The STD treatment recommended by doctor depends on the diagnosis. You may need to wait for 2-3 days for the investigation result before starting the treatment.

• STDs caused by bacteria and parasites are usually treated with antibiotics. Syphilis, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, chancroid and trichomonas are treated this way.
• STDs caused by viruses cannot be cleared completely from the body. Medical treatment aims at keeping them under control to suppress recurrence and severity of symptoms. These diseases include HIV, herpes, hepatitis and human papillomavirus.

Gonorrhoea

[ Incubation period: 1 - 14 days ]

Early treatment is simple and effective. It involves a single dose of antibiotics like Medaxonum. Once it has been successfully treated, it won't come back unless being contracted again.

In addition, the treatment of Chlamydia is also recommended, as it is common to have these two STD infections together about 50% chance.

Genital warts

[ Incubation period: 1 months - several years ]

Genital warts are caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) - a family of viruses consisting of more than 100 strains, some of which can lead to cervical cancer.

There is no cure for HPV. Instead, treatment aims at controlling outbreaks of warts. There are several treatments for warts, including prescription topical solutions to be used at home (Wartec solution). Some warts may cause more discomfort and must only be managed under a doctor's supervision. Genital warts can also be removed by using cryotherapy (freezing), burned off with electrocauterization or removed with surgery (with lancets or laser beam). Warts may recur in around 30% of treated cases.

[ Incubation period: 5 - 20 days ]

Symptoms can be relieved with medications such as Acyclovir.

Genital herpes is not life-threatening, and not all people who have it suffered from outbreaks. Those who do experience outbreaks may try the topical medication such as Zovirax ointment, which can ease the pain and can help speed recovery when blisters appear.

Chlamydia

[ Incubation period: 7 - 21 days ]

Chlamydia can be simply treated with antibiotics, either a single dose or a course lasting up to two weeks. Doxycycline, a single dose of Zithromax or Zmax.

To avoid re-infection, any sexual partners should be treated also. Treating gonorrhea is recommended for patients being treated for chlamydia, and vice versa, because gonorrhea co-infection occurs in 50% of the patients.

Once chlamydia has been successfully treated, it won't come back unless a new infection is picked up.

Syphilis

[ Incubation period: 1 week to 3 months ]

It is crucial to treat Syphilis at early stage. Untreated syphilis can lead to serious damage to the brain and the nervous system. It can be life-threatening if it is not treated properly.

Treatment for syphilis includes the use of antibiotics doxycycline or benzathine penicillin.

Mycoplasma & Ureaplasma Infections

Since mycoplasma and ureaplasma do not have a cell wall, they are not susceptible to Penicillin and other antibiotics which kill bacteria by inhibiting cell wall formation. Other broad-spectrum antibiotics to which mycoplasmas are susceptible only inhibit multiplication of the latter rather than killing them.

Doctors may prescribe Doxycycline and Zithromax to treat sexually transmitted mycoplasma and/or ureaplasma genital tract infections. Once mycoplasma & ureaplasma infections have been successfully treated, it won't come back unless being contracted again.

HIV / AIDS

[ Incubation period: up to 7-10 years or above ]

Currently, there are 30 antiretroviral drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat HIV. These drugs are classified into four major classes.

1.	Reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors interfere with the critical step during the HIV life cycle known as reverse transcription. During this step, reverse transcriptase (RT), an HIV enzyme, transcripts HIV DNA from template HIV RNA. There are two main types of RT inhibitors. Nucleoside/nucleotide RT inhibitors are faulty DNA building blocks. When these faulty pieces are incorporated into the HIV DNA (during reverse transcription), the process cannot be further propagated, thereby blocking HIV from replicating in a cell. Non-nucleoside RT inhibitors bind to RT, interfering with its ability of reverse transcription.
2.	Protease inhibitors interfere with the protease enzyme that HIV uses to produce viral particles.
3.	Entry and fusion inhibitors interfere with the virus' ability to pass through the cell membrane, thereby blocking entry into the host cell.
4.	Integrase inhibitors block integrase, the enzyme HIV uses to integrate genetic material of the virus into its host cell.
5.	Multidrug combination products are drug products with ingredients from more than one class into a single product.

Currently available drugs do not cure HIV infection or AIDS. Instead, they can suppress the viral concentrations to undetectable levels. Hence, people with HIV need to continuously take antiretroviral drugs.

HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (HAART) COUNTERS DRUG RESISTANCE

As HIV replicates, variants of the virus emerge, including some that are resistant to antiretroviral drugs. Therefore, doctors recommend that people infected with HIV take a combination of antiretroviral drugs known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This strategy, which typically combines drugs from at least two different classes of antiretroviral drugs, has been shown to effectively suppress viral activities and reduce the rate of opportunistic infections when used properly. Developed by NIAID-supported researchers, HAART has revolutionized HIV management

For further information or to make an appointment, please call MHS on (852) 2375-3322.