Venereal diseases caused by bacteria | Venereal diseases

Venereal diseases caused by bacteria

This disease is caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which can also be called gonococci. Similar to the syphilis pathogens, these bacteria are almost exclusively transmissible through sexual contact and can be fought off just as well with condoms. There are two different forms of the disease, the chronic and the acute form.

The mucous membranes in the genital area, as well as those of the urinary tract, the intestine (anal sex) and the eyes are mainly infected. Symptoms are mainly a yellowish discharge, especially in the morning for men and women, and itching. If left untreated, gonorrhea can, in the worst case, lead to sterility in men and women.

Therefore both sexual partners should be treated at the same time. Chlamydia infection is caused by bacteria, especially Chlamydia trachomatis. They are mainly transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse and mainly infect the mucous membranes in the genital area, in the eyes and the urinary tract.

The typical symptoms are burning and itching in the genital area and during urination and a yellowish or purulent discharge. In some cases, however, no symptoms are visible at all. If the disease remains untreated, it can lead to purulent inflammation in both men and women, which can also result in infertility.

However, the infection can take on a further course of the disease, which is called lymphogranuloma venerum. Initially, small tumors form in the area where the pathogens enter the body. These are painless and subside after a few weeks.

Later, the infected areas become inflamed and painful lymph node swelling and lymph node inflammation in the groin area occurs. The covering skin sometimes turns downright blue. In addition, abscesses develop more frequently.

The disease can be caused by fever and joint

One of the best known sexually transmitted diseases is probably syphilis (syphilis, hard chancre). It is an infection with the bacterium Treponema pallidum. This is transmitted during sexual intercourse and penetrates the body through the mucous membranes.

The bacterium can also be transmitted to the unborn child during pregnancy and cause considerable damage. For this reason, a screening test for the pathogen causing syphilis is carried out during the first prenatal examination, if possible. The characteristic feature of syphilis is the long latency period.

This means that there can often be several years between the stages in which the patient remains symptom-free and has no symptoms, but the pathogen is detectable in serum. The disease progresses in four stages, each of which can also last for years. In the first stage, a small nodule forms where the pathogen has entered the body (i.e. mostly on the genital organs), which grows into a painless ulcer and heals again.

The lymph nodes also swell. In the second stage, the pathogen has spread throughout the body and a rash dominates large areas of the skin. The inner surfaces of the hands and feet are particularly affected.

In the first two stages a cure is still possible, but in this time the disease is also highly contagious and due to its severity a notifiable disease. Later, in stages 3 and 4, more and more ulcers develop and the pathogens attack the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system with severe consequences. The pathogens can be isolated and examined by means of a smear test.

The diagnosis is made using a sequence of special laboratory medical methods. Depending on the stage of the disease, syphilis can be treated with various antibiotics. If detected early and therapy initiated, the prognosis is good.

In the last stage, however, most patients die due to complications of the nervous or cardiovascular system. The safest way to protect yourself is to use condoms during sexual intercourse.This is a very rare venereal disease in Europe, but it is more common in Africa and other tropical regions. The disease is almost exclusively transmitted through sexual practices and is caused by the pathogen Haemophilus ducreyi.

It mainly infects men. Women, on the other hand, more often remain symptom-free. After a few days, an ulcer forms at the site of entry of the pathogen, on the penis or vagina, which is extremely painful. In addition, the lymph nodes in the groin area swell up considerably. Here too, protection with a condom reduces the probability of infection many times over.