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It seems like when AIDS came on the scene in the early 1980s we pretty much forgot about all the other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). But they didn’t forget about us. STDs are a hidden epidemic, newly infecting 12 million Americans a year. They haven’t gone away.

Here’s a roster of the heavy hitters.

Herpes simplex 2. This version of herpes may have found a home by now in as many as one in four sexually active men, two-thirds of whom don’t know they have it. When the characteristic open sores show themselves in the genital area, that’s when you can usually catch it-or give it. “But you can also actually pass it on to a sex partner when a lesion is nowhere in sight,” says Dr. William Kassler of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “That’s what has everybody concerned. We think it’s what’s fueling the herpes epidemic.”

Chlamydia. It’s the fastest-spreading STD, infecting as many as four million men and women a year. It’s a particularly insidious one, too, since men don’t have symptoms about a quarter of the time, and women three-quarters of the time. When symptoms do show up, you’ll probably experience either a genital discharge, painful urination, or both. Chlamydia also, though rarely, can cause painful or swollen testicles. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection, so it’s curable with antibiotics-if you know that you have it.

Genital warts. Its given name is human papillomavirus, or HPV. The symptoms are what its nickname implies-warts on the anus, penis, or scrotum. About a million Americans join the HPV club each year. They never leave it.

Syphilis. This one has been rockin’ longer than Mick and Keith. It’s one of the more manageable STDs these days since it usually makes its presence known via a painless chancre on the penis and exits promptly with antibiotics. Ignore it, however, and it can result in blindness, heart disease, and death.

Gonorrhea. The symptoms are similar to those of chlamydia. Also like chlamydia, the symptoms sometimes fail to show up. The clap gets about 800,000 Americans each year but succumbs nicely to antibiotics.

Hepatitis B. Like HIV, it’s found in blood, semen, and vaginal secretions and is spread through sexual contact and shared needles. Unlike HIV, it usually clears itself up in a month or two. But this kind of hepatitis needs medical attention because possible liver damage puts you at risk for cirrhosis or liver cancer.

You can keep from getting any of these STDs by following much the same safe-sex guidelines that you do for AIDS-careful partner selection, mutual full disclosure before sex, and a strict adherence to condom use, says Dr. Kassler.

And for most STDs, you have an option you don’t have with AIDS-getting rid of it. “The thing to do is recognize the symptoms of STDs, go to a doctor, and get them treated,” Dr. Kassler says. “The earlier you get them taken care of, the safer you are.”

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Exercise

Exercise is also highly beneficial, as it can help alleviate period pains by increasing circulation to the pelvic region. Exercise can also reduce stress and it is well known that exercise releases brain chemicals called endorphins which make us feel calmer, happier and more alert.

Exercise alone has been shown to have a very positive effect on people suffering from depression, stress, anxiety and insomnia and it is now often recommended as part of the treatment for these problems. Stress can have a direct effect on fertility so it is important to find ways of dealing with it.

Exercise can also have a direct effect on controlling oestrogen. A fascinating study, reported in the US Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed that women who exercised for around four hours a week had a 58 per cent lower risk of breast cancer and those who routinely exercised for between one and three hours a week had a 30 per cent lower risk.169 Regular exercise seems to modify a woman’s hormonal activity in a beneficial way. We know that extremes of exercise alter the menstrual cycle dramatically – many women athletes, for instance, don’t have periods at all. So moderate routine exercise may suppress the production (or overproduction) of hormones, reducing a woman’s exposure during her lifetime. Some breast cancers are oestrogen-sensitive so it makes sense that if the hormone levels are more balanced then the risk of developing breast cancer will be lower. This knowledge is also valuable in other conditions where excess oestrogen may be a problem (e.g. PCOS, fibroids and endometriosis).

Herbs

Herbs can have a tremendous impact on these three conditions. If your problem is long-standing, it may be worth asking a medical herbalist for a private consultation.

• Agnus castus (vitex/chasteberry) is one of the most important herbs for female hormone problems. It stimulates and normalizes the function of the pituitary gland, which controls and balances the hormones in the body. Agnus castus works by restoring the balance, whether it is a hormone deficit or an excess.

• Milk thistle is an excellent herb for the liver and a number of studies have shown that its use can result in an increase of new liver cells to replace old damaged ones. Silymarin is the collective name for the substances found in milk thistle that produce this beneficial effect.

• Dandelion also helps cleanse the liver, the major organ of detoxification, which gets rid of accumulated ‘old’ female hormones.

