| STD |
Symptoms |
Damage |
Numbers |
| Chlamydia |
For women: Usually none. May experience vaginal discharge, burning with urination, lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse & bleeding between menstrual periods.
For men: Usually none. May experience discharge from the penis, burning with urination, burning or itching around the opening to the penis or pain & swelling of the testicles. burning or itching around the opening to the penis or pain & swelling of the testicles. |
In women: Considered to be the most common cause of sterility. Advanced stages may require removal of uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. May cause chronic pelvic pain and/or fatal ectopic pregnancies.
* If left untreated in women, Chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) - see below.
In men: Urethral infection and/or sterility |
3 million new cases reported annually.
3/4 of women and 1/2 of men infected may be have no symptoms and therefore not seek help until it has caused major damage.
By age 30, 50% of sexually active women have evidence that they have had Chlamydia at some time during their lives.
1 in 10 adolescent girls tested is infected. |
| Gonorrhea |
For women: Yellow or bloody vaginal discharge. Burning with urination.
For men: Yellowish white discharged from penis. Burning with urination. Swollen or painful testicles |
In women: Sterility. May require surgery in severe cases. Can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) - see below.
In men: Sterility. Scarring of urethra and urinary tract problems. |
650,000 people are infected annually.
75% of all reported gonorrhea is found in persons aged 15- 29 years.
Highest rates of infection are found in 15-19 yr. old women and 20-24 yr. old men. |
| Syphilis |
For women: First stage includes swollen, non-painful sores (called chancres) where the infection entered the body. The ulcers may go unnoticed if they are inside her body. Second stage includes rash, fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and tiredness. Third stage includes loss of coordination, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, dementia, and possible death.
For men: First, second and third stages are the same as women. |
In women: Mental handicaps, heart disease, blindness, dementia and death. Can cause birth defects or death in infant if mother is infected.
In men: Same as women. |
35,600 new cases were reported in 1999, including 6,650 cases of primary & secondary syphilis.
In 1999, syphilis occurred primarily in persons aged 20- 39.
Reported rates of syphilis were 1.5 times greater in men than women in 1999.
The racial or ethnic distribution of syphilis in 1999 was: African Americans 78%, Whites 16%, Hispanics 8%, and others 1%. |
| HIV/AIDS |
For women: Fever, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph glands.
For men: Same as women. |
In women: Immune system breaks down. Death. May infect unborn children.
In men: Same as women. |
Approximately 800,000-900,000 people are infected with HIV (including people who have AIDS and those who do not yet know that they are infected). |
| Genital Herpes |
For women: Painful ulcers appear at site of infection. Periodic eruptions of these ulcers anywhere on the body. Pain during sex. Fever and swollen glands. Initial outbreak considered to be extremely painful.
For men: Same as women. |
In women: Continuous outbreaks. Lifelong treatment required. Causes potentially fatal infections in infants if mother is shedding virus at the time of delivery.
In men: Same as women. |
45 million currently infected.
20% of the sexually active population has this disease.
Genital Herpes is more common in women (approximately one out of four women) than in men (almost one out of five). |
HPV
Human Papilloma-Virus |
For women: Genital warts that sometimes form cauliflower shape. Many do not experience noticeable symptoms. May have vulvar itching and pain. Usually detected through abnormal Pap smears.
For men: Genital warts similar to those in women. |
In women: Requires painful and expensive treatment to remove pre-cancerous warts.
In men: Cancer of penis and anus. |
Approximately 20 million people are currently infected.
50-75% of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV at some point in their lives.
About 5.5 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year. 90% of cervical cancer cases began with HPV. |
| Hepatitis B |
For women: Often none. May Experience jaundice (skin turns yellow), fatigue, dark urine, gray-colored stools, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, And/or joint pain.
For men: Same as women. |
In women: Severe liver damage. May lead to cancer of liver and cirrhosis.
In men: Same as women. |
80,000 new infections were reported in 1999
The highest rate of disease occurs in 20-49 year olds.
Approximately 1.25 million chronically infected Americans. |
PID
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease |
For women: Lower abdominal pain that is often mistaken for menstrual cramps. Fever, unusual vaginal discharge, painful intercourse, painful urination & irregular menstrual bleeding.
For men: None. This disease only affects women but may be caused by infections carried by men. |
For women: Ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. Infertility. Cancer. Can be life-threatening.
For men: None. |
1 million new cases reported annually.
More than 100,000 women become infertile each year as a result of PID. About 1/5 of women with PID become infertile.
10-80% of women with either Chlamydia or gonorrhea develop PID as a result.
PID goes unrecognized by both women and their health care providers 2/3 of the time. |
