| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), are infections that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. They are usually spread during vaginal, oral, or anal sex. But sometimes they can spread through other sexual contact involving the penis, vagina, mouth, or anus. This is because some STIs, like herpes and HPV, are spread by skin-to-skin contact.
Some STIs can be passed to the fetus during pregnancy or during childbirth. Other ways that some STIs may be spread include during breastfeeding, through blood transfusions, or by sharing needles.
There are more than 20 types of STIs, including:
STIs can be caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
Who is affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?Most STIs affect both men and women, but in many cases the health problems they cause can be more severe for women. If an STI is passed to a baby, it can cause serious health problems.
What are the symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?STIs don't always cause symptoms or may only cause mild symptoms. So it is possible to have an infection and not know it. And even without symptoms, STIs can still be harmful and may be passed on during sex.
If there are symptoms, they could include:
If you are sexually active, you should talk to your health care provider about your risk for STIs and whether you need to be tested. This is especially important since many STIs do not usually cause symptoms.
Some STIs may be diagnosed during a physical exam or through STI testing. Some tests involve a microscopic examination of a sore or fluid swabbed from the vagina, penis, or anus. Blood tests can diagnose other types of STIs.
What are the treatments for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?Antibiotics can treat STIs that are caused by bacteria or parasites. There is no cure for STIs caused by viruses, but antiviral medicines can often help with the symptoms and lower your risk of spreading the infection.
It's important to get treatment if you have an STI. Some types of STIs can cause serious health problems if they are not treated.
Can sexually transmitted infections (STIs) be prevented?The surest way to protect yourself against STIs is to not have sex.
If you do decide to have sex, you can lower your risk of getting an STI by:
Teen sexual health is about how sex affects your physical and emotional health. It means knowing how to form healthy relationships and making decisions about sex that are right for you.
As your body changes during puberty, how you think, feel, and interact with others also changes. You may have new feelings and thoughts about sex. Understanding who you're becoming as a sexual young adult is also part of teen sexual health.
For all teens, taking responsibility for sexual health is part of growing up. Whether you choose to have sex or wait, responsibility includes knowing about:
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites that spread from person to person, usually during vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Some STIs are spread by skin-to-skin contact. Without treatment, some STIs can cause long-term health problems.
There are more than 20 types of STIs, including:
STIs don't always cause symptoms. So it is possible to have an infection without knowing it and then pass it on to someone else. The only way to know for sure whether you have an STI is to get tested.
How can I reduce my chances of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI)?The most reliable way to avoid infection is to not have vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Saying "no" to sex is the right choice for many teens.
If you decide to have sex, "safer sex" practices will lower your chance of getting an STI. They include:
The only sure way to avoid pregnancy is not to have vaginal sex.
If you decide to have vaginal sex, birth control can help prevent pregnancy. There are many types of birth control that work in different ways. Your health care provider can help you choose birth control that's best for you.
Condoms are the only birth control method that protects against STIs. But condoms alone aren't the most effective form of birth control. It's safest to use condoms with another form of birth control to prevent both STIs and pregnancy.
What is a healthy relationship?Healthy sex starts with a healthy relationship, so it's important to take an honest look at how you and your partner treat each other. Your relationship may be healthy if it includes:
Your relationship may be unhealthy if it includes:
Your decisions about sex can affect your future health. Make sure that you know the facts so you can decide what is right for you.
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). It is caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. Anyone can get chlamydia. It often doesn't cause symptoms, so people may not know that they have it. Antibiotics can cure it. But if it's not treated, chlamydia can cause serious health problems.
How is chlamydia spread?You can get chlamydia during oral, vaginal, or anal sex with someone who has chlamydia. Chlamydia can also be passed to the baby during childbirth.
If you've had chlamydia and were treated in the past, you can get re-infected if you have unprotected sex with someone who has it.
Who is more likely to get chlamydia?Chlamydia is more common in young people, especially young women. You are more likely to get infected with chlamydia if you don't consistently use a condom or if you have multiple partners.
What are the symptoms of chlamydia?Chlamydia doesn't usually cause any symptoms. So you may not realize that you have it. But even if you don't have symptoms, you can still pass the infection to others.
If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with someone who has chlamydia.
Symptoms in women include:
If the infection spreads, you might get lower abdominal (belly) pain, pain during sex, nausea, and fever.
Symptoms in men include:
If the chlamydia infects the rectum (in men or women), it can cause rectal pain, discharge, and bleeding.
How is chlamydia diagnosed?There are lab tests to diagnose chlamydia. Your health care provider may ask you to provide a urine sample. Or your provider may use (or ask you to use) a cotton swab to get a sample from your vagina to test for chlamydia.
Who should be tested for chlamydia?You should go to your provider for a test if you have symptoms of chlamydia or if you have a partner who has an STI. If you are pregnant, you should get a test when you go to your first prenatal visit.
People at higher risk should get checked for chlamydia every year:
In women, an untreated infection can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. This can lead to long-term pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Women who have had chlamydia infections more than once are at higher risk of serious reproductive health complications.
Men often don't have health problems from chlamydia. Sometimes it can infect the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm). This can cause pain, fever, and, rarely, infertility.
Both men and women can develop reactive arthritis because of a chlamydia infection. Reactive arthritis is a type of arthritis that happens as a "reaction" to an infection in the body.
Babies born to infected mothers can get eye infections and pneumonia from chlamydia. It may also make it more likely for your baby to be born too early.
Untreated chlamydia may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV.
What are the treatments for chlamydia?Antibiotics will cure the infection. You may get a one-time dose of the antibiotics, or you may need to take medicine every day for 7 days. It is important to take all the medicine that your provider prescribed for you. Antibiotics cannot repair any permanent damage that the disease has caused.
To prevent spreading the disease to your partner, you should not have sex until the infection has cleared up. If you got a one-time dose of antibiotics, you should wait 7 days after taking the medicine to have sex again. If you have to take medicine every day for 7 days, you should not have sex again until you have finished taking all of the doses of your medicine.
It is common to get a repeat infection, so you need to get tested again about three months after treatment.
Can chlamydia be prevented?The only sure way to prevent chlamydia is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading chlamydia. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Health disparities are health differences between different groups of people. These health differences may include:
These groups of people may be based on:
NIH: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Screenings are tests that look for diseases before you have symptoms. Screening tests can find diseases early, when they're easier to treat. You can get some screenings in your doctor's office. Others need special equipment, so you may need to go to a different office or clinic.
Some conditions that doctors commonly screen for include:
Which tests you need depends on your age, your sex, your family history, and whether you have risk factors for certain diseases. After a screening test, ask when you will get the results and whom to talk to about them.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality