A handful of sexually transmitted infections raise cancer risk, almost always by setting up a long, often silent infection that damages cells over years. The main culprits are HPV (cervical, anal, thr
Several STIs can start as a flu-like illness — fever, fatigue, aches, sore throat, and swollen glands. The main culprits are acute HIV, secondary syphilis, and hepatitis B and C. But ordinary colds an
Abnormal genital discharge is most often caused by a handful of treatable infections: chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis among the STIs, plus bacterial vaginosis (BV) and yeast infections, which
Bacterial vaginosis and a yeast infection both cause itching and discharge, but they're different conditions. BV is a bacterial imbalance and usually brings a thin gray discharge with a fishy odor and
Recurrent yeast infections mean four or more symptomatic episodes of vulvovaginal candidiasis in a year. They usually aren't a treatment failure or a sign you caught something — they happen because Ca
Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen) shows up differently by sex: in men it usually causes urethritis — discharge and burning with urination that tends to linger or come back — while in women it more often ca
Night sweats can be one of the earliest signs of HIV, often showing up alongside fever and other flu-like symptoms within two to four weeks of infection. But sweating at night is common and non-specif
The HPV vaccine for boys is Gardasil 9, a safe shot that prevents future infection with the HPV types behind most genital warts and several cancers — including throat cancer, which now outranks cervic
PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is medicine that HIV-negative people take before possible exposure to keep HIV from taking hold. It comes as a daily pill or a long-acting shot. Taken as prescribed, it
Most sexually active adults should screen for STIs at least once a year, and every 3 to 6 months if you have new or multiple partners, condomless sex, or share injection equipment. Test based on your
If you're staring at a new bump trying to decide herpes vs pimple, here's the quick read: a pimple is usually a single, pop-able whitehead that clears in a few days, while genital herpes tends to show
A hepatitis C test starts with an antibody test that checks whether your body has ever encountered the virus. If that's positive, the lab automatically runs an HCV RNA (viral) test to confirm whether
Hepatitis A spreads by the fecal-oral route, meaning tiny traces of stool from an infected person reach another person's mouth. That happens through contaminated food or water and through sex — especi
A painless sore or bump in the genital, anal, or oral area is most often the chancre of syphilis — a single firm, round, painless ulcer that appears about three weeks after exposure and heals on its o
Early pregnancy STD testing is a standard part of your first prenatal visit. Everyone who is pregnant is screened for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B, because treating these infections during pregnancy
A full STD panel typically tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis using a urine sample, a self-collected swab, and a blood draw. What "full" usually skips: herpes
If you've had unprotected sex and might've been exposed to HIV, the most time-critical step is PEP — HIV medicine that can stop the virus from taking hold, but only if you start it within 72 hours. Tr
Doxy-PEP (doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis) is a single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline taken after condomless sex to lower the risk of certain bacterial STIs. The standard dose is 200 mg take
The best lube for condoms is water-based or silicone-based — both are safe with latex and won't weaken it. Skip anything oil-based, like baby oil, lotion, petroleum jelly, or cooking oil, because oils
Cold sores and genital herpes are the same family of virus — herpes simplex — just in different places. Cold sores are usually HSV-1 on the mouth; genital herpes is HSV-2 or, increasingly, HSV-1 on th
Chancroid is treated with antibiotics, and there are four options: a single oral dose of azithromycin, a single ceftriaxone injection, a short course of ciprofloxacin pills, or a week of erythromycin.
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) happens when the vagina's normal protective bacteria — mostly Lactobacillus species — get crowded out by an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria. It isn't a classic sexually trans
Most people on PrEP feel fine. The classic side effects are mild and short-lived: nausea, headache, stomach upset, or fatigue in the first few weeks as your body adjusts — usually fading on their own.
Pelvic or lower-abdominal pain in women most often traces to one of three things: pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a sexually transmitted infection of the upper reproductive organs; a urinary tract