November 16,1976
VD -
How to Detect it and Where to Go
BY TAD SIMS AND MARK SIEBER
The two most prevalent venereal diseases are gonorrhea and
syphilis. In an effort to increase an awareness of venereal
disease, we have compiled a brief list of relative data. The
following is a summary of VD symptoms and treatment. This
information is taken from parts of an article on venereal
disease in the Birth Control Handbook. We have also included
a listing of local treatment centers.
"Symptoms of most sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are
more obvious in the male than in the female. The infected
male with obvious symptoms is in a position of heavy respons
ibility; it is his immediate duty to inform his sexual partner(s)
of what is usually their common infection.
Gonorrhea and Non-Gonococcal Urethritis:
"Throughout the western world there is an epidemic of
gonorrhea. Its principal cause is the increasing resistance of the
gonococcus (gonorrhea bacteria) to penicillin.
"In the male, acute urethritis usually develops 2 to 5 days
after sexual intercourse with an infected person. There is pain
and burning during urination, frequent urination, and a thin
discharge escaping from the meatus at the tip of the penis.
The discharge soon becomes thick, yellow or yellow-green. The
lips of the meatus become red and protrude from the tip of
the penis. The first half of urine that is passed is hazy.
A slight painful swelling of the lymph glands in the groin
sometimes occurs.
"If the infected male is not treated, complications develop.
Glands in the urethra can become severely infected, causing
abscesses and swelling of the penis. The disease can spread
back to Cowper's glands, prostate gland, bladder, seminal
vesicles, vas deferens, and epididymis.
"When gononhea is suspected in the male, a sample of
of discharge is examined microscopically. The characteristic
gonococcus is usually obvious. Standard treatment for the
male is one injection of procaine penicillin G. For resistant
cases, more penicillin is used. Ampicillin, tetracycline, erythro
mycin, and spectinomycin have all been used successfully to
treat gonorrhea.
UNC-G and Guilford
Arts Series Perfomances
The touring production of
the Broadway play Shenandoah
will be at Aycock Auditorium
on Saturday, November 20, at
8:15 p.m. It is the musical
story of a pacifistic family
faced with the horrors of the
Civil War, and has been
acclaimed by viewers and
critics alike. Tikets for the
production are available at
Founders Information Desk.
The UNC-G Dance Com
pany, long known for its
exhilerating professional per
formances, will be at Aycock
on Thursday, December 2,
and Friday, December 3, at
The Community Senate
meeting will be held this
Wednesday evening, Novem
ber 17, at 6:30 in the confer
ence room, 2nd floor Founders.
(Note: the meeting is scheduled
8:15 p.m. The company's
skills and enthusiasm for dance
is impressive, and should not
be missed. Tickets are at the
Information Desk, and are free
for Guilford Students.
The acclaimed play Clarence
Darrow, starring John
Chappell, will be at Dana
Auditorium on Wednesday,
November 17, at 8:15 p.m.
Clarence Darrow is the lawyer
who represented John Scopes,
and worked tirelessly against
capital punishment, racism,
and religious bigotry. The
performance is free for Guilford
students and faculty.
for 6:30 in the conference
room instead of 7:301). All
members of the Guilford
College are urged arid welcome
to attend.
The Guilfordian
"In women, gonorrhea is usually symptomless. The bacteria
lodge in the cervix and urethral opening and slowly spread into
the reproductive system and bladder. Unless informed of her
infection by a male partner, the woman usually goes without
treatment until complications develop. Salpingitis, infection
of one or both Fallopian tubes, is a common complication,
causing disruption in menstrual cycles, severe pain in the lower
abdomen, nausea, vomiting, and fever. Unless treated,
salpingitis twists the Fallopian tubes with scar tissue, leaving the
woman sterile. Diagnosis of gonorrhea in women is difficult,
since direct microscopic examination of cervical or urethral
discharge is usually inconclusive. In women, gonorrhea
is usually diagnosed on the basis of medical history (i.e. an
infected partner) and a culture: samples taken from cervix and
urethra are put onto a special medium that supports bacterial
growth. After a few days the cultures are examined for
presence of gonococcus. Since infection in the woman is
usually of longer duration, larger doses of penicillin are needed
to accomplish a cure.
