If you’ve had unprotected sexual contact with another person, STD symptoms can come and go over time, but that doesn’t mean the STD is gone, but you should still see a doctor if you notice anything that feels off.
If you’re sexually active, especially with multiple partners or in risky types of sex and notice any signs of an STD, you should talk to a doctor about getting tested. Getting tested is crucial because there’s a high chance you can have a STD without knowing it. In many cases, there aren’t any symptoms. In fact, that’s why many experts prefer the term sexually transmitted infections (STIs), because you can have an infection without disease symptoms and in fact it’s common for STD symptoms to be so mild that they don’t bother you.
All of these symptoms can be caused by things that aren’t STDs (like pimples, UTIs, or yeast infections). So getting tested is the only way to know for sure what’s going on.
But what types of STI testing do you need? And how often should you be screened? The answers depend on your age, your sexual behaviour and other risk factors.
It’s really important to get tested if you think you have an STD, because some STDs can cause serious health problems if you don’t treat them. Also, having an STD makes you more likely to get other STDs, like HIV. And it’s best to find out right away if you have an STD, so you can avoid giving it to other people.
The idea of getting tested may seem scary, but it’s better to be tested and eliminate all doubt. Most common STDs can be easily cured with medicine. And STDs that can’t be cured often have treatments to help you with symptoms and to lower your chances of giving the STD to anyone else. So the sooner you know you have an STD, the faster you can start taking care of yourself and your partner(s).
You can’t tell if you have an STD just by the way you look or feel — most of the time, people with STDs don’t have any symptoms. So the only way to know for sure if you (or your partner) have an STD is to get tested.
