COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT OF STDs

•  Identification of the syndrome 

Syndromic diagnosis or laboratory tests can be used to accomplish this. The flowchart-based syndromic case management strategy is ideally suited to situations when laboratory resources are limited or unavailable. Without the use of costly and time-consuming laboratory testing, a diagnosis can be determined in a short amount of time.

• Antibiotic treatment for the syndrome 

Regardless of the method utilized for diagnosis—flow charts or laboratory tests—the availability and usage of effective antibiotics is a must. The medications must be available at the time of the first encounter with an STD patient. In the private sector, effective treatment must also be available and used. Patients continually seek therapy for the same ailment or its complications, resulting in an increase in expenses due to the use of inefficient or partially effective medications. Treatments that are only partially effective may be to blame for the rapid emergence of resistant types of bacteria.

• Educating the patient 

The importance of taking the full course of medication must be stressed to all patients undergoing courses of drug treatment that are longer than a single dose. Patients should also be aware that they are still infectious to others while undergoing therapy; as a result, and because intercourse may prolong their own symptoms, they should be counseled to refrain from sex throughout treatment.

• Condom supply 

With people being encouraged to use condoms, health authorities should ensure that there is an adequate supply of good-quality condoms at health facilities and at various other distribution points in the community. Social marketing of condoms is another way of increasing access to condoms.

• Counseling 

Counseling should be made available for cases where it is needed --- for example, in chronic cases of genital herpes or warts --- either for individuals or for couples in a sexual relationship.

• Information on partner notification and treatment

 Contacting sex partners of STD patients, encouraging them to visit a site that provides STD treatment, and treating them —- promptly and successfully —- are all critical components of any STD control program. However, these measures must be carried out with tact and consideration for social and cultural aspects. This will avoid ethical and practical issues like rejection and violence, especially against women. Health workers, social workers, and the media should educate people about the importance of partner notification in places where STDs are more prevalent. This will warn them that they may be told in the future by their sex partner that they are infected and that treatment is necessary. Syndromic case-management flow charts specify that partners of STD patients must be treated. This is particularly important in gonorrhoeic and chlamydial infections, which are asymptomatic in most women.