Common STIs

What is it?

• Caused by Treponema pallidum.
• It is highly infectious and is a common STI among MSM.

How do you get it?

• By sexual contact, giving or receiving anal or oral sex.
• By anus play or direct contact with sores or lesions.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• Primary stage:
  A chancre (painless sore) on or around genital organ together with swollen glands in the groin, or appear on your mouth, throat or anus . Usually clear up spontaneously within a few weeks but the infection will progress to secondary stage .
• Secondary stage:
  Various combinations of symptoms like fever, tiredness, non-itchy skin rash, and generalized swollen glands can occur 2-6 months the after initial infection. The rash will appear on palm, soles or other parts of the body. They can disappear even without treatment. Without treatment syphilis will progress to latent stage.
• Latent stage:
  At this stage, it is possible to have no signs and symptoms but might be passed to other person. Diagnosis can only be made by blood tests.
• Late stage:
  Signs and symptoms occur after several years or even decades. Organs like heart, eyes, bones and central nervous system may be damaged by the bacteria, resulting in blindness, physical disability, cardiovascular diseases, neurological and mental illness, or even death.

Can it be treated?

• Easy to cure in early stages. For primary and secondary syphilis, full antibiotic treatment (penicillin) can cure. A blood test necessary to ensure recovery after treatment.
• For latent / late syphilis, duration of antibiotic treatment may be longer.

What is it?

Caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae and infected areas include urethra, rectum, throat or eyes.

How do you get it?

• By sexual contact such as oral sex, anal sex, fingering and fisting.
• can infected one's penis, anus or eyes by touching an infected penis or anus.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• Sometimes asymptomatic, especially if the infection is appear in rectum or throat.
• Unprotected anal sex may lead to rectal gonorrhoea that may cause discharge and irritation around the anus, and pain while passing stool.
• Sometimes there is clear or yellow urethral discharge associated with pain and frequency of urination. These usually take between 2 and 10 days to show up after being exposed.

Can it be treated?

• Can be treated by antibiotic.

What is it?

Inflammation of urethra not caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

How do you get it?

By sexual contact such as fucking without condoms or by oral sex.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• Usually present with symptoms similar to but milder than those of gonorrhoea, such as urethral discharge, pain and burning sensation during urination or cum. Symptoms can take between one and three weeks to appear.
• Sometimes asymptomatic.

Can it be treated?

• Can be treated by antibiotic.

What is it?

Caused by certain type of human papilloma virus (HPV).

How do you get it?

• By skin to skin contact, including oral and anal sex.
• Can be transmitted given no visible warts.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• Usually present with cauliflower-like growths over external genitalia or around the anus and are often painless. The Warts usually show up between two or three months after infection with HPV.
• The lesions are delicate. They can be traumatized easily causing infection and bleeding.
• Intra-anal warts are observed in the people who have receptive anal sex.

Can it be treated?

• Topical application of specific medicine, cautery, cryotherapy or surgical excision.
• No complete cure, relapse is common.
• Talk to your doctor about vaccination (HPV).

What is it?

Caused by the type II herpes simplex virus (HSV).

How do you get it?

• By skin to skin contact such as direct contact with a sore on mouth, penis or anus.
• highly infectious when there are sores or blisters present.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• The symptoms generally show up between 2 and 5 days after you have been exposed to the virus.
• Burning or tingling sensation first at affected areas, followed by the appearance of characteristic grouped small vesicles in pin-pointed to green bean size. They are usually found around the penis or anus areas.
• Vesicles usually rupture in 3 to 4 days, leaving erosion with a narrow bright red margin. They often heal within 10 days if there is no other infection.
• Possible to have fever, tiredness, joint pain and swollen lymph glands in groin lasting for 2 to 3 weeks.

Can it be treated?

• Virus remains inside body in the rest of life once infected.
• Recurrent with milder symptoms given lower immune.
• No cure, but severity and duration of symptoms can be minimised by proper treatment.
• High risk of infection when blisters are present. Avoid sex totally.

What is it?

Caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and present with urethra, throat or anus infections.

How do you get it?

Urethra or anus infection through giving or receiving anal sex, or in the throat through oral sex.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• Most men do not have any symptoms.
• Sometimes may have watery, white or grey urethral discharge, which is most noticeable in the morning painful urination, frequency of urination, penile pain or with itchiness.

Can it be treated?

• Can be treated by antibiotics.

What is it?

Caused by pubic lice that live on pubic area and lay eggs that attached to hairs.

How do you get it?

• Mostly by direct contact during sexual intercourse.
• less commonly through close contact, such as sharing cloths, bed sheets or towels.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• Intense itching in pubic region.
• Visible tiny brown lice and / or white eggs (nits).
• may occasionally affect the eye brows, eye lashes, axillae, and the hairy chest region.

