Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease and is considered to be the most common of all these STD’s. Found in vaginal fluids and semen, it is a bacterial infection that infects approximately one in ten sexually active young people.

This disease is spread from one person to another via all types of sexual activity and can survive inside the cells of the urethra, cervix, rectum and on some occasions in the eyes and throat. Chlamydia can also be transferred from a pregnant mother to her baby. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot catch the disease from activities such as hugging, kissing, toilet seats, sharing of towels, plates, or cups.

The effects of Chlamydia in Women

There are no obvious symptoms and it is often described as the “silent infection” because of this. Women who catch Chlamydia may notice bleeding between periods, unusual vaginal discharge or lower abdominal pain. Men could notice a discharge from the tip of their penis, painful testicles or pain when urinating.

If Chlamydia is suspected in an individual, its important get tested quickly to diagnose the infection. Once diagnosed, the condition is easily treatable with antibiotics. There has been an influx of Chlamydia testing kits onto the market, but as yet these are still not accurate enough, so a medical diagnosis is vital.

First of all we should try and explain what influenza (flu) is. There are three main types: A, B and C, with B and C only infecting humans and influenza A being able to infect humans, animals and birds. The surface of each influenza A virus contains two types of protein, neuraminidase (N), of which there are nine types, and haemagglutinin (H), of which there are sixteen types. Consequently, there are lots of sub-strains of the influenza A virus and they are given names depending on the type of proteins found on the surface. Examples of these sub-strains could be H1N1, H1N2 and H2N3.

Another characteristic of the A strain is that it has the ability to produce new strains – in other words, mutate. It is as these new strains occur that new types of flu are discovered.

Bird flu is a strain of influenza A that affects birds, of which all species can be affected. Whereas wild birds can carry the disease when they migrate, they don’t usually become ill with it whereas poultry birds like turkeys and chickens do become ill. The virus spreads easily between these birds.

Bird Flu

It is the H5N1 virus that is causing all the problems with humans at the moment. This strain has affected birds for almost half a century, but it mutated back in 1997 in the Far East and spread to humans. As of yet this strain of the virus cannot be transferred from human to human, only from bird to bird or sometime bird to human.

Psoriasis is a skin condition which can start at any age but usually starts after puberty. Skin cells are produced by the body and as new cells are produced the older ones on the outer layer of the skin die and flake off.  This process usually takes between 21 to 28 days, but for someone with psoriasis, the process is accelerated and can occur in as little as six days.  This results in an excess of skin cells building up on the surface of the skin which are then shed easily.  Psoriasis can occur anywhere on the body and appears as red, crumbling patches of skin.  The most common places on the body where psoriasis is found are the scalp, knees, elbows or lower back.

There are many treatments for psoriasis but no cure.  Symptoms can be mild in one person but extremely severe in others and can cause distress.  Psoriasis can be mild at some times and then flare up.  There are different types of psoriasis and most people only have one type at a time but find that one type can develop into another type.  The most common types of psoriasis are plaque psoriasis, nail psoriasis, guttate psoriasis, scalp psoriasis and inverse psoriasis.  There are rarer forms of psoriasis called pustular psoriasis and erythrodermic psoriasis.  Pustular psoriasis causes pus-filled blisters to appear on the skin, while erythrodermic psoriasis causes a rash to appear all over the body and can result in the body losing proteins and fluids.

Psoriasis

There are some factors which can trigger a flare up of psoriasis symptoms such as smoking, stress, alcohol, and some medicines.  There are three types of treatment for psoriasis and these are creams and ointments, lights which the skin can be exposed to and oral or injected medication.