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HIV/AIDS & Other STIs
Symptoms Reference
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)
The most prevalent cause of vaginal symptoms among women of childbearing age, BV, previously called nonspecific vaginitis, is characterized by a strong fishy odor and a gray, watery discharge.
Candidiasis
An infection due to candida yeast. The symptoms of oral candidiasis (thrush) and vaginal candidiasis (formerly called monilia) include pain, itching, redness and white patches in their respective sites.
Chancroid
A highly contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by the Hemophilus ducreyi bacterium. It appears as a pimple, chancre, sore or ulcer on the skin of the genitals. The lesion appears after an incubation period of three to five days and may facilitate the transmission of HIV.
Chlamydia
The fastest-spreading STI in the U.S., chlamydia infects as many as four million men and women each year.
As many as 85 percent of cases in women and 40 percent of cases in men are symptomless. If undetected and untreated, chlamydia can lead to serious complications in women.
When symptoms are present, they usually appear within one to three weeks after sex with an infected partner. Symptoms include abnormal genital discharge and burning during urination. Women may experience lower abdominal pain if PID develops as a result of the chlamydia infection. Men may suffer swelling or pain in the testicles.
Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)
A member of the herpesvirus family that causes mononucleosis.
Signs of mono include fever, sore throat, headaches, white patches on the back of your throat, swollen glands in your neck, feeling tired and not feeling hungry.
Genital warts
See Human PapillomaVirus
Gonorrhea
An estimated 1.1 million American men and women each year contract gonorrhea. Many people who are infected show no signs of the disease.
When symptoms are present, they usually appear two to five days after sex with an infected partner and include burning during urination and discharge from the penis or vagina. Gonorrhea symptoms can be so mild that they go unnoticed, particularly in women.
Hepatitis A
Can be acquired engaging in sexual practices involving anal contact. Often accompanied by jaundice, enlarged liver, fever, fatigue and nausea and high levels of liver enzymes in the blood.
Hepatitis B
The Hepatitis B virus is found in blood, semen, vaginal secretions and saliva. This highly contagious virus is spread through sexual contact, sharing contaminated drug needles, blood transfusions, and piercing the skin with contaminated instruments.
Many people with hepatitis B have no symptoms; others experience fever, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea.
Hepatitis C
Appears to be more common among heterosexuals and injection drug users than hepatitis B. Often accompanied by jaundice, enlarged liver, fever, fatigue and nausea and high levels of liver enzymes in the blood.
Herpes
An estimated 40 million Americans have genital herpes, with 500,000 new cases each year. As many as 90% of people who are infected do not know they have genital herpes, either because they have no symptoms or because their symptoms are so mild they go unnoticed.
Symptoms of the first infection can appear one to 26 days after exposure and last two to three weeks. Symptoms in the genital area include an itching or burning sensation, discharge and blisters or painful open sores. They are sometimes accompanied by flu-like symptoms such as swollen glands and fever. After the first infection, the virus can reactivate and cause new outbreaks of sores. The frequency and severity of recurrences vary from person to person. However, symptoms may also take weeks, months, or years to appear.
HIV/AIDS
(Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome)
It is estimated that 600,000 to 900,000 people in the U.S. are infected with HIV, the cause of AIDS.
Primary HIV Infection
The flu-like syndrome that occurs immediately after a person contracts HIV. This initial infection precedes seroconversion and is characterized by fever, sore throat, headache, skin rash and swollen glands.
HIV
HIV damages the cells in the immune system that fight off infections and diseases. As the virus gradually destroys these important cells, the immune system becomes less and less able to protect against illness. Certain life-threatening infections and cancers can then invade the body, causing serious illness and eventual death. However, HIV can live in an infected person's body for years before any signs of illness appear.
AIDS
The late stage of the illness triggered by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
HPV (Human PapillomaVirus)
Human papillomavirus is one of the most common STIs. An estimated 40 million Americans are infected with HPV, with 1 million new cases each year.
HPV is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 80 different types. Certain types of HPV cause warts on the hands or feet, while others can cause genital warts on the vulva, vagina, anus, cervix, penis or scrotum. These may be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large. Some cluster together; some can't be seen by the naked eye (subclinical infection). Often flesh-colored and painless, genital warts only rarely cause symptoms such as itching, pain or bleeding.
HPV and genital warts are usually spread by direct, skin-to-skin contact during sex.
Mononucleosis
See Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)
Syphilis
There are an estimated 120,000 new cases of syphilis in the U.S. each year.
Syphilis progresses in three stages, with the earliest symptoms appearing in 10 days to three weeks after sex with an infected partner. A painless sore (chancre) may appear on the genitals or in the vagina. Second-stage symptoms include a skin rash and flu-like symptoms. The infection remains even after these symptoms disappear.
Trichomoniasis
Trichomoniasis is one of the most common sexually STIs. Most men who are infected with Trichomonas vaginalis do not have symptoms, but others may have nongonococcal urethritis. Many infected women have a diffuse, malodorous, yellow-green discharge with vulvar irritation, but some have minimal or no symptoms.
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Still not conviced to use condoms?
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Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) |
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Candidiasis |
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Chancroid |
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Chlamydia |
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Genital warts |
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Gonorrhea |
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Hepatitis |
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Herpes |
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Mononucleosis |
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Syphilis |
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Signs and Symptoms
STIs often occur without symptoms, particularly in women. However, STIs may be accompanied by the following signs and symptoms:
- Itching
- Discharge
- Pustules (pus-containing blisters)
- Genital lesions including ulcers, blisters, rashes, and warts; ulcers may be painful
- Abdominal pain
- Rectal infection and inflammation of the rectum
- Fever
- Muscle pain
- Painful urination
- Swollen lymph glands in the groin
Any advice or information that you may receive through this website is not a substitute for personal medical care
All medical information, from this or any other source, needs to be reviewed carefully with your own doctor before you act upon it in any way. If you are sick, you have to go to the doctor. No exceptions.
Please review our entire disclaimer.
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