Straight or gay, married or single, you’re vulnerable to STIs and STI symptoms.
Thinking or hoping your partner doesn’t have an STI is no protectionyou need to know for sure.
STI symptoms aren’t always obvious.
If you think you have STI symptoms or have been exposed to an STI, see a doctor.
Some STIs are easy to treat and cure; others require more-complicated treatment to manage them.
It’s essential to be evaluated, andif diagnosed with an STIget treated.
It’s also essential to inform your partner or partners so that they can be evaluated and treated.
If untreated, STIs can increase your risk of acquiring another STI such as HIV.
Some untreated STIs can also lead to infertility, organ damage, certain types of cancer or death.
Many STIs have no signs or symptoms (asymptomatic).
So it’s important to use protection, such as a condom, during sex.
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection of your genital tract.
Chlamydia may be difficult to detect because early-stage infections often cause few or no signs and symptoms.
Signs and symptoms may include:
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection of your genital tract.
The bacteria can also grow in your mouth, throat, eyes and anus.
The first gonorrhea symptoms generally appear within 10 days after exposure.
However, some people may be infected for months before signs or symptoms occur.
This organism spreads during sexual intercourse with someone who already has the infection.
The organism usually infects the urinary tract in men, but often causes no symptoms.
Trichomoniasis typically infects the vagina in women.
HIV is an infection with the human immunodeficiency virus.
When first infected with HIV, you may have no symptoms.
Some people develop a flu-like illness, usually two to six weeks after being infected.
Still, the only way you know if you have HIV is to be tested.
During this period, you’re highly infectious.
More-persistent or -severe symptoms of HIV infection may not appear for 10 years or more after the initial infection.
When signs and symptoms are noticeable, the first episode is generally the worst.
Some people never have a second episode.
Others, however, can have recurrent episodes for decades.
When present, genital herpes signs and symptoms may include:
Ulcers can make urination painful.
You may also have pain and tenderness in your genital area until the infection clears.
In some cases, the infection can be active and contagious even when sores aren’t present.
HPV infection is one of the most common types of STIs.
Some forms put women at high risk of cervical cancer.
Other forms cause genital warts.
HPV usually has no signs or symptoms.
The signs and symptoms of genital warts include:
Often, however, genital warts cause no symptoms.
Genital warts may be as small as 1 millimeter in diameter or may multiply into large clusters.
Hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C are all contagious viral infections that affect your liver.
Some people never develop signs or symptoms.
The signs and symptoms of syphilis may occur in three stagesprimary, secondary, and tertiary.
At any stage, syphilis can affect the nervous system.
Updated: 5/5/2022
Publication Date: 1/25/2008
