A sexually
transmitted infection called chlamydia
One of every ten sexually active
men is affected by
Clamydia
trachomatis, a microorganism
responsible for infertility.
E-mail:
digital@jrebelde.cip.cu
October 20, 2007 - 00:00:23 GMT
A CubaNews translation. Edited by
Walter Lippmann.
Unknown to many people, chlamydia is an often asymptomatic STD with a
high incidence on male fertility
«Chlamydia???
What can give me that? Can it make me sterile!? Isn’t that a woman’s
thing!?» were among the exclamations and doubts stated by most of the
men that Sexo Sentido interviewed this week to have an idea of
how much young people know about this infection.
Some had never
heard of it, but others who had known nothing about its symptoms and
consequences, were startled when alerted to its dangers.
According to
recent studies, this «stealthy» disease –caused by a bacterium called
Chlamydia trachomatis– which affects one of every ten sexually
active men can lead to diminished fertility and, if left untreated,
sterility.
Conducted by the
hospital Juan Canalejo in Spain and presented this year in the annual
meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the research
revealed this STD can make a man’s sperm defective by impairing its
concentration and ability to move around.
Trials included
the study of sperm from 193 men who had fertility treatment because
their attempts to have children had repeatedly failed. Of them, 143 were
infected with chlamydia.
Then, a new
microscopic analysis technique helped the scientists discover that the
level of DNA damage or fragmentation in their sperm was three times that
of healthy men.
A four-month-long
treatment with antibiotics followed by 95 of these patients corrected
the said DNA problem in 36% of the cases. During that period, 13% of the
couples achieved the longed-for pregnancy, and over 85% of them in the
months following the end of the treatment.
A
dangerous silence
Known as the
«silent epidemic», chlamydia may go undetected, so the infected remain
unaware of its presence, disregard safe sex, and spread it even further
as a result.
According to the
experts, this bacterial genus can cause scarring inside the reproductive
organs of men and women alike. It is transmitted mainly by means of
sexual intercourse or by contact of a person’s mouth or eyes with
infected mucus found in the reproductive, urinary or anal apparatus.
In the case of
women, chlamydia can cause cervical infection, damage the Fallopian
tubes, and even prevent the ovules from reaching the uterus.
In men, as recent
research has revealed, it can cause swelling of the testicles or the
scrotum. In either case its incidence is directly related to the future
quality and mobility of a man’s spermatozoa. As it spreads to the whole
genital tract, it tampers with the successful course of fertilization in
both sexes.
A major problem
is that the male population is chlamydia’s natural reservoir. However,
asymptomatic as it is, men seldom keep themselves «under control» and
contribute to propagation.
Some men have
symptoms like an unusual discharge of a purulent, light-colored viscous
discharge, a painful or burning sensation when urinating, and urethritis
(inflammation of the urethra).
Moreover, anal
penetration can cause rectal infection, which causes pain, discharge or
bleeding.
Chlamydia has
also been found in the throat of those who have had oral sex with an
infected person, as well as in the epididymis, where it destroys the
spermatic duct system, albeit very few cases have been reported.
Data has it that
three of every four infected women and nearly half the infected men are
asymptomatic. Otherwise the symptoms appear between one and three weeks
after the infection.
The International
Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology classifies chlamydia as a
sexually transmitted infection conducive to infertility. About 2.8
million cases of chlamydia infection occur in the United States each
year, and twice as many in Latin America, since the vast majority of
people in developing countries have no access to methods of
contraception such as condoms, the most reliable way of decreasing the
risk of contracting STDs.
The higher the
number of sex partners, the higher the risk of getting infected.
Sexually active teenagers and youths are more exposed because their
cervix is yet to be fully developed.
Danger
for two
Most young
interviewees were unaware of the danger, as they believed that the STDs
can cause infertility only in women. Hence the alert issued by the
experts to young people, who are not only more at risk from infection
–given the existing levels of promiscuity– but also from the physical
and psychological consequences of not being able to have children when
they want to.
If not treated,
chlamydia can spread and cause reproductive and health problems with
serious short- and long-term effects.
There are
laboratory assays to detect chlamydia. Some include urine testing;
others may be performed on swab specimens collected from the cervix
(women) or urethra (men). The infection can be effectively treated with
antibiotics once it is detected and cured without any major hitches, all
the more reason to see a doctor on a regular basis to be sure you’re not
infected.
Those who are,
however, must refrain from having sex until both members of the couple
are treated and declared cured.
It’s all a matter
of taking care of your partner and understand that men and women are
equally bound to prevent in good time any devil-may-care conduct from
dashing the wonderful joy of parenthood.
---ooOoo---
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2007-10-20/pregunte-sin-pena/
Ask Up Front
By:
Mariela Rodríguez Méndez*
E-mail:
digital@jrebelde.cip.cu
October 20, 2007 -
00:00:43 GMT
R.R: I have got a
herpes simplex virus type 1 right after I shaved my mons pubis. Now it
always comes up at the beginning and end of my periods. I read an
article in your section where you link shaving and sexually transmitted
infections.
If shaving leaves
you with scars and then you make love with a person infected with a
sexually transmitted infection (STD), those little wounds are more
likely to become an open door to infectious agents like HIV, gonococcus
and hepatitis B viruses, among others, carried by the semen or other
genital fluids. The risk is just as high in the case of viruses
transmitted by direct contact, such as herpes or papilloma. Using a
razor blade with traces of infected blood might pass on the virus if you
cut yourself, however lightly, while the infectious pathogen is still
active, but this is less likely, though.
Even if you got
the virus by shaving, the lesions would have taken between two and
twenty days to incubate. You were most probably playing host to the
virus before the symptoms appeared, which can happen sometimes as it can
remain latent for an indefinite time without manifesting itself.
A rash caused by
shaving can very well be the trigger which sparks off the viral lesions.
It can also reactivate from menstruation, excessive heat, illness,
stress, fatigue and even friction during sex.
Genital herpes is
caused by two viruses: herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2
(HSV-2). The former is the cause of oral herpes –commonly called cold
sores– transmitted by contact with a herpetic sore (kissing, touching
and sharing drinking glasses or pieces of cutlery), but it can also be
spread to the genitals via oral sex with an infected person. In other
words, both strains can be transmitted by sexual contact.
* Master’s
in Psychology and counselor in STDs and HIV/AIDS.
---ooOoo---
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2007-10-20/sabias-que/
Did you know that...
E-mail:
digital@jrebelde.cip.cu
October 20, 2007 -
00:00:43 GMT
A Russian girl weighted
7,75 kilograms at birth, more than twice the average of a newborn child.
Nadia, the «giant» baby bound to be registered as one of the biggest
babies in history, was born by cesarean section.
Last January, a
Brazilian mother gave birth to a 7,73-kg baby, the biggest in Brazil
yet, according to gynecology authorities in that country.
Among the
heaviest newborns ever recorded are an Italian boy born in 1955 who
weighed 10,2 kilograms and an American baby who tipped the scale till
the 10,8-kilogram mark, although he only lived for 11 hours.
WHO statistics
show that a newborn’s average weight is 3,2 kilograms. Therefore, Nadia
has gone down in history as another curiosity of human reproduction, not
unlike oddities such as multiple births and «impossible» pregnancies,
which testify to how complex and incredible our body can be.
---ooOoo---
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