There are various types of STD’s that you can get without having any sex, so im going to share this article that i read so that you can also get informed. The article was featured by a certain Alyssa Dweck, M.D., an ob-gyn in Westchester, New York, and coauthor of V Is for vagina.

1. Molluscum Contagiosum
   It sounds like a Harry Potter spell, but it’s nowhere near as fun. Although it’s technically a viral infection and not an STD, Dweck has seen a rise in women who get the resulting raised lumps with craters on their genitals instead of elsewhere on their bodies. “We see more women getting this from things like skin-to-skin contact or even a tanning bed,” says Dweck. The lumps aren’t painful, but after you get one they can multiply, which can quickly lead to panic. “The virus goes away by itself, and the bumps can be scraped or frozen off,” says Dweck. “Although, if they’re frozen, I can’t send it to the lab for testing.” Once the virus is gone, this infection doesn’t usually recur.
2. Trichomoniasis
   This tongue-twister of an STD isn’t well-known, but it’s worth reading up on for one big reason: The virus can live on an inanimate object for a period of time after someone with the infection touches it. It may present itself as a vaginal infection with a foul-smelling discharge accompanied by itching and irritation. “It can be transmitted through things like a dirty bath towel or a vibrator that’s been used and not washed,” says Dweck. Although there’s no clear-cut information on how long the virus can live, Dweck explains that it’s unlikely you would be at risk if you come into contact with something several weeks after someone with trichomoniasis touched it. Thankfully, Dweck says antibiotics can help conquer this one.
3. HPV
   Although HPV has risen from the sexual health lexicon to become a buzzword of sorts, a lot of people still don’t understand that no s*x is necessary to catch it. “The human papilloma virus is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, whether someone touches a wart or some of the surrounding skin,” says Dweck. HPV comes in various strains, some of which may cause genital warts and others that can result in precancerous lesions. There don’t need to be warts for you to catch it since the virus can shed even if there isn’t an outbreak. “Warts sometimes show up on parts of the body besides genitals, like fingers,” says Dweck. A doctor can prescribe medication to get rid of the warts or use various techniques like freezing or cutting them off, but the virus may still sit dormant in your system and recur from time to time.

I’m sure there others that we did not cover, but in case we learn anything new we will definitely keep you updated.

Xoxo,

African Queen.

This morning i woke up to the newspaper reading that the Ministry of Health has offered Sh100,000 reward to anyone who will report a case of Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) in any part of the country. That had me thinking, what is this Guinea Worm Disease? This is the first time i’m even hearing about the disease.

Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) is an infection by the Guinea Worm. This worm is the largest of the tissue parasite affecting humans. The adult female, which carries about 3 million embryos, can measure 600 to 800 mm in length and 2 mm in diameter. The parasite migrates through the victim’s subcutaneous tissues causing severe pain especially when it occurs in the joints.

HOW IT SPREADS:

Approximately 1 year after a person drinks contaminated water, the adult female Guinea worm emerges from the skin of the infected person. Persons with worms protruding through the skin may enter sources of drinking water and unwittingly allow the worm to release larvae into the water. These larvae are ingested by microscopic copepods (tiny “water fleas”) that live in these water sources. Persons become infected by drinking water containing the water fleas harboring the Guinea worm larvae.

SYMPTOMS ARE:

According to CDC, people with Guinea worm disease (GWD) have no symptoms for about 1 year. Then, the person begins to feel ill. Symptoms can include:

• Slight fever
• Itchy rash
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness

A blister then develops. This blister can form anywhere on the skin. However, the blister forms on the lower body parts in 80%–90% of cases. This blister gets bigger over several days and causes a burning pain. When the person puts this affected body part in cool water to ease the symptoms, it is thought that the worm detects the temperature change and bursts from the blister to release hundreds of thousands of larvae into the water.

BARRIERS:

The eradication of Guinea worm disease has faced several challenges:

• Inadequate security in some endemic countries
• Lack of political will from the leaders of some of the countries in which the disease is endemic
• The need for change in behavior in the absence of a magic bullet treatment like a vaccine or medication
• Inadequate funding at certain times.

TREATMENT:

There is no vaccine or medicine to treat or prevent Guinea worm disease. Once a Guinea worm begins emerging, the first step is to do a controlled submersion of the affected area in a bucket of water. This causes the worm to discharge many of its larva, making it less infectious.

According to CDC, GWD only occurs in the poorest 10% of world’s population who have no access to safe drinking water or health care. Therefore, GWD is both a disease of poverty and a cause of poverty.

So does that mean that Kenya is a poor nation?

Xoxo,

African Queen.