What is a sexually transmitted disease (STD)?

It is an infection or disease passed from person to person through sexual contact.

How many people have STDs?

The United States has the highest rates of STDs in the industrialized world. In the United States alone, an estimated 15.3 million new cases of STDs are reported each year. Women suffer more frequent and more serious complications from STDs than men.

How do you get an STD?

You can get and pass STDs through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Trichomoniasis can also picked up from contact with damp or moist objects such as towels, wet clothing, or a toilet seat, if the genital area gets in contact with these damp objects. Some STDs cause no symptoms. But STDs can still be passed from person to person even if there are no symptoms.

What are the symptoms of STDs?

Here are some STDs and their symptoms.

BV

Most women have no symptoms. Women with symptoms may have: vaginal itching, pain when urinating, discharge with a fishy odor.

Chlamydia

Most women have no symptoms. Women with symptoms may have: abnormal vaginal discharge, burning when urinatingm bleeding between menstrual periods.

Infections that are not treated, even if there are no symptoms, can lead to: lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during sex, bleeding between periods.

Genital Herpes

Some people may have no symptoms. During an "outbreak," the symptoms are clear: small red bumps, blisters, or open sores on the penis, vagina, or on areas close by, vaginal discharge, fever, headache, muscle aches, pain when urinating, itching, burning, or swollen glands in genital area, pain in legs, buttocks, or genital area.

Symptoms may go away and then come back. Sores heal after two to four weeks.

Gonorrhea

Some women have no symptoms. Women with symptoms may have: mild fever, headache and muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, dark-colored urine and pale bowel movements, stomach pain, skin and whites of eyes turning yellow.

HIV/AIDS

Some women may have no symptoms for 10 years or more. Women with symptoms may have: extreme fatigue, rapid weight loss, frequent low-grade fevers and night sweats, frequent yeast infections (in the mouth), vaginal yeast infections and other STDs, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), menstrual cycle changes, red, brown, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Some women have no symptoms. Women with symptoms may have: visible warts in the genital area, including the thighs. Warts can be raised or flat, alone or in groups, small or large, and sometimes they are cauliflower-shaped, lesions on the cervix and in the vagina.

Pubic Lice

Itching, finding lice.

Syphilis

Symptoms in the first, or primary stage: a single, painless sore appears, usually in the genital areas but may appear in the mouth, if infection is not treated, it moves to the next stage.

Symptoms in the next, or secondary, stage are: skin rash on the hands and feet that usually does not itch and clears on its own, fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, tiredness

In the latent, or hidden, stage, the symptoms listed above disappear, but the symptoms from the second stage can come back. In the late stage, infection remains in the body and can damage the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints.

Trichomoniasis

Symptoms usually appear 5 to 28 days after exposure and can include: yellow, green, or gray vaginal discharge (often foamy) with a strong odor, discomfort during sex and when urinating, irritation and itching of the genital area, lower abdominal pain in rare cases.

How do you get tested for STDs?

Talk with your doctor or nurse about getting tested for STDs. She or he can tell you how to test for each STD.

Can STDs cause health problems?

Yes. While each STD causes different health problems, overall, they can cause cervical cancer and other cancers, liver disease, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, pregnancy problems, and other complications. Some STDs increase your risk of getting HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS can cause a number of health problems and raise the risk of getting life-threatening diseases and certain forms of cancer.

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Tags: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Women's Health

About the Author

The National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) is a service of the Office on Women's Health (OWH) in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The National Women's Health Information Center is the most reliable and current information resource on women's health today. We offer FREE women's health information on more than 800 topics through our call center and web site.