STDs You Should Know About

Chlamydia is the most common curable STD. It infects the cervix in womenand the penile urethra in men. Its most frequent symptoms are pain during sex and discharge from the penis or vagina.

Despite the lack of symptoms, it’s important to get screened and treated if you think you might have been exposed to chlamydia. If you don’t, it can do a lot of damage to your body in the long run. Latex condoms are effective at helping to prevent the disease.

Gonorrhea, otherwise known as “the clap,” is another common bacterial STD. It generally infects the same organs as chlamydia and has similar long-term effects.

Symptoms of gonorrhea include burning when urinating and, in men, white, yellow, or green discharge from the penis. Just as with chlamydia, many people with gonorrhea don’t have symptoms.

Be aware, too, that gonorrhea can also infect the throat and be passed via oral sex. Currently, one of the biggest concerns about gonorrhea is treating it as there is a growing problem of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea.

Syphilis is a common STD with a notorious history. Caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, it can lead to serious complications if left untreated.

Syphilis is transmitted by direct contact with syphilis sores, which can appear on the external genitals and the mouth, as well as in the vagina or rectum. That means it can be transmitted by oral sex, as well as vaginal or anal intercourse. In fact, some scientists think that oral sex is responsible for the rise of syphilis in men who have sex with men.

The small painless sores (chancres) of early syphilis may heal by themselves, but that doesn’t mean the disease is gone. It’s just become more difficult to detect and treat.

In 2007, a prominent study of U.S. adolescents found that a little-known STD called Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) had surpassed gonorrhea in prevalence. Furthermore, MG, like gonorrhea and chlamydia, is starting to emerge as a major cause of cervicitis in women and nongonococcal urethritis in men.

Why did it take so long to recognize the importance of this now common STD? Because most cases of MG don’t cause symptoms and it was difficult to identify until the new technology became available. There is still no diagnostic test of MG that is cleared by the FDA for use in the United States.

Trichomoniasis is the most common curable STD, with infection more common in women than in men. Some women may mistake this infection for a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis since the symptoms are similar: frothy discharge, strong vaginal odor, pain during intercourse, irritation, and itching.

Men can get trichomoniasis, but they don’t tend to have symptoms.

If your partner is a man, trich may not be affecting him much, but you don’t want him giving it back to you. If your partner is a woman, you could also be passing the disease to each other.

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is quite possibly the most common STD. Older studies from before the HPV vaccine was available estimated that three-quarters of the sexually active population had HPV at some point during their lives, and one-quarter of women were infected at any given time.

HPV may be known as “the cervical cancer virus,” but only a few types of HPV are linked to cancer, and they’re linked to more than just cervical cancer. Others cause genital warts, other warts, or no symptoms at all.

It is recommended that 11- to 12-year-olds get the HPV vaccine to protect young men and women from the four most common strains of the virus.

HIV is the virus associated with AIDS. It can only be transmitted by an exchange of bodily fluids, including semen, vaginal secretions, ​breast milk, and blood. It cannot be transmitted by casual contact.

Currently, most people with HIV are treated with a combination of drugs known as highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), or combined anti-retroviral therapy (cART). Although these therapies cannot cure the disease, they can reduce the likelihood that infection will progress to AIDS.

“Crabs” are a form of lice that live on the hair in the genital area and occasionally on other coarse-haired areas of the body, such as the armpits or the eyebrows. They are usually spread by sexual contact, although they also can occasionally be transmitted by infested linens and clothing. Symptoms include itching in the genital area and visible lice or eggs.

It also simply isn’t true that you have to shave off all your pubic hair if you get infected.

Scabies is a contagious skin disease that is not always sexually transmitted. Caused by the parasite Sarcoptes scabei, scabies causes an extremely itchy rash that gets worse at night. The rash is most often found in folds of skin, such as between the fingers, on the wrists and ankles, and in the genital area. Scabies is incredibly contagious, and the mite can live for days off the human body.

Herpes is another viral STD and it comes in two forms, HSV1 and HSV2. HSV1 is most often associated with cold sores, and HSV2 is most often associated with genital sores. However, it is possible to transmit herpes from the mouth to the genitals and vice versa.

Herpes symptoms can be treated with anti-viral drugs, but the virus cannot be cured. People with the herpes virus need to know that they can transmit the virus even when they do not have any sores or other symptoms.

There are several types of hepatitis. Although the different viruses are transmitted through various routes, they all cause damage to the liver. The type of hepatitis most often associated with sexual transmission is hepatitis B (HBV). However, hepatitis C can also be sexually transmitted.

Over time, chronic infection with hepatitis B can lead to scarring of the liver, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Fortunately, there is a vaccine that can protect you against infection.

Chancroid is a genital ulcer disease caused by the bacterium Haemophilus ducreyi. Although not commonly seen in the United States, in other parts of the world chancroid infections are a major risk factor for HIV.

The ulcers caused by chancroid are generally larger and more painful than those associated with syphilis, although the early signs may be mistaken for those of a syphilis infection.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition where the healthy bacteria in a woman’s vagina disappear and are replaced by different organisms. Symptoms include burning and itching around the vagina, white or gray discharge, and a strong fishy odor that is particularly noticeable after intercourse.

Some people question whether or not BV is an STD, but it is associated with having a new sex partner or multiple sex partners. You can take antibiotics to get rid of BV, but it frequently shows up again even after successful treatment.

Unlike most of the STDs mentioned in this overview, nongonoccocal urethritis (NGU) is not caused by a specific bacterium or virus. Instead, it is defined as any type of urethritis that is not caused by gonorrhea. The two most common causes of NGU are chlamydia and Mycoplasma genitalium. Symptoms of NGU include burning when urinating and discharge from the head of the penis. However, as with many STDs, most cases of NGU are asymptomatic.

Molluscum contagiosum is a skin disease that most often affects young children and adults who have weakened immune systems. It is transmitted by direct skin contact, so it also can be transmitted during sexual contact among adults.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not primarily thought of as an STD, although new research suggests that it probably can be transmitted sexually. Most cases of MRSA are acquired in ​the hospital or other medical settings, though it can also be transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact.

Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) is an STD that used to be primarily thought of as affecting individuals in developing worlds. However, it is now on the rise worldwide. After an initial outbreak in men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Netherlands in 2003, LGV has been found in isolated groups of MSM across western Europe, North America, and Australia.