If you've just had unprotected sex and you're worried about HIV, the single most time-sensitive step is to ask a clinician about PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) — HIV medicine that can stop the virus
Antibiotics cure bacterial and parasitic STIs — chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis — by killing the organism outright. Antivirals can't cure viral STIs like herpes, HIV, hepatitis B, o
For uncomplicated genital chlamydia, current CDC guidance prefers doxycycline (100 mg twice daily for 7 days) over single-dose azithromycin (1 g). Both cure most infections, but doxycycline clears rec
STI testing can show up on your insurance — typically as an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) the policyholder receives. If that worries you, you have two clean ways around it: anonymous testing that reco
Free or low-cost STD testing is available at local health departments, Planned Parenthood, Title X family-planning clinics, and federally funded community health centers — and many offer testing at no
Hepatitis A, B, and C are three different liver viruses with different routes. Hepatitis A spreads mainly fecal-orally — including through oral-anal sexual contact — and clears completely. Hepatitis B
Hepatitis A is an acute viral liver infection that, when it causes symptoms at all, brings fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, jaundice, dark urine, and pale stools — usually starting 2 to 7 weeks after
Hepatitis B often causes no symptoms at all. When it does, acute illness can bring fatigue, fever, poor appetite, nausea, belly pain, joint pain, dark urine, pale stools, and yellowing of the skin or
Your hepatitis B panel is read by combining three markers: HBsAg (current infection), anti-HBs (immunity), and total anti-HBc (past or current exposure). HBsAg positive means active infection. Anti-HB
Hepatitis C usually causes no symptoms at all. When symptoms do show up, they're vague and easy to miss — fatigue, poor appetite, belly pain, or dark urine — and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and ey
PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. Taken consistently, it cuts the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% CDC, Talk PrEP Together and from injection drug use by at
Most STD test results come back within a day to a few days. A rapid HIV or syphilis test can be ready in minutes, while lab-run blood tests and NAAT urine or swab samples usually take a day or several
Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen) is treated with a resistance-guided, two-step antibiotic course that always starts with doxycycline. After the doxycycline lead-in, you take azithromycin if your strain is
To stop molluscum from spreading on your body, the single most important habit is to leave the bumps alone — don't scratch, pick, or shave over them, since that's how the virus seeds new lesions. Cove
Molluscum contagiosum bumps are small, firm, pearly papules about 2–5 mm across — white, pink, or skin-colored — and their giveaway feature is a tiny dimple in the center. They appear in clusters, can
Molluscum contagiosum isn't strictly an STD, but in adults it's often spread through sex — which is why it's frequently grouped with STIs. It's a benign skin infection caused by a poxvirus that passes
In December 2025, the FDA approved two new oral antibiotics for uncomplicated gonorrhea: zoliflodacin (Nuzolvence) and gepotidacin (Blujepa) FDA, Dec 2025. They're the first new antibiotic classes for
On-demand PrEP (2-1-1) is a way of taking oral PrEP pills around specific sex events instead of every day: two pills two to twenty-four hours before sex, one pill the next day, and one pill the day af
Truvada and Descovy are both once-daily PrEP pills that prevent HIV before exposure, and both are highly effective. The big practical difference: Truvada covers risk from sex or injection drug use, wh
The Twinrix vaccine protects against both hepatitis A and hepatitis B in one series of shots. It combines the standard hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines, given over a course of injections, so you b
Internal condoms — the kind worn inside the vagina or anus, sometimes called "female" condoms — give women a barrier method they control, without needing a partner to put anything on. Used every time
Two of the most common causes of an unusual vaginal discharge are a yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis (BV). The quick tell: yeast tends to bring thick, white, odorless discharge with itching, wh
For the widest panel, fastest results, and couples testing, choose myLAB Box — its 14-infection Total Box and 2–5 day turnaround lead the category. Pick Everlywell if you want to grab a kit off a phar
Nurx and Everlywell both ship lab-grade at-home STI kits, but they're built on opposite money models. Nurx is the only major kit that bills private insurance — dropping a panel to about $75 — and bund