TESTING FOR SCABIES AND TREATMENT
March 27th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Men's Health-Erectile DysfunctionNo Comments
Scabies is usually not difficult to diagnose when the rash and symptoms are typical, although the rash may be confused with other skin problems that cause rashes. For this reason it is useful to perform a test to help with the diagnosis. Scrapings of the lesions may show evidence of the burrowing mites or the feces of the mites under the microscope.
TREATMENT
Scabies is treated by applying a cream (permethrin, lindane, or crotamiton) from the neck down, which kills the mites. The creams are only available with a prescription. The lindane and permethrin creams are usually left on overnight and washed off in the morning. The crotamiton cream is used for two nights in a row and then washed off forty-eight hours after the last application. It may be necessary to apply a second regimen of crotamiton to eliminate scabies. Sexual partners and close household contacts should also be treated, even if they do not have symptoms. People who do not have body contact or share clothing or bedding with the infected person do not need to be treated.
Lindane generally has more side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, and is to be avoided in pregnant and breast-feeding women and in children. It should not be applied to mucous membranes (such as those around the eyes, mouth, and vaginal area) and should not be applied after a bath or shower. Lindane should also be avoided in people with an extensive rash from scabies or other conditions and in anyone with a neurological disorder, since it can sometimes cause seizures in these persons.
The itching may persist for a week or two after treatment. Medications that relieve itching, such as diphenhydramine, are available without a prescription. If new skin rashes are seen after treatment, then the treatment may not have been successful, and another application may be necessary. Frequent reapplication of the medications can be irritating to the skin, however, and it may cause a rash that may be misinterpreted as being caused by persistent scabies. If the symptoms persist longer than a few weeks after treatment, then a return visit to a health care provider is a good idea.
The nodules that sometimes occur with scabies may take longer to disappear than the rash and itching—sometimes several months. Injection of steroids into the lesions or the use of a topical steroid cream for a short period of time may help to speed resolution. These treatments can be administered by your health care provider.
Just as important as treatment with medication is treatment of clothes and bedding that have been in contact with an infected person within the last seventy-two hours. They should be laundered in hot water and dried on a hot cycle, dry cleaned, or kept out of contact for more than seventy-two hours, after which time the mites will have died of starvation. Furniture and pets do not need to be treated.
*378\213\8*
HERPES: TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF OUTBREAKS
March 27th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Men's Health-Erectile DysfunctionNo Comments
There is no cure for herpes, but there are very good medications that can prevent symptoms from occurring and can treat symptoms when they do occur. Some of these medications are useful for both type 1 and type 2 herpes. They are available only by prescription in the United States, and they are expensive. Acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir are all available in pill form to be taken by mouth; acyclovir is also available as a cream; and penciclovir, the active ingredient of famciclovir, is available as a cream as well. Acyclovir has been available by prescription since 1982; valacyclovir and famciclovir became available in 1996.
These medications do not prevent infection if an uninfected person takes them. They only benefit people who have herpes. Steroids should not be used to treat herpes, because they can make the infection worse.
Acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir are converted into their active forms by an enzyme present in the herpes virus but not in the human body. These antiviral medications act by interrupting the virus’s ability to replicate itself. They do not remove the virus from the body, but by stopping its replication they shorten the duration of an outbreak and decrease the severity of the symptoms (if taken episodically, that is, during an outbreak). To prevent outbreaks in one who is infected, these medications can also be taken daily [suppressively]. All three are useful for both the prevention and treatment of genital herpes outbreaks, whether caused by HSV-1 or HSV-2.
The cream form of acyclovir has not been proven effective in preventing or treating outbreaks of oral or genital herpes. A newer cream form of famciclovir has recently been approved for the treatment of recurrent cold sores (but not genital herpes). It shortens the duration of outbreaks and diminishes their symptoms. Someone with a history of penciclovir cream.
*285\213\8*
STD: TESTING FOR HPV
March 27th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Men's Health-Erectile DysfunctionNo Comments
Genital warts have a very characteristic appearance and can generally be recognized by an experienced health care provider. No test is available in clinical practice to screen a person for the virus that causes warts.
