PREVENTATIVE CARE: Prevention and Cure

STD/STI PREVENTION 

 STDs and STIs can be avoided or reduced by: 

• Abstain. Not having (abstaining from) sex is the most efficient approach to avoid STIs.
• Stay with one partner who isn't infected. Staying in a long-term relationship when both persons have sex solely with each other and neither spouse is afflicted is another solid approach to avoid STIs.
• Vaccinate yourself. Getting vaccinated early, before sexual contact, can also help against certain types of STIs. Human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines are available. The HPV vaccine is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for girls and boys aged 11 and 12, while it can be given as early as age 9. If you are not fully vaccinated between the ages of 11 and 12, the CDC recommends getting the vaccination until you are 26 years old. Hepatitis B vaccines are often administered to infants, whereas hepatitis A vaccines are advised for children aged one year. Both vaccines are advised for persons who aren't immune to these diseases or who are at higher risk of infection, such as men who have sex with males or IV drug users.
• Consistently and appropriately use condoms and dental dams. For each sex act, whether oral, vaginal, or anal, use a new latex condom or dental dam. When using a latex condom or dental dam, never use an oil-based lubricant like petroleum jelly. Natural membrane condoms are not advised since they are ineffective in preventing STIs. Also, while latex condoms reduce your chance of contracting most STIs, they offer less protection against STIs that involve open genital sores, such as HPV or herpes.

• Don't overindulge in alcoholic beverages or recreational substances. You're more prone to take sexual risks if you're inebriated.
• Communicate. Communicate with your partner about practising safer sex before engaging in any substantial sexual contact. Make sure you've agreed on what activities you'll do and what you won't do.
• Consider male circumcision. For men, there's evidence that circumcision can help reduce the risk of acquiring HIV from a woman with HIV by as much as 60%. Male circumcision may also help prevent transmission of genital HPV and genital herpes. 

TREATMENT 

Bacterial-caused STDs or STIs are often easier to treat. Infections caused by viruses can be controlled but not necessarily healed.

If you're pregnant and have an STI, taking treatment as soon as possible will help you avoid or lessen the chance of infecting your kid.

Depending on the illness, STIs are commonly treated with one of the following:

1. Antibiotics. Many sexually transmitted bacterial and parasite illnesses, such as gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis, can be cured with antibiotics, which are often given in a single dose. Because the two illnesses frequently emerge together, you'll most likely be treated for both gonorrhoea and chlamydia at the same time.

It's important to finish your antibiotic therapy after you've started it. Tell your doctor if you don't think you'll be able to take your medication as advised. It's possible that a shorter, less complicated course of treatment is accessible. 

Furthermore, you should refrain from having sex for at least seven days after you've finished your antibiotic therapy and any sores have healed. Women should also be retested after three months, according to experts, because there is a high risk of reinfection.

2. Antiviral medications. Antiviral medication will be prescribed if you have herpes or HIV. If you take daily suppressive therapy with prescription antiviral medicine, you'll have fewer herpes recurrences. It is, however, still possible to infect your spouse with herpes.

Antiviral medications can keep HIV infection at bay for years. However, you will still be infected with the virus and be able to spread it, though the risk will be reduced.

It is more efficient to begin HIV treatment as soon as possible. It's possible to lower the viral load in the blood to the point where it can't be identified if you take your drugs exactly as prescribed.