STDs is a sexually transmitted disease that can be spread by sexual contact and during vaginal, anal and oral sex. There are at least 25 different sexually transmitted diseases. Some STDs infect your sexual and reproductive organs others cause general body infections.¹ Bacteria, virus and parasites cause STDs. STDs sometimes have no symptoms and other times the symptoms can disappear. Just because it disappears it does not mean that you don’t have the infection anymore. STDs need to be treated. Some STDs do not have a cure but there are medicines for the symptoms. 

If you think you have an STD get examined as soon as possible. You can go to your family doctor or to a clinic that specializes in STDs. The sooner you get examined the faster you will get better. You also must tell your sexual partner(s). If they are not treated, they can get sick. They can spread the STD. They might even give it to you again.²

• Unusual discharge or smell from your vagina.
  
  
• Pain in your pelvic area.
  
  
• Burning or itching around the vagina.
  
  
• Bleeding from vagina that is not your regular period.
  
  
• Pain deep inside your vagina when you have sex.
  
  
• Sores, bumps or blisters near sex organs, rectum, or mouth.
  
  
• Burning when you urinate.
  
  
• Swelling in your throat if you are having oral sex.

• The best way to protect your self is to be abstinent.
  
  
• Have sex only with one uninfected partner.
  
  
• Use protection such as condoms.
  
  
• Get checked for STDs as well as your partner.
  
  
• Before you have sex, check if your partner has signs of STDs.
  
  
• If you have an STD, your Partner(s) must get tested and treated too.
  
  
• Don’t have sex until you’re treated.³

CDC estimates that 19 million new infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.  Direct medical costs associated with STDs in the United States are estimated at up to $14.1 billion annually.⁴

What are the three leading STDs?

• Chlamydia
  
  
  • Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium which can damage a woman's reproductive organs. Sometimes Chlamydia symptoms are not present but can cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur "silently" before a woman ever recognizes a problem. Women who have symptoms might have an abnormal vaginal discharge or a burning sensation when urinating, lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse, or bleeding between menstrual periods. Chlamydia can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Chlamydia can also be passed from an infected mother to her baby during vaginal childbirth.⁵
    
    
  • Increasing numbers of Chlamydia infections have made it the most widespread bacterial STD in the USA .⁶ Chlamydia is known as a "silent" disease because about three quarters of infected women and about half of infected men have no symptoms.⁷
    
    
• Gonorrhea
  
  
  • Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease. Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can grow and multiply easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes in women. The symptoms for a women with gonorrhea include a painful or burning sensation when urinating, increased vaginal discharge, or vaginal bleeding between periods.⁸
    
    
  • If Gonorrhea is not treated it can lead to Pelvic inflammatory diseases (PID). About one million women each year in the United States develop PID. PID symptoms are usually abdominal pain and fever.⁹ If you want to prevent yourself from getting infected don’t have sex or use a condom to protect you from being infected.
    
    
•  HPV
  
  
  • Genital HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that comes from the infection caused by Human papillomavirus. Human papillomavirus is a virus that includes more than 80 stains. Many of these are sexually transmitted and can infect the genital area of women. HPV symptoms include visible genital warts. The genital warts are usually soft, moist, pink or swelled. Sometimes they can be cauliflower shape. They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh. After sexual contact with an infected person, warts may appear within weeks or months, or not at all.¹⁰ Many women are diagnosed by having an abnormal pap smear. There is no cure for HPV but in most cases it goes away during time, but most men and women do not know they are infected.
    
    
  • There is a vaccine that was developed to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts in females caused by certain types of genital human papillomavirus (HPV). The vaccine, Gardasil®, protects against four HPV types, which together cause 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. The HPV vaccine is given through a series of three shots through six months. About 50 to 70 percent of women who are sexually active will become infected, so be careful and protect your self by using condoms, and get the vaccine! ¹¹

¹ Jane Hiatt, with Kay Clark and Mary Nelson, Copy right 1986 ETR Association.
² Jane Hiatt, with Kay Clark and Mary Nelson, Copy right 1986 ETR Association.
³ Jane Hiatt, with Kay Clark and Mary Nelson, Copy right 1986 ETR Association.
⁴ CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/default.htm
⁵ CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/STDFact-Chlamydia.htm#WhatIs
⁶ Avert, http://www.avert.org/stdstatisticusa.htm
⁷ CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/default.htm
⁸ CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/std/Gonorrhea/STDFact-gonorrhea.htm#symptoms
⁹ CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/std/Gonorrhea/STDFact-gonorrhea.htm#symptoms
¹⁰ CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm#symptoms
¹¹ CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV-vaccine.htm#hpvvac3