Health Alert: Common Female STDs and How They’re Treated

STD Cause

Cause

Symptoms

How is it diagnosed?

How is it treated?

other useful information

Chlamydia

Chlamydia trachomatis
bacteria

• vaginal discharge
• pelvic pain
• pain with intercourse

• sample of discharge is tested
• urine can be tested

antibiotic

Chlamydia and
gonorrhea usually
occur hand in hand
and if you have one,
the other infection is
also treated

Gonnorhea

Neisseria
gonorrhea
bacteria

• vaginal discharge
• pelvic pain
• pain with intercourse

• sample of discharge is tested
• urine can be tested

antibiotic

Trichomoniasis

Trichomonas
vaginalis
protozoa

• vaginal discharge
• (fishy odor)
• pain with intercourse

sample of
discharge is tested

antibiotic

Bacterial
vaginosis

Mixed bacteria

vaginal discharge

sample of
discharge is tested

antibiotic

This is actually not
an STD but can
sometimes cause
vaginal discharge that looks similar to one that’s an STD.

Genital herpes

Herpes
simplex virus
(HSV2 is
usually genital
and HSV1 is
usually oral)

genital ulcers

• blood test on physical exam
• a sample from the ulcer is tested

Antiviral medication is used to treat an outbreak, but does not eradicate the infection

Once you have herpes you always have it. You can also
transmit it even if
you have no visible lesions, so let your partner know.

Genital warts /
Condylomata
acuminata

Human
Papilloma virus
(HPV)

genital warts

on physical exam
(sometimes a
biopsy is done)

direct skin treatment to take off the warts

There are numerous
different strains of
HPV, the ones that cause genital warts
are not the ones
associated with
cervical cancer, but
you should still
routinely have PAP smears, anyway.