Vaginal Infections
The vagina is not a germ-free environment. Many harmless flora live there, as they do in the male urethra. Yeasts, protozoae and bacteria flourish without any trouble. Under certain conditions, they flare up and cause vaginal infections. These include monilia (yeast or thrush), trichomonas (protozoa), bacterial vaginitis (mixed bacteria) and non-specific vaginitis (gardnerella). The symptoms are soreness, itching, swelling, stinging on urination and unpleasant-smelling discharge.
A vaginal infection may not be sexual disease. Antibiotics or a change in diet can upset the natural ecological balance of flora and allow a yeast infection to spread. They used to be thought “women only” conditions. But trichomonas and gardnerella can cause male urethritis. A few men are affected by the fungus of monilia. The glans feels sore and itchy, and small skin ulcers appear a few days after infection.
Such infections breed in stale smegma. Check genital hygiene. Less usually, they lurk inside the urethra or prostate. The man is unaware of a problem; he is asymptomatic. So he acts as a silent reservoir of vaginal infection for his partner. If she has therapy, he should involved. If not, she suffers repeated re-infection from the “ping pong” effect.
Syphilis
The cork-screw shaped bacteria of syphilis penetrate the skin of the penis and within 30 minutes reach the glands in the groin. Some 36 hours after infection, the bacteria have doubled in number. They then double again every 30 hours. It takes an average three weeks (10 to 50 days) for the first symptom to appear. By then, there may be countless bacteria in the blood stream.
The first symptom is a chancre (ulcer) on the penis. It starts as a red pimple and develops into an open sore with a hard rim two days after infection. The chancre does not hurt, and may be small enough to go unnoticed. It heals slowly and disappears. But the infection remains highly contagious because the bacteria continue to multiply and cause damage inside the body.
The chancre usually appears on the glans. But it can appear on the meatus, shaft, scrotum, anus or pubic area. It can be on the finger, lip or tongue, wherever it was first caught. If it is small, or inside the rectum or urethra, it is possible to have syphilis without seeing the chancre. Have a blood test after high risk sexual activity.
The secondary stage of syphilis starts two to six weeks after the chancre heals. The symptoms vary from a skin rash over the body, swollen glands to a flu-like condition. If untreated, they disappear. But syphilis continues to wreak its havoc in the vital organs. The tertiary (third) stage is devastating: heart and brain disorders, joint inflammations and early death.
Early therapy at stage one results in a speedy recovery. Antibiotics destroy the bacteria of syphilis. Complete the full course or series of injections. Regular blood tests checking for lingering infection may be necessary for two years. Keep all follow-up appointments to ensure the disease has finally gone.
In recent years, syphilis is on the increase again. In 1987, the number of U.S. cases rose by 25 percent. Syphilis is three times more common in men than women, and rare in female homosexuals. Because it can be passed to the fetus after the 20th week of pregnancy, a syphilis blood test is a routine part of prenatal care.
