Last week, we took a brief glimpse at the long and convoluted history of prostitution, so I thought it only natural to follow up with an infectious postscript.
For as
long as humans have been exchanging bodily fluids, pathogens have been part of
the mix. And when it comes to bumping genitals, there are a whole slew of
contagions getting in on the action. Because a comprehensive overview is beyond
the scope of this blog (not to mention my short attention span), we’ll stick to
the highlights while we explore the dark and daunting world of STDs.
First,
let’s clarify the terminology. You may have noticed that the term STD has lately
been supplanted by STI. What differentiates a sexually transmitted disease from a sexually transmitted infection is the presence of symptoms.
However, since some STDs aren't accompanied by symptoms, it’s really splitting hairs. So
for the sake of today’s post, we’ll stick to the tried and true acronym, STD.
Sexually
transmitted diseases most likely evolved along with humans and historians have
been chronicling their presence all the way back to the Bible. The Old
Testament refers to “the running issue,” referencing the “clothing needing
washing as did the man himself,” most likely referring to gonorrhea, which
causes that telltale discharge from the penis. And it wasn’t until the Middle
Ages (around AD 1200) that the disease was finally linked to sex.
STDs
come in three basic varieties: bacterial (gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia,
to name a few); viral (Hepatitis B and C, Herpes, HPV, and HIV); and parasites
(such as trichomonas, a pesky protozoan that thrives within urethras and
vaginas). And it’s the type of pathogen that determines the treatment.
Since
the advent of antibiotics, the bacterial bugs can usually be wiped out with a
simple prescription, as can trichomonas. Unfortunately, the viral pests are not
so simple. Once a person is infected, herpes and HIV are here to stay, and one can only
mitigate the symptoms. Hepatitis, however, forms a mixed bag. With Hepatitis B, most people can be cured, although a minority will become carriers for life. Hep
C holds a more dismal future, as a majority will suffer long-term infection
with chronic liver disease on the horizon.
But try
to imagine what these maladies must have been like before the advent of modern
medicine. So to keep things in perspective, let’s peruse some of the ancient
treatments that were once believed to cure the “fire down below.”
The
ancient Greeks were some of the first to record the treatment of venereal
disease. In fact, the term “herpes” originates from the Greek, meaning “to
creep or crawl.” And how did they attack the creepy-crawlers? By burning off
the lesions using hot irons. Despite their torturous treatments, they get kudos
for instituting public policies aimed at reducing the spread of herpes,
although their “no public kissing” rules probably did little to curb the virus.
By 1746,
London’s Lock Hospital was the first to establish public treatment programs for
the infected. And the 18th and 19th centuries saw the
use of mercury, arsenic and sulphur as the primary remedies, although these
dangerous regimes caused serious side effects, even death. Despite the danger,
arsenic, in the form of salvarsan, was used to treat syphilis well into the 20th
century.
And as
scary as these diseases can be, what scares people even more is the social stigma attached to them. However, for those of you harboring an STD, take
heart. You are hardly alone in your affliction. Here are a few statistics to
bring it all home.According to the CDC, there are over three hundred million new cases of STDs in the world each year. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is now the fastest growing STD and nearly all sexually active folks will contract it at some point in life.
About
one in five Americans has genital herpes, yet about ninety percent of them don’t know they have it. And health officials warn that by 2025, up to forty percent of men and almost
half of all women could be infected with this permanent virus.
And of
course, HIV is still rampant, still spreading, and still deadly. As the sun
sets in South Africa, another fifteen hundred new infections will have taken place today.
Yes, I said fifteen hundred per day. And that’s
the conservative end of the statistic.
Let’s
face it, STDs are scary, and the emotional toll they incur can be as burdensome
as their symptoms. But pathogens, like us, are thriving members of the biome and
will forever be a part of life on our planet.
So stay
informed, stay healthy and, for god’s sake, use a condom.
