Chancroid : Complications

Complications include urethral fistulas and scars on the foreskin of the penis in uncircumcised males. Patients with chancroid should also be checked for syphilis, HIV, and genital herpes. Chancroids in persons with HIV may take much longer to heal.

Without treatment, chancroid may either go away quickly or patients may experience the painful ulcers for many months. A complete cure is obtained with antibiotic treatment. Severe ulcers may cause permanent scars. Severe scarring of the foreskin ...

Syphilis is an easily spread infection caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum.

Syphilis is an infectious systemic disease that may be either congenital or acquired through sexual contact or contaminated needles.

A sexually transmitted disease that, if untreated, can cause permanent damage to the heart and central nervous system. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STDs) caused by an organism called Treponema pallidum. The incidence of syphilis among adolescents has risen dramatically in recent years, yet because most adolescents infected with syphilis have no symptoms, the growing nature of the problem is not obvious. Syphilis is spread by sexual intercourse, by kissing, and by touching infected sores. Left untreated, syphilis can cause serious permanent damage to the heart and to the central nervous system. For these reasons, all sexually active adolescents should be routinely screened for syphilis with a blood test called VDRL or RPR. At the onset of infection, a painless sore called a chancre sometimes appears, usually in the genital area. If an adolescent infected with syphilis develops a chancre, it will disappear in a few weeks even without treatment. The disease, however, will continue to progress. Syphilis is treated with penicillin or another antibiotic, either injected or by mouth. All sexual partners should also be tested for syphilis, and an adolescent being treated for syphilis should abstain from sexual activity. Follow-up blood tests should be performed every three months to confirm that the cure is complete.

Syphilis is an infectious systemic disease that may be either congenital or acquired through sexual contact or by exposure to contaminated needles.

Syphilis is an infectious systemic disease that may be either congenital or acquired through sexual contact or contaminated needles.

Herpes simplex is a viral infection that mainly affects the mouth or genital area.

Herpes simples virus (HSV, or herpesvirus) is a virus that causes infection of skin and mucous membrane and rarely infects other parts of the body. However, in the immunosuppressed patient, HSV may cause pneumonia and other more severe infections. When the infection occurs in the mouth it is commonly referred to as cold sores. An outbreak of HSV infection can be very painful. There are two distinct types of HSV: type 1 and type 2. It was believed that HSV-1 mostly caused oral herpes (herpes labialis), while HSV-2 generally caused genital herpes that typically affects the penis, vulva, and rectum. This is not completely true. Both type 1 and type 2 can cause herpes lesions on the lips or genitals. The first symptoms occur within 2-20 days after contact with an infected person. Symptoms of the primary infection are usually more severe than those of recurrent infections. The primary infection can cause symptoms like those experienced in other viral infections, including lack of energy, headache, fever , and swollen lymph nodes in the neck. The first sign of infection is formation of fluid-filled blisters that may last up to two weeks. However, the pain in the area may last much longer. Once HSV enters the body it spreads to nearby mucosal areas through nerve cells. Once it infects the body the virus remains latent for the life of that individual. During the period of latency there are no symptoms. At times the infected person may shed the virus, even in the absence of visible symptoms, and infect others. Individuals infected with the virus can have recurrent infections; however, normally, recurrent infections are milder and shorter. However, cancer patients can have severe recurrences. Typically, 50-80% of persons with oral herpes experience a prodrome (symptoms of oncoming disease) of pain, burning, itching , or tingling at the site where blisters will form. This prodrome stage may last anywhere from a few hours to one to two days. The herpes infection prodrome occurs in both the primary infection and recurrent infections.

Herpes zoster, also called shingles, and referred to as "zosteer", gets its name from both the Latin and French words for belt or girdle and refers to belt-like skin eruptions that may occur on the trunk of the body. The virus Shingles, or herpes zoster, on patient's buttocks and thigh. ( Custom Medical Stock Photo . Reproduced by permission .) that causes chickenpox, the varicella zoster virus (VSV), can become dormant in nerve cells after an episode of chickenpox and later re-emerge as shingles. Any individual who has had chickenpox can develop shingles. People of all ages, even children, can be affected, but the incidence increases with age. There are many other conditions which can predispose to developing shingles. These include: newborn infants, bone marrow and other transplant recipients, and individuals with immune systems weakened by diseases like HIV or cancer, or drugs, such as those used in chemotherapy . Shingles erupts along the course of the affected nerve, producing lesions anywhere on the body and may cause severe nerve pain. The most common areas to be affected are the face and trunk, which correspond to the areas where the chickenpox rash is most concentrated. The disease is caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus that has been dormant in certain nerves following an episode of chickenpox. Exactly how or why this reactivation occurs is not clear; however, it is believed that the reactivation is triggered when the immune system becomes weakened as in the examples described above. Early signs of shingles are often vague and can easily be mistaken for other illnesses. The condition may begin with fever and malaise (a vague feeling of weakness or discomfort). Within two to four days, severe pain, itching , and numbness/tingling (paresthesia) or extreme sensitivity to touch (hyperesthesia) can develop, usually on the trunk and occasionally on the arms and legs. Pain may be continuous or intermittent, usually lasting from one to four weeks. It may occur at the time of the eruption, but can precede the eruption by days, occasionally making the diagnosis difficult. Signs and symptoms may include the following: itching, tingling, or severe burning pain red patches that develop into blisters grouped, dense, deep, small blisters that ooze and crust swollen lymph nodes Immunocompromised patients usually have a more severe course that is frequently prolonged for weeks to months. They develop shingles frequently and the infection can spread to the skin, lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract, brain, or other vital organs. Potentially serious complications can result from herpes zoster. Many individuals continue to experience persistent pain long after the blisters heal. This pain, called post-herpatic neuralgia, can be severe and debilitating. Post-herpetic neuralgia can persist for months or years after the lesions have disappeared. Other complications include a secondary bacterial infection, and rarely, potentially fatal inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and the spread of an infection throughout the body. These rare, but extremely serious, complications are more likely to occur in those individuals who have weakened immune systems (immunocompromised).

