STD

STD stands for sexually transmitted diseases. You might also find the alternative abbreviation STI used with the letter "I" representing infection. Whether doctors prefer to describe these as diseases or infections the name indicates that these are illnesses passed on during physical relations with an infected individual. STD covers a broad category of diseases of different degrees of severity. Some of them are referred to in ancient sources, with Syphilis and Gonorrhea probably the best-known examples. Using the services of a prostitute remains one of the most common scenarios in which these diseases are communicated today.

STD symptoms vary but usually include various discharges, bleeding and spotting in genital areas and on underclothes. The HIV has become the STD that evokes the greatest concerns today. It sometimes causes fevers and joint pains, or a red body rash but other infected individuals experience no symptoms, and the disease may linger in their body some years.