Can it be treated?

• Specific topical application can kill lice and special comb can remove nits.
• Tips: Do not share clothing, bedding and towels used by infected persons.

What is it?

A benign superficial skin disease caused by a poxvirus.

How do you get it?

• By direct skin to skin contact with infected patients, including sexual contact and non-sexual contact with infected area.
• Scratching lesion can spread virus to other areas.

What are the signs or symptoms?

• Lesions look like waxy pimples bearing a dimple in the middle. Usually itchy and present in genital area and other parts of body.
• If transmitted through sex, it is usually found on abdomen, pubic area and thighs.

Can it be treated?

• Lesions can disappear without treatment within 6 to 12 months, some may keep growing for up to four years if not treated.
• Treatment usually recommended given growths in the genital area.
• To prevent spreading, keep every blister or bump covered with clothing or watertight bandage. But do remove the bandage at night.
• Cryotherapy, curettage or laser may help. Topical cream may be used to remove bumps.

Progression

• Most likely to have complete recovery even for acute cases.
• Lifelong immunity and no chronic carrier.

Signs and Symptoms

• Most patients symptom-less.
• Possible to have flu-like symptoms: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. Jaundice (your skin and sclera turn yellow) will occur for worsening conditions.

Ways of Contracting

• Mostly transmitted through contaminated water or food (especially shellfish like oysters, clams, etc.).
• Sexual contact with infected person's stool even in tiny amounts.

Ways of Prevention

• Practice personal and food hygiene like you should be doing. Scrub your hands with soap and wash them before preparing and eating food and after toilet.
• Drink only boiled or bottled water. All food, especially shellfish such as oysters, clams, etc. should be cleaned and thoroughly cooked.
• Avoid any behaviours that may potentially contact with faeces of other people, and avoid contacting any potentially contaminated objects.

Vaccine

• Recommended for men who have sex with men (MSM) with high-risk behaviors such as rimming, unprotective sex and casual sex.
• In general, the body takes 2- 4 weeks to develop antibody against hepatitis A infection after vaccination.

Treatment

• Consult your family doctor for assessment if you have symptoms of hepatitis.
• Immune system typically clears virus without treatment.

Progression

• Can lead to acute hepatitis and followed by chronic liver damage, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
• 5-10% infected adults unable to clear virus and eventually become chronic carriers.

Signs and Symptoms

• Most patients symptom-less.
• Possible to have flu-like symptoms: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. Jaundice (your skin and sclera turn yellow) will occur for worsening conditions.

Ways of Contracting

• Mostly transmitted through mother to child transmission.
• Unprotected sexual contact (anal sex, fellatio, etc.).
• Shared injecting equipment.

Ways of Prevention

• Practice safer sex behavior (wrap up your cock!!!).
• Don't share your dildos and other sex toys. If contaminated by blood, the toys should be cleaned with 1:4 diluted household bleach.
• Never share needles. Use disposable needles and injecting equipment every time (in other words, DON'T EVER DO DRUGS!).
• Do not share personal care items e.g. razors, toothbrushes, nail cutter etc.
• Don't use dirty needles for acupuncture, piercing or tattooing. Those needles and other equipment should be sterile and/or disposable.
• If your sexual partner is a carrier, consult your family doctor for HBV vaccination.

Vaccine

Recommended for all populations, not just the gay community.

Treatment

• Consult your family doctor for assessment if you have symptoms of hepatitis.
• Treatment available for chronic HBV carrier.

Progression

• Can lead to acute hepatitis and followed by chronic liver damage, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
• About 80% acute infections do not clear virus and chronic infections ensue.

Signs and Symptoms

• Most patients symptom-less.
• Possible to have flu-like symptoms: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. Jaundice (your skin and sclera turn yellow) will occur for worsening conditions.

Ways of Contracting

• Mostly by sharing injecting equipment.
• Sexual contact is uncommon but higher among MSM, (particularly anal sex, fisting etc.) or those with STIs or HIV.

Ways of Prevention

• Practice safer sex behavior (wrap up your cock!!!).
• Don't share your dildos and other sex toys. If contaminated by blood, the toys should be cleaned with 1:4 diluted household bleach.
• Never share needles. Use disposable needles and injecting equipment every time (in other words, DON'T EVER DO DRUGS!).
• Do not share personal care items e.g. razors, toothbrushes, nail cutter etc.
• Don't use dirty needles for acupuncture, piercing or tattooing. Those needles and other equipment should be sterile and/or disposable.

Vaccine

NO VACCINE AVAILABLE!!!

Treatment

• Consult your family doctor for assessment if you have symptoms of hepatitis.
• Drugs, such as Interferon, Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin can be used to treat the infection but treatment is not always successful.
• Nowadays, newer agents like direct-acting antiviral agent is becoming more available for treatment.