Individuals can get an STI/STD (sexually transmitted infection or disease) if they engage in vaginal, oral, or anal intercourse, or even just by touching genitals. The most effective way to prevent an STI from spreading is to use condoms. Always be sure to notify your partner if you have an STI: that way, you’ll both know to be careful.
Symptoms may not always be apparent, so if you’ve engaged in intercourse it’s important to book an appointment with a doctor just to check. You don’t want to wait until a potential infection gets serious. Some signs and symptoms include: rash, fever, skin lesions, inflammation and discharge, warts, and cancer. Male bodies can have urethral discharge, testicles that are tender or have a mass, inflammation in the anus, or lesions. Female bodies can have vaginal discharge, urethritis, cervicitis, genital lesions, anogenital warts, or pelvic inflammatory disease.
It’s also important to get your partner involved, as they’ll be able to provide their sexual history and help your doctor do a better analysis. Depending on the STI you have, it may be a simple treatment, or it may be more complicated, requiring multiple appointments with a doctor.
You should never leave an STI untreated; it can make you more susceptible to getting other STI infections, as your immune system may become compromised. Factors that increase your risk of contracting an STI are: sexual contact with someone who has STI, frequent new partners, no contraceptive barrier, and sharing injection methods for drug use.
Methods of diagnosis for the female body include: cervical or vaginal swabs, urine samples, NAATs, ultrasound (for pelvic inflammatory disease) and pregnancy test. Diagnosis methods for the male body include: a urine test, NAAT, urethral swab, culture, rectal testing, and scrotal ultrasound.
Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection in the genetial tract. It can be tricky to spot. In its early stages it is very difficult to detect, and doesn’t show any signs or symptoms until about 3 weeks have passed. It can be mild, and pass quickly. Side effects can include: vaginal discharge, bleeding between periods, testicular pain, pain in the lower abdomen, pain when urinating, and painful intercourse for the female body.
Trichomoniasis
This infection usually shows symptoms within 5 – 28 days, and can be mild or severe. It can infect the vagina, or the male urinary tract. This infection is caused by a one celled parasite called trichomonas vaginalis. Signs and symptoms can include: the vagina being irritated and showing signs of itchiness; a strong odor from the vagina; pain during urination or sexual intercourse; discharge from the penis as well as itching/irritation; and discharge from the vagina that may be white, clear, yellow, or green.
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection. It can infect many areas of the body such as the eyes, mouth, throat, and anus. It can take months for symptoms to show, but usually it only takes 10 days after exposure. Signs and symptoms can include: heavier bleeding during menstruation as well as bleeding in-between periods; itching in the anus; swollen testicles; painful bowel movements; and cloudy, bloody, and thick discharge from the penis or vagina.
HIV
At first HIV may present as a flu, though in the beginning there may not be any symptoms. Some individuals may start to see symptoms 2 – 6 weeks after exposure.
HIV is a virus that compromises the immune system, resulting in your body being less able to fight off other infections. Eventually HIV may turn into AIDS, which is a very serious condition and could result in death.
Signs and symptoms can be divided into early and late symptoms. Early on, infected patients are highly infectious and can transmit the infection to others. Some of the early symptoms may include: rash; fatigue; sore throat; fever; headache; and lymph glands that are swollen. A little further into the infection individuals may experience weight loss, develop a cough, and experience diarrhea. The more serious symptoms usually appear after 10 years of being infected. When looking at the later stages of HIV, patients will experience headaches that are persistent, lymph nodes that are swollen for more than 3 months, fever and chills for multiple weeks, night sweats, diarrhea that doesn’t go away, and rare infections
Herpes
Herpes is fom a virus called herpes simplex. It enters the body through the skin, or through mucous membranes that have small breaks in them. This infection can still be contagious even without visible symptoms, which often present as visible sores.
Genital herpes will show as open sores, red bumps, or blisters, and can be found in the anal or genital area. The neighboring areas like the thighs or butocks will present with some pain or itching. The initial infection will present with the worst symptoms, with lessening symptoms in any repeat occuronces. Herpes reoccurs chronically many times for some.
Initial symptoms to watch out for are muscle aches, lymph nodes in the genital area that are swollen, headaches, and fever. There may also be pain when urinating, and neighboring areas will appear tender and painful.
Hepatitis
There are various forms of hepatitis (A, B, and C). It infects the liver. Some signs and symptoms to watch out for are: dark urine, itching, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle/joint pain, abdominal pain, yellowing of the eyes or skin, and fever.
Human papillomavirus/genital warts
The usual signs and symptoms noticed with this type of infection are: itching in the genitals, swelling in the genitals that is gray or meat-coloured; during intercouse individuals may bleed; and there may be a cauliflower type occurrence of multiple warts in one area. HPV may also put patients at a higher risk of getting cervical cancer, so patients are advised to consult with their doctor about this risk.
Syphilis
Syphilis is a bacterial infection. It can appear as a painless sore in the rectum, tongue/lips, or genitals. As the infection gets more serious there will be symptoms such as fever, soreness, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and red spots across the body. It can sometimes show no symptoms, but will still show up in a blood test.
Syphilis shows in 3 different stages, and can involve many parts of the body such as the heart or brain. In the later stages of syphilis, it can cause organ damage and death. Some signs of this is numbness, blindness, dementia, lack of coordination, and paralysis. Pregnant individuals can also spread a syphilis infection to their baby, which is life-threatening.
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