Tag Archives: foreskin

STD Awareness: The Curious Case of Chancroid

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Haemophilus ducreyi arrange themselves in parallel rows, which researchers have called “railroad tracks,” “schools of fish,” and “fingerprints.” Image: Mike Miller, CDC

Earlier this year, I asked a room full of scientists and medical professionals to raise their hands if they’d ever heard of chancroid. Everyone sat there, motionless, confused by the odd syllables I had uttered — shan kroyd. If you’ve never heard of chancroid, you’re not alone.

Chancroid is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) brought to you by Haemophilus ducreyi, a type of bacteria that can pass through microscopic tears in the skin during sexual contact. When one partner is infected, there is a 1 in 3 chance the other will become infected. An infection can cause painful sores and swollen lymph nodes, most often in the genital region. About half of people with chancroid infections will experience “buboes,” or swollen lymph glands that might rupture. Before it could be cured with antibiotics, a persistent infection could cause permanent skin damage.

Humanity can make chancroid the first STD to go extinct.

One reason you probably haven’t heard of chancroid is that, in the developed world at least, it has mostly disappeared. In fact, researchers believe chancroid can be completely wiped off the planet — which would make it the first STD ever to be forced into extinction. How amazing would that be?

Chancroid has been hopping from loin to loin since at least the days of the ancient Greeks, and was common until the 20th century, when rates began to decline. Thanks to antibiotics, U.S. chancroid rates decreased 80-fold between 1947 and 1997, all but vanishing by the late 1950s. It was virtually unheard of until there was another spike in the 1980s, correlating with the crack epidemic. But, since 1987, cases have been steadily declining. Continue reading →

Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does, Part 13: Treating Penile Skin Lesions

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MichelangeloWelcome to the latest installment of “Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does,” a series on Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s blog that highlights Planned Parenthood’s diverse array of services — the ones Jon Kyl never knew about.

Today kicks off Men’s Health Week, which means it’s time to remind you that Planned Parenthood Arizona has plenty of men’s health services. Sexual and reproductive health are our bread and butter, and we’re here for you if you need condoms or routine STD screening, or if something is amiss in your nether regions and you’d like us to take a look! One thing we do is evaluate and treat penile skin lesions.

Is something amiss on your penis? We can check it out!

What is a lesion, anyway? “Lesion” is a general term that can refer to any kind of abnormality that appears on your skin or elsewhere in the body, like on an organ. Usually they’re well-defined, as in blisters, spots, bumps, warts, or what have you. A change of appearance on the penis can be caused by all sorts of things. Maybe it’s something minor, like an irritation or an allergic reaction. Or it could be a relatively benign dermatological condition, like pimples or skin tags.

But sometimes, an infectious agent might be at play. You might be suffering from a yeast infection, a sexually transmitted disease (STD), or even penile cancer. For the sake of your health — and your peace of mind — you should be evaluated by a health professional, just so you can know for sure what’s going on and receive treatment if necessary. Continue reading →

STD Awareness: HPV in Males

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Human papillomavirus, or HPV, can affect both males and females.

Human papillomavirus, or HPV, affects people of all genders.

Whether it’s worries over Gardasil making girls go wild, or it’s somber discussion about cervical cancer, discourse about human papillomavirus (HPV) centers around its impact on females. But who are most of these females getting HPV from? For the most part, they’re getting it from male partners. And despite the fact that cervical cancer is the most common cancer associated with HPV, it is not the only one. A high-risk strain of HPV can lead to cancers of the penis, anus, mouth, and throat; additionally, there are strains of HPV that cause genital warts, which affect males and females equally. So why don’t males figure very prominently in discussions of HPV and the preventive vaccine, Gardasil?

Mouth, throat, penile, and anal cancers can all be caused by HPV.

Some people think that if they remain abstinent until marriage, they will be able to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) — but not very many people can say with certainty that their spouses have never had any other sexual partners. Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón and a leader in her own right, was made famous here by the musical Evita. According to physician and writer Shobha S. Krishnan, she died in 1952 of cervical cancer — the same fate that befell her husband’s first wife. Many believe that Juan Perón was the source of both women’s ultimately fatal HPV infections.

While one’s own sexual behavior can increase risk for acquiring an STD, it is not the only factor — the sexual history of one’s partner also plays an important role. HPV is especially tricky because there is currently no FDA-approved test for HPV in males — despite the fact that more than half of sexually active males are estimated to have been infected with HPV at some point in their lives. And, because it is so often asymptomatic, a male can carry this virus without knowing it, unwittingly infecting his partners. Continue reading →