

Oral sex can cause a sore throat, often with mild and non-specific symptoms. Following anal sex, I can cause itching and putrid secretions, potentially paired with bleeding and widespread discomfort.

In men, I develop myself with urethritis and burning when peeing. If I am not treated, I inflame some parts of the genital system (epididymis and prostate).

In women, I often appear with varied and alternatively diversified symptoms like discharge, pain when peeing, pelvic pain, pain during sex, and spotting (yellow/brown/pink discharge away from the period).

If I am not identified and treated

I can develop pelvic inflammatory disease, with the risk of ectopic pregnancy and infertility.

Some of my subtypes, mainly present in Africa and Asia, cause venereal lymphogranuloma, identified by a painful pelvic lesion which, if not given medical treatment, can lead to the stagnation of fluids in the tissues (due to the blockage of lymphatic drainage) up to abnormal swelling of the penis and of the scrotum in humans (elephantiasis).

  • You can cure me with antibiotics. The timing of treatment is key to avoid damage. You must abstain from sex for up to one week after the end of treatment. Be careful because sexual partners you had up to three months before the onset of symptoms should also be treated.
  • Condoms, or dental dams in the case of oral sex, can lower my chance of passing on. People identify Chlamydia using lab tests.

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