Hope Springs Eternal
There are minor STDs, and there are major ones. There are very rare infections, and very common ones. It is not possible to self-diagnose from a book. Only an expert in the field, with the use of the latest medical technology, can diagnose a particular strain of STD. In recent years, more men are becoming silent reservoirs of sexual disease; it is not known why. But it may be related to the delaying tactic known as “hope springs eternal in the human breast.”
For the average person, the slightest sign of an STD causes anxiety. Though the worst may be feared, there is hope against hope for the best. And while the hope lasts, there is a “waiting to see what happens, to see if the symptoms disappear.” The fearful moment when a sexual infection must be acknowledged and accepted is delayed.
This is natural behavior. Unhappily, it can have dire results. The time lapse between hoping and going to the clinic gives the infection a chance to spread further inside the reproductive system
One major factor in successful STD therapy is the earlier the treatment, the quicker and easier the cure.
No Shame?
To encourage early therapy and avoid delay, the public has been told there is no shame attached to STD. This is more easily said than believed! The average person does feel very upset. Not only is there physical disgust at the symptoms. There is often a far more complex interaction of extremely painful emotions:
- Natural anxiety about the infection.
- Fear of consequences of own behavior.
- Rage and pain at a partner’s infidelity.
- Insecurity within the relationship.
- Sense of betrayal and threatened trust.
- Desperate need to blame outside agency.
- Shame, lies, secrecy, guilt, remorse and so on.
When one person is infected, any other partner is a contact. They must also be treated even though there are no symptoms of disease. For obvious reasons, one partner in a relationship may be reluctant to inform the other. With casual sex, the name of the partner may not even be known.
The “ping pong” effect occurs when one partner alone knows of the infection and receives therapy. It could be the man, as his symptoms are obvious and painful It could be the woman, unaware the man is a silent reservoir of her vaginal itch. After therapy, the cured person is re-infected, has more treatment, is re-infected and so on. The disease travels back and forth between the couple, creating what is known as the ping pong effect.
Partners may regard infidelity as a minor peccadillo. Or they may consider it a major breach of trust. Whatever the moral stance, silence is the coward’s way to make the disease worse. Silence puts at risk the health, perhaps the reproductive life, of a partner. Contact tracing is essential to reduce the pool of infection within a community. Yet many STD sufferers are not willing to assist the health professionals in their task.
Medical specialists in STD are called venereologists. The name comes from Venus, the Goddess of Love. In 1970, a U.S. venereologist spoke of the vast amount of public funds available for research into a poliomyelitis vaccine. Yet polio, dreadful as it is, cripples and kills far fewer people than STDs. If the same funds were available for STD research, he reckoned it was almost certain vaccines would soon be found.
That was 20 years ago. Today, there are still no vaccines. Is lack of funds for STD research where real shame lies?
Tags: behavior
@chels I know what you mean, its hard to find good help these days. People now days just don’t have the work ethic they used to have. I mean consider whoever wrote this post, they must have been working hard to write that good and it took a good bit of their time I am sure. I work with people who couldn’t write like this if they tried, and getting them to try is hard enough as it is.