Can You Tell Someone Has STD By Looking At Them?

This is not often the case in reality. Only for a few diseases, it is possible to detect if someone is suffering from a Sexually Transmitted Disease or not, as in a very few number of diseases the symptoms produced can be observed in the body. The symptoms that may be seen are:

Sores on the body, particularly in the genital region.
Vesicles may be seen, they are one of the characteristic symptoms of ‘The Clap’ disease.
Redness in the genital area may signify an infection. In such cases sexual intercourse should be avoided, to render oneself safe from getting exposed to any kind of infection.
Sometimes there maybe presence of discharge from one’s vagina in females or the penis in males.

In spite of the above-mentioned symptoms, one should keep a few things in their mind, the presence of these symptoms does not certify that a person is suffering from an STD. These may also be seen in other diseases like Lupus nephritis, Celiac Disease, Behcet’s disease and many more. So, a person should keep a broad mind before judging someone for having an STD. This is also supported by the fact that in many other STDs there are no symptoms which can be seen by the naked eye. The person infected may also be unaware of their own situation, so the chance for someone else to detect the disease is null. In such cases where the symptoms of STDs are not seen (initially), the disease is generally identified after certain diagnostic tests and procedures are conducted, but usually the person is diagnosed very late and the risk of chronic complications is very high, this is due to the appearance of symptoms very late in the course of the disease. Therefore, it is advisable that people who are sexually active should get regularly tested for any STD just to safeguard themselves.

Thus, it is pretty complicated to tell whether someone has STD by looking at them. So the question pops into the head, what can be done to protect ourselves from contracting the disease? There are various ways of prevention they are listed below:
Use of Condom should be a compulsion whenever a person engages in sexual intercourse. Along with protection from STDs, condom use also prevents unwanted pregnancy.

Avoid having sexual contact with multiple people. This increases the risk for STDs many folds. A long-term monogamous relationship is almost at zero risks to ascertain STD.
A person should always get the partner tested if there are symptoms like sores, vesicles rashes present on one’s body.

A person who is already infected should avoid sex at all cost.
If a person suspect’s partner of STD, the person should avoid contact with his clothing, towels etc. As some STD can spread through these.
Skin to skin contact should be avoided as it one of the routes of transmission for diseases like Gonorrhea.
Avoid IV drug use with same needle and syringe.

Even after taking these precautions a person can be totally sure of being 100% safe and sound and as a consequence if one thinks that they may have contracted an STD, person should visit a physician and undergo diagnostic procedures.

Why is STD a ‘Silent Disease’?

This can be understood by the fact that there is often the absence of any visible symptoms in many patients suffering from an STD. Also, there is a social stigma attached to the disease which restricts people to come forward if they are infected and when they indulge in sexual practices the disease is spread silently without any knowledge to the person’s partners. This can only be eradicated with the tool of education and behavioral change in the society. This can be achieved by educating the people in the reproductive age group about healthy sexual practices, Uprooting the myths and false knowledge that is present in the members of the community. Sex education should be added as a part of a school teaching curriculum to help teens understand the human sexuality more exquisitely.

A person should be very careful before indulging in sexual intercourse with random individual or one’s partner if one doubts the other individual may have an STD, they both should get tested and diagnosed people should undergo proper medical treatment before resuming their sexual activity. Preventive measures will aid in protection from these Silent Diseases, which include condom use and being only in a monogamous relationship.

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Can You Tell Someone Has STD By Looking At Them?