At Instant Urgent Care, we want to make sure you are up-to-date on common public health knowledge. In this post, we’re talking about common STD facts related to women because of the discrepancies between men’s and women’s STD risks.

Below is a list of these unique STD facts and risks for women. If you are a young adult who believes they have an STD for any reason, please do not hesitate to get an updated STD screening:

In some cases, women are likely to have more STD risks than men in general. However the key risks for any adult to get an STD includes behaviors such as more frequent sexual activity with multiple partners, frequent drug use, and lack of protection during intercourse.

1. Women are less likely than men to have symptoms for some the most common STDs including gonorrhea and chlamydia: Which means that women are more likely to need an STD test to detect an infection early. For both women and women, symptoms can appear and go away even though a disease or infection still remains.
   
   
2. Women are more likely to confuse STD symptoms for something else than men are: This is because symptoms like discharge are more common in women than men. In addition, because STD symptoms are more apparent in men, women may be less likely to consider that an STD is present.
   
   
3. Women’s STD symptoms are not as detectable as men’s symptoms in general: Women may have sores or genital ulcers inside their vaginal canal that aren’t as easy to see whereas men can visibly notice these symptoms on their penis.
   
   
4. Women are more likely to visit their doctor or a medical professional than men are for STD reasons: Women usually use more time with their primary provider or a medical professional to ask about STDs than men. While STD testing is part of an annual checkup, it is important to ask about more frequent tests.
   
   
5. Women’s sexual anatomy puts them at a higher risk of STD/STI infection than men: A woman’s vagina is more likely to allow bacteria and viruses to penetrate it, which likely contributes to increased STD risks among women.
   
   
6. Untreated STDs can lead to serious implications for a woman’s future pregnancy plans: STDs can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease in women which causes infertility and other types of pregnancy complications.
   
   
7. STDs can be inherited by a woman’s child during pregnancy: STDs that are transmissible from a mother to her newborn include genital herpes, syphilis, and HIV/AIDs. Additionally, STDs in newborns can cause stillbirth, blindness, deafness, and brain damage.
   
   
8. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women: HPV is not nearly as dangerous for men who may have the virus. Most men with HPV don’t develop serious chronic conditions that women do.
   
   
9. Vaccinations can help protect women against HPV-related risks for cervical cancer: Most medical providers offer the HPV vaccination for women in order to protect them against the disease and cervical cancer risks.  
   
   
10. Prevention basics and abstinence are the best ways for both men and women to avoid STDs: For both men and women, the basic tools of STD prevention help both gender groups drastically decrease STD risk. These prevention strategies include using protection while having sex, getting routine screenings, and limiting the number of sexual partners they have. Ultimately, the most efficient way to prevent STDs is through abstinence and not partaking in sexual activity.