Essential fatty acids

Our bodies produce beneficial prostaglandins from essential fatty acids. These prostaglandins help reduce period pains and they also have an anti-inflammatory effect which is especially beneficial for endometriosis sufferers.

Zinc and vitamin B6 are also important for the correct metabolism of fatty acids and their conversion to beneficial prostaglandins (PGE1 and PGE3). However, certain prostaglandins (PGE2) can have a negative effect in large amounts. They are highly inflammatory, and can cause swelling and pain and also thicken the blood.

In a 1998 study, women with endometriosis were asked to eliminate caffeine, to control blood sugar (and the over-excretion of insulin), and to supplement with essential fatty acids. The doctors found that by making these simple dietary changes, the women experienced a significant decrease in their symptoms. The control of blood sugar is also central to the dietary treatment of PCOS.

To ease fertility problems naturally, you need to:

• eliminate caffeine

• reduce or eliminate saturated fats

• eliminate alcohol

• get your weight within a BMI of 20-24.

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What are they?

Involuntary contractions of muscle groups (usually in the legs, neck or back) which make the area painful and tender. Some people get them in bed at night. A particularly unpleasant form occurs in some people in the muscles between the ribs when making certain movements-for example when turning round to look behind them when reversing the car.

What causes them?

Often the cause is unknown but several are recognized:

•     Tired or stressed muscles, in swimmers or footballers, for example.

•     Certain occupational cramps are well recognized. An example is writer’s cramp, which affects typists, musicians and type compositors, as well as writers.

•     Very hot working conditions leading to profuse sweating. Many of those who work in blast furnaces or ships’ boiler rooms know all about this type of cramp. It is caused by a loss of sweat together with its salt, and the cramps are really the result of sodium shortage. In a similar way dehydration during serious illnesses involving a fever can cause cramps.

•     Chronic alcoholism causes cramps in the legs and feet.

•     An elusive but common form of cramp is the ‘stitch’ in the side-experienced, for example, by long-distance runners. It is thought to be caused by a cramp in the diaphragm muscle.

•     A shortage of calcium.

•     A lack of vitamin E.

•     Uterine cramps occur in some women on the first couple of days of their period. These period pains are the biggest cause of lost work and school days in females. There are many ‘cures’ for these cramps, the best of which is a drug which prevents the release of prostaglandins in the uterus – now known to be the cause of the pains -but there is as yet no fully proven way of preventing period pains.

Prevention

•     The prevention of sports-induced cramps is usually straightforward and involves doing proper warming-up exercises before embarking on any strenuous sporting activity. Avoiding chilling the muscles helps too, and some sportsmen and women find that binding up the area helps. As soon as you get any form of cramp it is best to stop what you are doing until the symptoms go. The best treatment for cramps is to put the muscles involved under tension (stretch them). Someone else will almost certainly have to do this for a cramped sportsman or woman.

•     The prevention of occupational cramps is usually fairly obvious. Special attention should be paid to posture, seating, lighting, desk height, and so on.

•     Those who work in very hot conditions should take salt tablets regularly.

Calcium is vital for adequate muscle function. Prevention Magazine in the US carried out a survey in 1977 of 3,000 readers to find out how calcium had improved their health. Over half wrote to say that it had relieved their muscle cramps. Probably the best way to increase calcium intake is to take Dolomite tablets before each meal and one at bedtime.

•     Vitamin E also seems to play a part in cramps. When a team of Los Angeles doctors gave the vitamin to 125 patients with night-time leg and foot cramps, 103 had complete or near-complete relief. Some of these people had had their cramps for thirty years. Almost half the patients got better on 300IU units or less of vitamin E a day. The other half needed 400 IU or more, and many had to stay on the vitamin if they were to remain cramp-free. Vitamin E has also been used to treat a cramp-like condition in the legs known as intermittent claudication. In a study of forty-seven men with severe intermittent claudication, thirty-two were given vitamin E and the rest drugs to prevent and cure the cramps such men experience on walking. After three months the men were tested to see how far they could walk. In the vitamin group 54 per cent could walk the maximum distance set by the tester (just over 1/2 mile) but only 23 per cent of the drug group could do so. It appears that the vitamin E improved the circulation in the legs. After eighteen months of taking the vitamin twenty-nine of the thirty-two men showed an increase in the blood flow to their legs whereas most of the men in the drug group had a decreased blood flow.

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