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HPV

Human papillomavirus or HPV, is the name for a group of viruses that includes more than 100 types. More than 40 types of HPV can be passed through sexual contact.

The types of HPV that infect the genital area are called genital HPV. Over half of sexually active people will have HPV at some point in their lives. But most people never know it. This is because HPV most often has no symptoms and goes away on its own.

HPV is passed on through genital contact, most often during vaginal and anal sex. HPV may also be passed on during oral sex and genital-to-genital contact. HPV can be passed on between straight and same-sex partners—even when the infected partner has no signs or symptoms.

A person can have HPV even if years have passed since he or she had sexual contact with an infected person. Most infected persons do not realize they are infected or that they are passing the virus on to a sex partner. It is also possible to get more than one type of HPV. Very rarely, a pregnant woman with genital HPV can pass HPV to her baby during delivery. In these cases, the child can develop Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP), a rare condition in which warts grow in the throat. In children, this is also referred to as juvenile-onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (JORRP).

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HIV/Aids
Persons initially infected with HIV may develop an "acute retroviral syndrome" characterized by fever, lymph node enlargement, and flu-like symptoms. If symptoms are present, they clear spontaneously, but all infected persons, both with and without symptoms, remain infected and infectious to others indefinitely. The incubation period is highly variable, averaging about a decade, but ranging from a few months or years to possibly longer than two decades. When sufficient damage to the immune system has been sustained, measured either by laboratory cell counts of the Thelper cells or by onset of opportunistic infections, the patient is said to have AIDS. Common manifestations of HIV infection include tiredness, lymph node enlargement, fever, weight loss, and yeast infections of the mouth and vagina.

HIV infection is diagnosed by laboratory detection of evidence of infection, usually identification of HIV-specific antibodies in a blood, oral fluid, or urine specimen. AIDS can be diagnosed in HIV-infected persons in several ways, based on either laboratory evidence of immunodeficiency (lowered levels of CD4+ cells), or clinically by onset of any one or more of a specific list of opportunistic diseases. Opportunistic diseases are those that occur only, or most severely, in patients whose immune systems are impaired. The most common opportunistic diseases in AIDS patients are Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, Kaposi's sarcoma, toxoplasmosis of the brain, tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections, and severe herpes, cytomegalo virus, and yeast infections.

How the AIDS Virus Works?
The AIDS virus weakens the immune system (“immune deficiency”), allowing other infections to ravage the body. These infections are called “opportunistic” because they take advantage of the opportunity to live where the body’s immune system would normally destroy them. It’s when these opportunistic infections strike that the person is said to have AIDS.

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Genital Herpes

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2). Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2. HSV-1 can cause genital herpes. But it more commonly causes infections of the mouth and lips, called “fever blisters.”

Most people have no or few symptoms from herpes infection. When symptoms do occur, they usually appear as 1 or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender sores that may take up to 4 weeks to heal. Another outbreak can appear weeks or months later. But it almost always is less severe and shorter than the first outbreak.
Although the infection can stay in the body forever, the outbreaks tend to become less severe and occur less often over time. You can pass genital herpes to someone else even when you have no symptoms.

You can get genital herpes through genital-genital contact or genital-oral contact with someone who has herpes infection. The virus is most easily spread through contact with open sores. But you also can get the virus from skin that does not appear to have a sore. You can become infected with the herpes virus without having intercourse.

Symptoms of herpes outbreaks typically begin with pain, tenderness, or itching in the genital area and may also include fever and headache. Bumps and blisters may appear on the vagina, penis, scrotum, anus, thigh, or buttocks. Blisters soon open to form painful sores that can last up to 3 weeks.

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Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. Most adults who get hepatitis B have it for a short time and then get better. This is called acute hepatitis B.
You can have hepatitis B and not know it. You may not have symptoms. If you do, they can make you feel like you have the flu. But as long as you have the virus, you can spread it to others.
Sometimes the virus causes a long-term infection, called chronic hepatitis B. Over time, it can damage your liver. Babies and young children infected with the virus are more likely to get chronic hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is spread through contact with the blood and body fluids of an infected person.
You may get hepatitis B if you:
==> Have sex with an infected person without using a condom.
==> Share needles (used for injecting drugs) with an infected person.
==> Get a tattoo or piercing with tools that were not cleaned well.
==> Share personal items like razors or toothbrushes with an infected person.
==> A mother who has the virus can pass it to her baby during delivery. If you are pregnant and think you may have been exposed to hepatitis B, get tested. If you have the virus, your baby can get shots to help prevent infection with the virus.
You cannot get hepatitis B from casual contact such as hugging, kissing, sneezing, coughing, or sharing food or drinks.

Many people with hepatitis B do not know they have it, because they do not have symptoms. If you do have symptoms, you may just feel like you have the flu. Symptoms include:
# Feeling very tired.
# Mild fever.
# Headache.
# Not wanting to eat.
# Feeling sick to your stomach or vomiting.
# Belly pain.
# Diarrhea or constipation.
# Muscle aches and joint pain.
# Skin rash.
# Yellowish eyes and skin (jaundice). Jaundice usually appears only after other symptoms have started to go away.
Most people with chronic hepatitis B have no symptoms.

A simple blood test can tell your  if you have the hepatitis B virus now.
The Home Bio Hepatitis B test is an easy to use, accurate and reliable assay that will detect antibodies to the hepatitis B virus present in whole blood, serum or plasma.
The test is easy to use and the result is available within minutes – in the privacy of your own home.
Our test kits are the same as those used by doctors and other healthcare professionals to screen for infection with hepatitis. The test is specific for hepatitis B and has an accuracy greater than 99.8%.
You simply prick your finger, using the lancet provided, and transfer a few drops of your blood to the test cassette with the dropper provided. The easy to read result will develop after ten minutes and you will learn your hepatitis B status.

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STD Gonorrhea Information
Gonorrhea sometimes mistaken for the clap (Chlamydia) isn't really an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) but actually an STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection). It's caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae which lives in the sexual organs including the urethra and reproductive tracks of both men and women.
Gonorrhea has one of the highest infection rates. In the USA It's estimated that almost one million people a year are infected with this STD. The most effected are young adults and teens mostly because of there high promiscuity rate between them.
Like most STDs and STDs it is contracted through sexual contact. Including coming in contact with the penis, vagina, anus, and even the mouth and throat. It is very easily transmitted from one person to another, which is why Gonorrhea has such a high rate of infection. On top of that the new strains of Gonorrhea are becoming increasingly harder to treat as they are adapting to the antibiotics used to treat them.

Gonorrhea Symptoms Do I Have Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea symptoms are generally mild to non existent. When there are symptoms of Gonorrhea they will usually become noticeable between 5 and 30 days and differ slightly between men and women. Since gonorrhea lives in the sexual organs and in the throat these are the primary places to be aware of when wondering if you have gonorrhea symptoms.