Sexually Transmitted Infections (Diseases) or Venereal Diseases (VD) are diseases that are passed on from one person to another through sexual contact, and sometimes by genital contact – the infection can be passed on via vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex.
Trichomonas Vaginalis, another easily transmitted sexually transmitted infection. Risk factors include having multiple sexual partners, having sex without wearing a condom etc. Symptoms include pain during urination, foul smelling vagina, pain during ejaculation (in men) etc.
“Out of 10 questions I get from my patients and the visitors of my website, 4 are related to catching a sexually transmitted infection because they had oral or protected or unprotected sex with an unfamiliar person” says Dr. Karthik Gunasekaran, one of Chennai’s popular sexually transmitted infection specialist at Metromale Clinic & Fertility Center, Chennai.
Epididymis is a tube located at the back of testicles that stores and carries the sperm to the vas deferens. Swelling and inflammation of epididymis is called ‘Epididymitis’. Epididymitis is very common in men aging between 14 and 35. It can also happen in men of different age groups too.
When you present yourself to your sex specialist, the first he/she would do to you is a physical examination of your testicles. An experienced sexologist can easily feel any lumps or tumors in the area. If no condition is obvious through physical examination, he/she may ask to go for certain tests.
Testicular pain may be chronic or sharp; may be felt in one or both the testicles depending on the cause. There are several reasons that can lead to pain in testicles including testicular torsion, epididymitis, orchitis, injury or trauma, inguinal hernia, growth of lumps or tumors, kidney stones etc. Even a mild testicular pain should not be ignored because sometimes, that may be indicating a severe underlying cause that needs to be treated. Ignoring testicular pain can lead to surgical intervention or removal of testicles.
“Masturbation is a healthy habit”, you would have heard this from Dr. Karthik Gunasekaran of Metromale Clinic & Fertility Center a hundred times if not thousands. There are some branches of science that are against this opinion but modern science didn’t find any evidence in support of those claims.
Most of these symptoms will subside in 6 weeks time. You may be symptom free for many weeks, months or even years depending on how effectively your body is able to fight the virus. However, you should know that it is a losing battle for your body to fight against HIV.
Did you know that around 4 Crore people around the world are living with HIV and yet there is no vaccination for that? Even though it has been decades since HIV has been infecting human population, there are several myths about the transmission of HIV among people. Some myths such as HIV spreads with sharing of food or towels or sleeping in the same bed etc.
PrEP – PreExposure Prophylaxis to prevent HIV Infection PreExposure Prophylaxis is a way to prevent contracting HIV. The procedure involves putting a healthy person under medication few days before he/she involves in risky sexual behaviour or abuse drugs possibly by sharing needles. Who are the right people to take PrEP / When should you consider…
HIV Types and Strains and RT-PCR Test We are sure that most of you would be wondering why there hasn’t been a vaccine or cure developed for HIV. In short, one of the main reasons is that HIV has many types and strains and in some cases, it forms hybrid types too. When the strains…
STD Testing in Chennai STD or STI refers to the infections that are transmitted to a healthy person when he/she has unprotected sexual intercourse with an infection person. In most of the cases, this can happen when the infected partner is unaware that he/she is infected and show no symptoms or ignores any symptom. Typically…
Can Chlamydia (STD) cause Erectile Dysfunction? Chlamydia is a Sexually Transmitted Infection that spreads through unprotected anal, vaginal or oral sex. You can refer to our section of ‘Sexually Transmitted Diseases’ or to know more details about Chlamydia, you can visit our ‘Chlamydia’ page. Chlamydia can affect both men and women and it is caused…
HCG – The pregnancy hormone for men? HCG – Human Chorionic Ganodotropin (hCG) is called ‘pregnancy hormone’ because it plays an important role in maintaining pregnancy. The pregnancy test kits that women typically use when they miss their period checks for the presence of this hormone. Along with women, hCG injections are also used for…
Cancer Causing Viruses Virus needs no introduction today. We are very well aware that there exist thousands of virus strains that can affect a person’s health. Some may not cause serious damages to human body but some may even cause life threatening conditions. Let’s take a look at some diseases caused by viruses. Here are…
Hepatitis and Sex – Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is Hepatitis? Hepatitis is a medical condition that causes inflammation of the liver. This disease is caused by Hepatitis Virus. This liver damaging disease can spread through sharing needles, sharing food and also through sexual contact with an infected person. How many types of Viral Hepatitis are there?…
All you want to know about ART – AntiRetroviral Treatment Before getting into AntiRetroviral Treatment, what it is and what happens to the body when a HIV infected person starts ART, lets know some basics about what happens to a human body when infected with HIV. HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, as many of you know,…
FAQs on HPV Vaccine HPV – Human PapillomaVirus, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections that can spread through sexual intercourse or oral sex. This virus can pass from an infected individual to healthy person via genitals or throat and cause infection. Like many viruses, there are several types of strains (around 40) of…
Myths & Facts about HIV – AIDS Having HIV and having AIDS – are both the same? No, they both are not the same. HIV – Human Immunedeficiency Virus is a multi-strain virus that destroys CD4 immune cells. These cells help our body fight infections. When the count of these cells drops, body will be…
Cure for HIV / AIDS – Human Trials to begin soon So far, as we all know, there hasn’t been an “Official Cure for AIDS” discovered. It has been 12 long years, scientists are trying various techniques to achieve complete remission of the virus from infected human body. Finally, it looks like there is hope…
HIV in children. It’s effects on young brains. Human Immunodeficiency Virus, as we know, is a deadly virus that is transmitted sexually, by sharing needles, mother to child etc.Infected mothers can pass on this virus to their babies through breast feeding or by birth, depending on when they get contracted with HIV. Mothers who get…
PreMarital Health Check – Mandatory Tests to be done before marriage We often find someone who is astrologically compatible with us so we can have a happy married life and keep ourselves and our partner happy. But have you ever wondered that some medical tests are as or more important than they look? It is…
Genital Warts – Human Papilloma Virus Genital warts otherwise known as Venereal warts or Condylomas are soft eruptions on the skin and mucosal regions of the anogenital region. Genital warts are basically papillary lesions caused by Human Papilloma Virus, which appear as skin or grey coloured growths that when colonize, look like a cauliflower. These…
The HIV Vaccine: Why is it not there yet? AIDS has been prevalent since the 1970s and the disease had reached its peak around the pre-1980s. The particular HIV vaccine has been always a mystery with the question does it exist? Or does it not? The fact is that it doesn’t exist yet, but research…
Post exposure prophylaxis for Retroviral Infection (HIV) What is post exposure prophylaxis or PEP? Post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is the method of taking anti retro viral medications after a potential exposure to the HIV to prevent being infected with HIV. It is taken in an emergency situation and needs to be taken within 72 hours of potential…
When to get tested for confirmed HIV results? Despite all the advances in HIV testing and widespread awareness about how to test for HIV, HIV still remains a taboo. Advanced treatment with highly effective antiviral drugs has made it possible to live a near normal life with HIV. What is important in successful management of…
Most Common Sexually Transmitted Infections Sexually Transmitted Infections / Diseases are common among the male population. The proportion of these infections continues to rise and increased awareness needs to be created to address the problem early. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are notorious for being dismissed as flu or other general illnesses due to similar vague…