"Gonorrhea can also infect the anus and rectum. In men
this usually results from anal intercourse with an infected man,
while in women it is more commonly caused by drainage of
bacteria-containing vaginal secretions to the anus.
"There is a rapidly increasing incidence of a less serious
urethral disease, or group of diseases in men called non
gonococcal or non-specific urethritis (NGU or NSU). Symptoms
are similar to early male gonorrhea, although the discharge
usually remains thin and watery. The cause(s) of NGY/NSU
can not always be determined, although certain viruses are
suspected. Only broad spectrum antibiotics, such as tetracycline,
are effective treatment. Complications are rare, the disease
being mainly a nuisance and not a danger. A corresponding
disease in women has not been discovered.
Syphilis
"Syphilis, caused by a microorganism called T. pallidum, is
the most dangerous STD. The disease usually goes through
4 stages: primary, secondary, latent and late. Primary stage
symptoms are more obvious in the male. About 2to 4 weeks
after sexual intercourse with an infected person, a single, small,
oval, red spot appears on the penis. This spot rises, becoming
a chancre, a painless swelling that eventually ulcerates
(opens). Painless swelling of the lymph glands in the groin
often occurs. In 50% of uncircumcised men, the chancre
develops under the foreskin, making retraction impossible. In
women, the chancre usually develops on the cervix and is not
obvious except during speculum examination. Microscopic
examination of fluid squeezed from the chancre usually reveals
T. pallidum.
"Even if the disease is not treated, the chancre soon
disappears. Within a few days of months the rash of secondary
syphilis appears on the chest, shoulders, abdomen, and around
the anus. At first, the rash consists of smooth, reddish or
colorless areas; soon the spots become raised and copper or
brownish, spreading to the face, palms and soles. Definite
diagnosis in the secondary stage is made on the basis of
various blood tests.
"If secondary syphilis is not treated, the symptoms usually
disappear in 3to 9 months. The disease enters the latent
stage, which can continue for a few years to 50 years. During
this time T. pallidum insidiously attacks one or more of several
susceptible body tissues. When results of this prolonged, steady
destruction become obvious (e.g. heart attacks, paralysis,
insanity etc.) the person is said to have late syphilis.
"Treatment for all stages of syphilis is penicillin. T. pallidum
is extremely sensitive to this antibiotic. Tetracycline is also
effective. Antibiotics completely cure primary and secondary
syphilis, and can stop the destructive processes of the latent
disease."
If you suspect that you display symptoms of venereal
disease, we strongly urge you to undergo the necessary
concusive tests and treatment if required. The Guilford County
Health Department at 301 N. Eugene St. offers treatment free
of charge at their VD Clinic. The Family Planning Center at
201 S. Spring St. also gives free treatment. In addition the
Guilford College Infirmary insures personal, confidential treatment
for a slight fee.
Page 3
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at the
Typewriter
BY RUTHANNA HAINES
"You really ought to write
some stories about your
parents. They sound like such
funny people. I'd love to read
something like that for a
change."
When I heard that, I thought,
they really aren't such colorful
people. It's just the way I
look at them and remember
the past. It's always more
fun to look at the past than
to look at the droll present.
So I think of the good times
and the humor of the bad.
Like the time my mother
was in the bathroom doing the
wash. We didn't have one
of those baths with only tub,
bowl, and basin. We had one
of those created for the true
farm family, made for the
dirty farmer who wants to
undress, throw his filthy
clothes in the washer, take a
shower, dry off, take the
clothes out of the washer and
put them in the dryer, shave
and manicure, bandaid the
fresh cuts of the day, take the
warm clothes out of the dryer
and get dressed, just in time
for overcooked beef and greer
beans and frazzled wife..
Anyway, about my mother
doing the wash. She was in
that big bathroom there doing
the wash, and for some reason,
(perhaps that she found some
money in one of Daddy's
pockets which has always been
rare) she yelled in her most
piercing voice, Jiminy Cricket
Cakes!
Now I knew that she wasn't
just faintly annoyed, because
in that case she would have
merely exclaimed Good Griefl
And I knew that she wasn't
just mad, because then she
would have cried Jiminy
Crickets I This time she was
totally discombobylated. I
knew this because of that
added word Cakes.
Continued on page 8