A technique used in research studies (the polymerase chain reaction test or PCR) detects the genetic material of the virus, but it is not routinely available and is very expensive. It is not even clear at this time if a negative test would definitively mean that a person is not infected with the warts virus. In the near future, a blood test may be available to screen for the antibodies to the virus, but this will not help distinguish between people who still have the infection and those who have cleared the infection.
The health care provider will carefully examine the entire genital and anal area to look for warts. The anal area is often overlooked by health care providers, especially when they are examining heterosexuals, but even without a history of anal sexual contact this is an area where warts can recur. The mouth should also be examined if the person has engaged in oral-genital contact. It is possible, although very uncommon, to see warts in this area.
One of the treatments for warts, freezing them with liquid nitrogen, can also help to diagnose them. Warts tend to “hold” the freeze longer than the surrounding normal skin, so they stay white from the freeze longer. This characteristic can be helpful to distinguish them from skin tags (little pieces of excess skin), which do not react in this way. Applying vinegar (3 percent acetic acid) may also make warts show up more clearly—warts tend to turn white with acetic acid, which normal skin does not do. This is not a specific test, however, and skin bumps that are not warts can also turn white with this test, leading to unnecessary treatment. In addition, the fact that areas of the skin show no white areas when washed with vinegar does not mean that a person is not infected with the virus. It only means that there are no detectable warts present at that time.
*194\213\8*
FOR SAFE OR SAFER SEX: RECEIVE A VACCINATION AGAINST HEPATITIS B
March 27th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Men's Health-Erectile DysfunctionNo Comments
There is a vaccine available that offers lifelong protection against acquiring hepatitis B, a common, sexually transmitted type of hepatitis. All newborns and children are now being vaccinated as part of their routine immunization series to offer them protection later in life, and all sexually active adults should consider being vaccinated. The vaccine is given as a three-shot series over a six-month period and is well worth the effort and cost. Some facilities, such as county health departments, may offer the vaccine at a reduced cost.
In addition, for those who engage in oral-anal contact as part of their sexual practice, a vaccination against hepatitis A should be considered. Hepatitis A is usually thought of more as a food-borne infection (usually transmitted through fecal contamination of food), with occasional outbreaks at restaurants. However, it can also be transmitted sexually through oral-anal contact with a partner who is infected. People receive two vaccinations: an initial one and then a second one six to twelve months later as a booster. This series should also offer lifelong protection.
*102\213\8*
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GENITAL SORES, RASHES, ABRASIONS, OR BUMPS
March 27th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Men's Health-Erectile DysfunctionNo Comments
Many of the sexually transmitted infections, and other nonsexually transmitted skin conditions, can cause bumps or sores in the genitals. When a person notices a rash, sores, or lesions, he or she should see a health care provider as soon as possible after the symptoms start, since the appearance of the rash may change over time and seeing the rash as soon as possible helps the health care provider make the correct diagnosis. Certain of the most common causes of genital skin changes are listed in this section; many other, nonsexually transmitted, infections can also cause genital rashes (as well as rashes in other areas of the body), but they are beyond the scope of this book.
Note: Some men may have pearly penile papules, which are painless, tiny bumps around the head of the penis. Although often mistaken for warts, they are a normal part of male anatomy.
Allergic reaction. Usually the symptoms from an allergic reaction (to a condom or spermicide, for example) occur immediately after a person comes into contact with the allergen and recur whenever there is further exposure to it. The symptoms generally include a red, itchy rash in the genitals, where contact took place.
Behget’s disease. Behget’s disease is an autoimmune disease (other autoimmune diseases include lupus and rheumatoid arthritis) that causes mouth and genital ulcers. It is more common in women, and the cause of the disease is not known. The ulcers are very painful; there are usually many of them and they tend to recur. People with Behget’s disease are sometimes mistakenly diagnosed as having herpes, because the ulcers may look like herpes lesions and recur.
Chancroid. Chancroid is another cause of genital ulcers, although in the United States it is much less common than herpes or syphilis. There can be one or several ulcers, with several being the more common condition. They are usually painful. The lymph nodes in the groin usually swell and also become very painful. They may spontaneously rupture and drain thick yellow fluid. If not treated, the lesions may persist for one to three months and then spontaneously vanish, although the underlying infection remains, and the lesions may recur over time.
*41\213\8*