STDs, AIDS, and women

Women are more likely than men to get STDs because:

	Female anatomy is more vulnerable to STDs.
	Male condoms are the main prevention technology for STDs in the United States, apart from abstinence, and men control their use.

Although they can be without symptoms for period of time, women ultimately can suffer severe consequences from STDs:⁽¹⁾

	Chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease which in turn can cause infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain.  The infants of women with chlamydia can be infected during delivery.
	Gonorrhea, like chlamydia, is a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain.
	Syphilis can affect the nervous system, cause blindness, deafness, heart disease, insanity and result in the birth of a stillborn or crippled child.
	Chancroid causes genital sores and enlarged lymph nodes.
	Herpes, when dormant, causes no problems.  When active it causes painful blisters to form, mostly on the vulva and in the mouth.

Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and chancroid are all bacterial infections and, if diagnosed, can be cured.  Any consequences of disease, however, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, cannot be reversed.  

Herpes, a virus, cannot be cured, but it can be managed.  About one in five Americans 12 and over is infected with the genital herpes virus, up 30 percent from 15 years earlier.

Footnote

(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2000. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 1999. September.  See also PDR Family Guide to Women's Health and Prescription Drugs. 1994. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Data.  891 pages. 

For a list of other materials used on this website, see References.