Gonorrhea is getting harder to treat because it’s becoming resistant to antibiotics. Current treatment for the disease is to give a one-time injection of the antibiotic Ceftriaxone in addition to oral antibiotics.
If gonorrhea goes untreated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, scarring and damage to reproductive organs. Your risk of getting HIV is higher, as is your chance of getting life-threatening infections in other parts of your body. Gonorrhea during pregnancy can cause premature birth, miscarriage, low birth weight and serious health complications for newborns.
The CDC recommends an annual gonorrhea screening for women under 25, pregnant women, or anyone with a new sexual partner (or if you’re not sure of your partner’s STI status). Like chlamydia, gonorrhea can be treated with antibiotics.
3. Herpes
Herpes is a viral infection that can present on your mouth or genitals. According to the CDC, one out of every six people between 14 and 49 years old in the U.S. has genital herpes. While most people think of herpes as painful, red blisters, not everyone gets those. While herpes is most infectious during an active breakout, it can still be spread when no symptoms are present.
The best way to reduce your risk of herpes is to use barrier methods (like condoms, dental dams) correctly every time you have sex. While there’s no cure for herpes, there is treatment to manage the symptoms. If you believe you’ve been exposed to herpes, talk to your doctor so they can do a swab test of symptoms or a blood test. If you have it, your doctor will…prescribe medication to manage symptoms and talk with you about reducing the risk of transmission to sexual partners.
4. HIV
HIV sometimes presents with flu-like symptoms about a month after transmission, but otherwise can go undetected for weeks, months, or years.
According to the Mayo Clinic, when a person has contracted the virus and doesn’t receive antiretroviral treatment, it takes a decade on average to turn into AIDS. However, HIV still causes immunodeficiency that can raise the risk of infection and cancer. “Treatment is strongly advised regardless of whether people have symptoms of HIV, as they can have a normal lifespan if they are on treatment and suppress the HIV virus,” Dr. Connie Celum, M.D., MPH, Professor of Global Health & Medicine at UW Medicine, tells Woman’s Day.
For those who are higher risk of getting HIV, an HIV prevention option called PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is also available, and reduces HIV infection rates by 90 percent, Dr. Celum says.
5. Trichomoniasis
This STI is pretty common and caused by a parasite. According to the CDC, an estimated 3.7 million people have trichomoniasis, but only about 30 percent of people with this STI show symptoms. When symptoms present, they can include: itching, burning, redness, soreness, uncomfortable urination, and vaginal discharge that’s different and comes with a fishy odor. For men, the symptoms could include: itching and irritation, a burning sensation after peeing or ejaculating, and a discharge from the penis. These symptoms can come within five to 28 days of being infected.
If left untreated, trichomoniasis can increase your risk of acquiring other STIs, including HIV. If you’re pregnant, trichomoniasis can cause babies to be born preterm or with a low birth weight.
Using condoms every time you have sex lowers your risk of getting trichomoniasis, but it’s possible to be infected even if you practice safe sex. Routine trichomoniasis screening isn’t recommended for everyone, but the CDC does recommend screening in certain high-risk areas of the country and in people with a high risk of infection. Trichomoniasis can be cured with antibiotics, but it’s possible to get infected multiple times.
What to do:
All this information can be scary, but the only way to tell if you or your sexual partner has an STI is to be tested.
Before starting a new sexual relationship both you and your partner should be tested for the most common STIs.
If you aren’t comfortable having your regular doctor examine you, testing can also be done at a family planning or STI clinic. Many clinics even have free, or highly subsidized, tests for people with limited incomes.
But even if your tests come back negative, the best way to keep them that way is to consistently practice safer sex. After all, it can take a while for STI tests to be accurate. In addition, sometimes people have multiple sexual partners, which means there are multiple potential routes for exposure.