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Alert: Some pages within our web site contain HIV prevention
messages that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Since
HIV infection is spread primarily through sexual practices
or by sharing needles, prevention messages and programs may
address these topics. If you are not seeking such information
or feel you may be offended, please exit this page. |
Sexually
Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
What
is an STD?
A Sexually Transmitted Disease spreads during oral, vaginal or
anal sex, or during contact with one of the following fluids from
an infected person: blood, semen, vaginal fluid or breast milk.
Some examples of STDs include chlamydia, HPV, gonorrhea, syphilis,
herpes and HIV.
STD
Fact Sheets
Chlamydia
Gonorrhea
Genital Herpes
Genital Warts
Learn about the HPV vaccine.
Hepatitis B
Syphilis
Trichomoniasis
If your partner is infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD), you are at risk of being infected, too. Read our STD Risk Chart - for mature audiences only -
How
Can I Keep from Getting STDs?
- Avoid
exposure. Don't have sex.
- Sex
partners. Only have sex with one person, who only has
sex with you. Know your partner well enough to trust
him or her to tell you about any STD they may have.
- Use
a condom. Carry the condoms with you, so there will be
no reason to have sex without them. Learn how to use
them correctly. Even if a woman is using the birth control
pill, she and her partner must still use a condom to protect
themselves from infection.
- Look
for signs on your partner and on yourself. If you see
a sore, rash or discharge on the sex organ, talk about
it with your partner and a health professional.
- Get
regular checkups. Ask your doctor or clinic to do tests
for gonorrhea and chlamydia, even if you don't have
symptoms.
- Don't
mix sex with alcohol or drugs. When you are drunk or stoned
it is hard to avoid unsafe sexual partners, or to use
a condom.
To
ask about HIV or STD testing, contact
our disease prevention specialist.
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