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Sociology 194
Terrence J. Stewart, Instructor
Chapter 15 Notes: Sexually Transmitted Infection and HIV/AIDS
Sexually Transmitted Infections:
• Research suggests that women are at greater risk for STI’s due to
the unique and fragile tissue of the vagina, and women are much more
likely to be asymptomatic (show no symptoms of infection).
• STI’s can affect a developing fetus during pregnancy.
• STI’s can be caused by three categories of infection: ectoparasitic,
bacterial, or viral.
Ectoparasitic Infections: Caused by parasites living on the skin surface.
• Pubic Lice (Crabs)- small, wingless insects that attach to pubic hair
and feed off blood vessels just below the skin. Lice can be spread
through casual contact. These lice are common and regularly seen by
health clinics. Symptoms include mild itching. Treatment includes
administering Kwell ointment, washing of sheets and clothing by dry
cleaning, boiling, or washing in very hot water.
• Scabies- infection of the mite sarcoptes scabei, which spreads from
skin-to-skin contact during sexual and nonsexual contact. They can lie
up to two days on bedsheets and clothing, yet are impossible to see by
the naked eye. Affecting millions worldwide, its symptoms are rashes
and intense itching. Treatment includes skin creams and washing
bedding and clothes in hot water.
Bacterial Infections: Caused by specific bacteria
• Gonorrhea (the clap or the drip)- caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae,
which survives only in the body’s mucous membranes, limiting the vast
majority of transmission to sexual contact.
• Although its contraction has declined in the U.S., the highest
rates are among those 25 and younger.
• Majority of women with gonorrhea have no symptoms, yet they can
transmit it to their partners.
• When women have symptoms, these include a cervical discharge,
frequent urination, uterine bleeding, and progression to PID if left
untreated.
• The majority of men with gonorrhea experience epididymitis (skin
inflammation) and painful, frequent urination. Treatment includes
antibiotic prescription and subsequent retesting to assure the
infection is gone.
• Syphillis- caused by infection with the bacterium Treponema
palladium, which lives in the mucous membranes of the body. It
typically infects the areas of the cervix, penis, anus, lips, and nipples
first.
• Overall, rates of syphilis have declined in the U.S., yet rates of
syphilis differ by geography and ethnicity.
• Symptoms of syphilis include three stages, where chancre sores
appear in the first, red rashlike patches on the skin in the second, and
remission of the infection in the third, where the infection may cause
multiple complications in several bodily areas, and is eventually fatal
