Sexual Health

Chlamydia (klah MIH dee ah) is an infection caused by a kind of bacteria that is passed during sexual contact, or during birth from mother to baby. It is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the United States. About three million American women and men become infected with chlamydia every year. It is especially common among women and men under 25.  Chlamydia can infect the penis, vagina, cervix, anus, urethra, eye, or throat.

Most people who have chlamydia don’t know it since the disease often has no symptoms.

• Chlamydia is the most commonly reported STD in the United States.
• Sexually active females 25 years old and younger need testing every year.
• Chlamydia can impact a woman’s ability to have children if left untreated.

Gonorrhea (gon-o-RHEE-a) is an infection caused by a kind of bacteria that is passed during sexual contact. It can infect the penis, vagina, cervix, anus, or throat. Sometimes it is called "the clap" or "the drip."  It can also be passed from mother to baby during childbirth.

• This disease can impact a woman’s ability to have children if left untreated.
• Gonorrhea can be a serious health risk if it is not treated. It infects more than 800,000 women and men in the United States every year.

Genital herpes is a common STD, and infects more than 1 in 6 people between ages 14 and 49. Most people with genital herpes infection do not know they have it and have no symptoms.

• The most common herpes symptom is a cluster of blistery sores — usually on the vagina, vulva, cervix, penis, buttocks, anus or mouth. You can get genital herpes even if your partner shows no signs of the infection.
• If you have any symptoms (like a sore on your genitals, especially one that periodically recurs) laboratory tests can help determine if you have genital herpes.
• There is no cure for herpes, but treatment is available to reduce symptoms and decrease the risk of transmission to a partner.

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and it means that your body’s white cells (CD4+ cells) have been reduced so much that your body is no longer able to fight off diseases by itself.

• HIV is the infection that causes AIDS.
• HIV has few or no symptoms for up to 10 years or more before symptoms of AIDS develop.
• You are more at risk for contracting HIV if you have another sexually transmitted infection.
• There is no cure for HIV/AIDS, but treatment is available.
• HIV is located in blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk of those infected and can be spread between sexual partners during sexual contact or from mom to baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. 
• HIV infects your immune system, reducing your immune system cell count to such an extent that your body can’t fight off common illnesses.
• There’s medication used to slow down the process of AIDS but it has no cure.

HPV stands for “human papillomavirus”, a virus that causes an STD.  It is spread by skin to skin contact, or vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected person. This virus can cause genital warts and cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, or throat, .

• Usually those infected with HPV will show no symptoms and therefore most who have HPV don’t know it.
• Genital HPV can cause genital warts- precancerous/cancerous cells on the genital areas.
• There is no drug to cure HPV infection but there are treatments available to manage the problems caused by HPV.

Trichomoniasis or “trich” is the most common and curable STD in the US and is caused by a parasite called Trichomonas vaginalis.  Most people with this infection will have no symptoms and do not know they are infected. 

• Trichomoniasis is most commonly spread through vaginal sex, and most commonly infects the vagina or penis.  Less commonly, it can infect other body parts like the mouth, hands, and anus. 
• This STD in pregnant women can cause babies to be born too early and to have low birth weights. 
• Trichomoniasis can increase your risk of getting other STDs, like HIV.

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are liver infections caused by viruses that can be passed from person to person by contact with blood, semen, or another body fluid during sexual contact, while sharing needles, or from mother to baby during birth.

• There STDs can become a chronic and serious liver infection, leading to liver disease or liver cancer.

Syphilis (SIFF-I-lis) is a sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria that are passed through sexual contact. It can infect the vagina, anus,urethra, or penis, as well as the lips and mouth.  

This STD can also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy, causing the baby to be born too early, have a low birth weight, be born dead.  Babies born with syphilis who are not treated immediately can develop deafness, cataracts, seizures, or die shortly after birth. 

Syphilis can be a serious health risk if it is not treated. About 36,000 American women and men become infected with syphilis every year.

• Syphilis is easy to cure in its early stages, but if left untreated can cause damage to the brain and nervous system and even death. 
• Signs and symptoms of syphilis include a firm, round, small, and painless sore on the genitals, anus, or mouth, or a rash on the body, especially on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet