Information on Common Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Read more about the transmission, symptoms, treatment, and danger of not getting treatment for each of these STDs.

•  Chlamydia

•  Gonorrhea

•  Syphilis

•  HIV/AIDS

•  Herpes

•  HPV / Genital Warts

Chlamydia

What is Chlamydia?

•  Chlamydia is the most common bacterial STD (bacterial STDs can be cured but may still cause serious damage to your body).

•  Chlamydia is spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex.

•  Often the disease has no symptoms so many people are unaware of infection.

•  Over 929,000 cases were reported in the U.S. in 2004.

•  Because of under-reporting, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates 3 million Americans are infected per year.

•  74% of cases reported are in persons under age 25.

•  About 50% of sexually active women have had Chlamydia by age 30.

Symptoms of Chlamydia

•  About 75% of women and 50% of men have no symptoms.

•  When symptoms occur, they can show up 1-3 weeks after exposure and may include:

Treatment of Chlamydia

•  If detected, chlamydia can be treated and cured with antibiotics.

Danger of not treating Chlamydia

•  More serious infection (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in women is common)

•  Damage to reproductive organs

•  Possible infertility in both men and women

•  Tubal (ectopic) pregnancies in women

•  A mother can give it to her baby during childbirth

Gonorrhea

What is Gonorrhea?

•  Gonorrhea is the second most common bacterial STD (bacterial STDs can be cured but may still cause serious damage to your body).

•  Gonorrhea is spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex.

•  About 330,000 people were infected in the U.S. in 2004.

•  74% of cases reported are in persons ages 15 to 29.

•  70% of total cases in 2004 were African Americans.

Symptoms of Gonorrhea

Treatment of Gonorrhea

•  If detected, gonorrhea can be treated and cured with antibiotics.

Danger of not treating Gonorrhea

•  More serious infection (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in women is common)

•  Damage to reproductive organs

•  Possible infertility in both men and women

•  Can be life-threatening, if it spreads to blood and joints

•  A mother can give it to her baby during childbirth, which leads to blindness

Syphilis

What is Syphilis?

•  Syphilis is a bacterial STD (bacterial STDs can be cured but may still cause serious damage to your body).

•  Syphilis is spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex or skin to skin contact.

•  Over 7,900 cases were reported in the U.S. in 2004.

•  Most cases were reported in men aged 30-39 and women 20-29.

Symptoms of Syphilis

•  Symptoms show up 10-90 days (avg. 21 days) after exposure

•  A painless, reddish-brown sore(s) appears on the mouth, sex organs, breasts or fingers (where syphilis entered the body)

•  Sore(s) last 3-6 weeks and go away, but infection goes to stage 2

•  Symptoms show up as stage 1 sores heal or weeks afterwards

•  A rash (red or reddish brown spots and no itch) anywhere on the body

•  Flu-like symptoms can occur (fever, headache, muscle aches, etc.)

•  Symptoms go away, but infection goes to “late” or hidden stage

Treatment of Syphilis

•  If detected, syphilis can be treated and cured with antibiotics.  However, any damage done by the infection cannot be reversed.

Danger of not treating Syphilis

•  Late stage syphilis can infect internal organs and cause heart disease, brain damage, blindness, and death.

•  A pregnant woman with syphilis might miscarry or spread the infection to her baby resulting in serious infant health problem.

HIV / AIDS

What is HIV/AIDS?

•  HIV /AIDS is a viral STD (viral STDs can be treated but not cured)

•  >900,000 cases were reported in the U.S. in 2004, ~136,000 of those cases were in California.

•  HIV / AIDS is spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex, by sharing needles, and by contact with infected blood.

Symptoms of HIV/AIDS

•  Symptoms show up several months to several years after contact with HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS.

•  Virus may be present for many years with no symptoms

•  Unexplained weight loss or tiredness

•  Diarrhea

•  White spots in mouth

•  In women, yeast infections that don’t go away

Treatment of HIV/AIDS

•  HIV cannot be cured and it can cause immune deficiency and death.

•  Antiviral medications help the symptoms, but cannot cure the disease.

Danger of not treating HIV/AIDS

•  Treatment can prolong life

•  A mother with HIV can give it to her baby in the womb, during childbirth or while breastfeeding.

Herpes

What is Herpes?

•  Herpes is a viral STD (viral STDs can be treated but not cured)

•  45 million people ages 12 and older have genital herpes.

•  One out of four women, and almost one out of five men have genital herpes.

•  Genital herpes is spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex, or skin to skin contact.

•  A person can get cold sores (Herpes Simplex Virus 1) by coming into contact with the saliva of an infected person.

•  You also can get the herpes virus from kissing, touching, and caressing infected areas.

Symptoms of Herpes

•  Symptoms vary, early symptoms may include a burning sensation, lower back pain, pain when urinating, and flu-like symptoms.

•  Small red bumps may appear in the genital area. Later, these bumps can develop into painful blisters, which then crust over, form a scab, and heal. Blisters last 1-3 weeks. Blisters often come back.

•  Herpes-2 typically causes genital blisters while Herpes-1 causes cold sores and fever blisters around the mouth but can infect the genital area.

•  Most people have no noticeable symptoms.

•  Symptoms can show up 1-30 days after exposure.

•  People with symptomatic herpes often average 4 to 5 outbreaks a year.

Treatment of Herpes

•  There is no cure for herpes.

•  Antiviral medications help the symptoms, but cannot cure the disease.

Danger of not treating Herpes

•  Treatment of outbreaks, especially when started early, shortens the duration of the outbreak and reduces the symptoms.

•  A mother can pass herpes to her baby during childbirth. Herpes can cause severe birth defects or death.

•  Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV infection.

HPV / Genital Warts

What is HPV / Genital Warts?

•  Human papiloma virus (HPV) is a viral STD (viral STDs can be treated but not cured).

•  HPV is most often spread during foreplay or vaginal, anal or oral sex (any skin-to-skin contact or contact with infected body fluids).

•  More than 24 million people are infected with HPV.

•  HPV causes 99% of cervical cancer in women.  HPV also causes genital warts.

•  Experts estimate that between 50-75% of sexually active people acquire HPV at some point in their lives.

•  Over 6.2 million Americans contract HPV every year.

Symptoms of HPV

•  Most people have no symptoms.

•  Sometimes there are visible genital warts: soft, moist, pink or red swellings on or in the sex organs and anus.

•  Sometimes there is itching or burning around the sex organs.

•  After warts go away, the virus sometimes stays in the body; warts can come back.

Treatment of HPV

•  There is no medical cure for HPV.

•  Warts can be treated, but may return after treatment.

•  Regular Pap smears are necessary to detect cervical cancer and other problems caused by HPV.

Danger of not treating HPV

•  Warts can increase in size and spread

•  Certain strains of HPV can cause cell changes in the cervix, penis or anus; sometimes these cell changes lead to cancer.

•  A mother can give HPV to her baby during childbirth.

•  Even after treating warts, HPV is transmittable.

This data is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical care or diagnosis from a healthcare professional.

Data gathered from:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2005) Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2004. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta.