The CDC recommends everyone between 13 and 64 should get tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at least once in their lifetime. If you've had unprotected sex with a new or multiple partners, pregnant women, intravenous drug users, are being treated for a STD, have tuberculosis, or hepatitis, are also reasons to get screened and tested. Read more: When Should I Test for HIV? Article
Multimedia: Slideshows, Images & Quizzes
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12 Preventable STDs: Pictures, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia and genital herpes are common STDs. Think you might have an STD? You’re not alone....
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Genital Herpes: Causes, Treatment, and Prevention
What's going on down there? WebMD shows you pictures of genital herpes symptoms and treatments -- and how to avoid getting the...
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A Timeline of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic
Get a historical overview of the HIV/AIDS pandemic from human contraction to the present through this slideshow of pictures.
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What Are HIV & AIDS? Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Learn about HIV symptoms, HIV test, HIV...
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HIV & AIDS Quiz: HIV Testing & Symptoms
Now, more than ever, you should know about HIV/AIDS, especially its causes, symptoms treatments, and complications. Take the...
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Genital Herpes Quiz: What is Genital Herpes?
What is genital herpes? Learn the causes, symptoms in men and women, and treatments for this common sexually transmitted skin...
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A Timeline of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic See SlideshowRelated Disease Conditions
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STDs in Men
Symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in men include painful urination, bumps or sores on the penis, and penile discharge and itching. Learn about the most common STDs in men.
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HIV Early Signs and Stages
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) weakens your immune system. Some people with HIV don’t have any symptoms, but those that do may experience mononucleosis-like or flu-like symptoms. There are 3 stages of HIV.
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Should I Be Worried About Pregnancy if I Used a Condom?
Condoms are a popular method of birth control. If used correctly, there's about a 2 percent risk of becoming pregnant while using a condom, but it's a good idea to use another method of birth control along with it. Condoms are probably the most effective means for preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as long as they are used correctly during sex.
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in women include gonorrhea, chlamydia, genital herpes, and HPV infection (genital warts). Learn about types, symptoms, and treatment.
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What Are the Top 10 STDs?
According to the American Social Health Organization, each year one out of four teens in the United States develops a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Half of all sexually active young adults get an STD by the age of 25 years.
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Is Chlamydia Contagious?
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is contagious. Chlaymida is spread through sexual contact. (You cannot get chlamyidia from kissing or sharing utensils or drinks.) Chlamydia is the most common STD in the U.S. The incubation period for chlamydia ranges from days to months, and the contagious period ends seven days after patients begin treatment. Chlamydia signs and symptoms may include painful urination, rectal irritation (proctitis), eye infections, and infertility. Women can also develop chronic pelvic pain, salpingitis, and endometritis.
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How Long Does It Take for Gonorrhea To Show up in Males?
What is gonorrhea and how do you know if you have it? Learn the signs of gonorrhea and what to do if you're dating someone who has it.
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Chlamydia
Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. Signs and symptoms of chlamydia, a bacterial infection, include vaginal discharge, abdominal pain, burning with urination, blood in the urine, and feelings of urinary urgency and frequency. Untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. Chlamydia is diagnosed with a culture or by identification of the genetic material of the bacteria. Treatment of chlamydia consists of a course of antibiotics.
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Can I Get Any STDs Through Clothing?
Most sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) cannot be transmitted through clothing. Some such as pubic lice, scabies and molluscum contagiosum can be transmitted by sharing clothes with an infected person.
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How Long Does it Take for Gonorrhea to Show Up in Females?
What is gonorrhea and what are the symptoms of it? Learn the signs of gonorrhea and what to do if you have it.
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What Does Herpes Look Like? Types and Treatment
Herpes is a skin infection caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). It results in the formation of painful blisters or sores on the skin, typically around the mouth or genitals.
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Can I Get HIV From Surfaces?
Studies proved that HIV cannot be transmitted through surfaces such as toilet seats, chairs, doorknobs, drinking glasses and bedsheets. The virus cannot survive outside a human host; hence, transmission through air, water (swimming pools), insect bite or casual contacts such as handshake, hug or touch is not possible.
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Can I Get STDs Through Casual Contact Like Hugging or Touching?
Most sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or sexually transmitted infections (STIs) do not spread through casual contact such as hugging, touching or kissing, although there are exceptions.
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STDs: Common Symptoms
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that are transmitted during vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Symptoms may include genital sores, unusual discharge, pain during sex or urination, and itching or discomfort.
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Genital Herpes and Cold Sores: 10 Myths and Facts
Genital herpes and cold sores (oral herpes) are the names given to two types of infection caused by the two types of herpes simplex virus (HSV): HSV-1 and HSV-2.
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How Long Does It Take to Show Signs of Chlamydia?
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacteria chlamydia trachomatis. You can get it on your penis, vagina, anus, or in your throat. In rare cases, chlamydia can also infect the eyes.
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How Bad Does It Hurt to Pee With Chlamydia?
Chlamydia is a common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and can be a cause painful urination.
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5 Things You Should Know About Herpes
Most people who have genital herpes have no symptoms or have very mild symptoms. Patients may not notice mild symptoms or may mistake them for another skin condition, such as a pimple or ingrown hair.
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Does HIV Have a Permanent Cure?
As of now, there is no permanent HIV cure, but antiretroviral treatment can effectively control HIV.
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HIV vs. AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus causes HIV infection. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a condition that results after HIV has extensively damaged a person's immune system. Risk factors for HIV and AIDS include use of contaminated needles or syringes, unprotected sex, STDs, receiving a blood transfusion prior to 1985 in the United States, having many sex partners, and transmission from a mother to her child.
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HIV/AIDS Testing: Diagnosis and Monitoring
HIV/AIDS diagnosis and monitoring have come a long way from the days when a diagnosis was a death sentence. Crucial parts of the effective treatment regimens developed in the last 40 years are consistent monitoring of the viral load (the amount of virus in the blood), and the immune cell count, which function as biological markers of the disease’s progression. Doctors also must test for drug resistance.
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HIV/AIDS Facts: What Is HIV?
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the precursor infection to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV is transmitted through blood and genital secretions; most people get it through sexual contact or sharing needles for illegal IV drug use. HIV can be controlled by a strict drug regimen, but left unchecked, it leads to AIDS. In AIDS, the immune system collapses and the body falls prey to secondary, opportunistic infections and cancers that typically kill the person.
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HIV/AIDS Infection Transmission and Prevention
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is spread through contact with genital fluids or blood of an infected person. The spread of HIV can occur when these secretions come in contact with tissues such as those lining the vagina, anal area, mouth, eyes (the mucus membranes), or with a break in the skin, such as from a cut or puncture by a needle.
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Can I Get HIV From Casual Contact Like Hugging or Touching?
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cannot spread through casual contact such as hugging or touching. HIV does not spread through urine, saliva, tears, sweat, kissing (closed mouth or social kissing), shaking hands, sharing utensils, sharing food or drinks, sharing clothes, or from toilet seats. HIV is spread through bodily fluids from a person with HIV.
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Eight Myths About Chlamydia
So much wrong information about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) gets passed around that it’s no surprise the diseases do too.
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What Are the Symptoms and Signs of Herpes?
Herpes is a type of infection caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). It causes sores or blisters to form in or around the mouth or genitals.
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Pregnancy (STDs)
When you are pregnant, many sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be especially harmful to you and your baby. These STDs include herpes, HIV/AIDS, genital warts (HPV), hepatitis B, chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. Symptoms include bumps, sores, warts, swelling, itching, or redness in the genital region. Treatment of STDs while pregnant depends on how far along you are in the pregnancy and the progression of the infection.
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Should I Take PrEP for HIV?
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a course of prescribed medications that people who are at risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may take to prevent infection. This medication is administered to individuals who have tested negative for HIV but are at a high risk of HIV infection.
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Is HIV PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) Recommended for Me?
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) refers to a short course of antiretroviral medications taken soon after a possible exposure to HIV to prevent the virus from infecting your body.
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How Serious Is Chlamydia?
Untreated chlamydia disease, however, can cause serious health problems with both short- and long-term complications.
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What Are the First Signs of HIV?
Initial signs and symptoms of HIV generally appear within two to four weeks of infection. Fever, body aches, muscle aches, chills, sore throat, headache, rash, night sweats, fatigue, mouth ulcers, and swollen lymph nodes (glands) are possible first signs and symptoms.
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What Are STDs?
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are diseases that a person can get by having sex with someone who has an STD.
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What Is the Difference Between HIV and AIDS?
HIV is a virus that causes immunosuppression. The difference between HIV and AIDS is that HIV is the first stage of the viral illness while AIDS represents the progression of the illness.
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What Comes First HIV or AIDS?
HIV is an infectious that suppresses the immune system. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the most severe stage of the infection caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
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