Virus that causes blister-like open sores, usually on the mouth or genitals of the infected person. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) exists in two known forms. HSV type 1 causes sores to erupt near the mouth; HSV type two causes sores to erupt on the genitals. HSV type 1 sores are referred to as oral herpes, cold sores, or fever blisters. Oral herpes is one of the most common viral diseases of childhood. Prenatal stage. Prior to birth, fetuses of mothers with genital herpes are at risk for birth defects. An active genital herpes sore at the time of birth can cause extremely serious results, including blindness, birth defects, and even death. Cesarean section is advisable for mothers with active herpes eruptions at the time of delivery. Newborn infants. Newborn babies have their mother's antibodies providing them immunity against herpes simplex virus until around six months of age.

Herpes is an infection caused by a herpes simplex virus 1 or 2, and it primarily affects the mouth or genital area.

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted viral infection affecting the skin of the genitals.

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex virus. The disease is characterized by the formation of fluid-filled, painful blisters in the genital area.

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) usually caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2. Herpes is a family of viruses that causes various types of infections, one of which is genital herpes. In the United States, one-half million new cases of genital herpes are reported every year. Oral herpes, which causes cold sores of the mouth or lips, is caused by a different type of herpes virus (HSV type 1) and is not sexually transmitted.

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a herpes virus. The disease is characterized by the formation of fluid-filled, painful blisters in the genital area.

Genital herpes ( herpes genitalis ) is a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a strain of the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Genital herpes invades the body through mucous membranes, also known as small breaks in the skin.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) was identified in 1983 by the French scientist Luc Montagier and his staff at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Ever since that discovery, scientists have been searching for ways to treat those infected with HIV, and to produce a vaccine to prevent its spread. While new antiviral treatments have been developed, a vaccine has yet to be found. HIV causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), an unpredictable condition that may progress over many years and is characterized by a slow deterioration of the immune system . Once an individual becomes infected (HIV has infected the target cells) it takes a week or more before the virus is spread throughout the body's blood and lymph system . The immune system responds by turning out HIV antibodies in about six to eighteen weeks. The progression of HIV infection to AIDS may take several years. In the initial period, prolonged (2–4 weeks) flu-like symptoms may appear. This is followed by an asymptomatic period (clinical latency) that may last ten or more years. When the immune system becomes further compromised, the patient may experience opportunistic infections , caused by the reduced function of the immune system resulting in a plethora of nonspecific and variable signs and symptoms. The condition known as AIDS is marked by severe compromise of the immune system and the presence of one or more opportunistic infections. Some clinical signs and symptoms may include sweating, diarrhea, malaise (feeling tired), anorexia (loss of appetite), weight loss, wasting (loss of muscle tissue), chest pain, swelling of the lymph nodes , fungal infections, neurological disorders, body-fat accumulations, and increased blood fats. In addition to disease-induced signs and symptoms, medications used to treat HIV/AIDS may produce additional signs and symptoms.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is the final, life-threatening stage of infection with any of the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1, its many subtypes, or HIV-2), which are transmitted from person to person sexually (including via anal, oral, and vaginal intercourse, both heterosexually and homosexually), through contact with blood (mainly via equipment used to inject illicit drugs and, rarely, via medical uses of blood), and perinatally (from mother to fetus or newborn during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, or after birth through breast-feeding).

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by infecting helper T cells of the immune system. The most common serotype, HIV-1, is distributed worldwide, while HIV-2 is primarily confined to West Africa. AIDS is a severe immunological disorder caused by the retrovirus HIV, resulting in a defect in cell-mediated immune response that is manifested by increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections and to certain rare cancers, especially Kaposi's sarcoma. It is transmitted primarily by exposure to contaminated body fluids, especially blood and semen. Everybody who has AIDS also has HIV disease, but not everybody with HIV disease is classified by the United States (U.S.) government as having AIDS. The U.S. government uses CD4 cell counts (part of the immune system) to make this distinction.