Can You Know If Your Partner Has STD?

Talk of getting STD through unprotected sex and many people think, “it won’t happen to me.” Worse, they assume that they would know if their partner has an STI. Alas, assumptions don’t work here. Love, in this case, is actually blind. Even doctors have been, so far, unable to establish signs and symptoms that clearly indicate STD.

According to doctors, getting tested is the only way to ascertain whether you have STD or not. In certain cases, single test is not enough. You may have to get yourselves retested to make 100 per cent sure.

However, times of intimacy don’t always allow partners telling each other, “go, get yourselves tested.”

So, while you are exploring your bodies to make love, explore for obvious signs of STDs first. If you find even the slightest, run!

Things to watch out for before making love

• Bumps, blisters, pimples, warts, or sores on your partner’s genitals or mouth: Molluscum contagiosum can cause flesh-toned spots, HPV can cause genital warts, while HSV-1, also called oral herpes, and HSV-2, also called genital herpes, can cause lesions in the respective areas. Do not ignore them.
• Scabs on or near genital area: They indicate that there was a bump before and has begun to heal. You could wait till they are healed completely or ask your partner to get tested.
• Throat infection, sore throat, redness, pus pockets, or sores in mouth, difficulty in swallowing, loss of voice, and throat fungus: This may indicate HPV or Chlamydia. Syphilis causes white or gray lesions, big in size. Gonorrhea can cause throat glands to swell. Throat fungus is a sign of HIV. Do you still want to have sex with this person?
• Chronic flu-like symptoms, fatigue, chills, fever, nausea, swollen joints: This could be the onset of HIV, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and syphilis. If this is not STI, the person will get well after some time; so your love can wait.
• Rash on soles or palms: This could be syphilis in its second stage. It causes brown or red rash, which is non-itchy. Beware!
• Pink eye or conjunctivitis: This could be the result of herpes, Chlamydia, or gonorrhea. Don’t look deep into their eyes; just run!
• Meningitis or encephalitis: Mollaret’s meningitis or lymphocytic meningitis is caused when protective membranes of the spinal cord and the brain swell. This can be caused by virus Herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1), which causes oral herpes. Avoiding sex with such a person is the best thing you could do to yourselves.

It is better to be more alert for STDs when having sex with nurses, physicians, first responders, EMTs, hospital staff, gynecologists, obstetricians, aid workers or missionaries, and janitorial staff, who come in contact with contaminated water or bodily waste every day. All these are high-risk job doers. They come in contact with all kinds of viruses, bacteria, and other microbes on a daily basis.

It is smarter to avoid being physically intimate with sex workers.

Again, it is important to mention that you cannot be 100 per cent sure whether the person has STD unless he or she undergoes a test. The above are simply warning signs to stay away from sexual contact with a person showing doubts of illnesses. 

Is it a mere bump? Is it a dangerous STD?

A bump on the penis may not always be an STD. It can be the result of ingrown hair. Burning sensation during urination does not always indicate an STI. It could be a urinary tract infection (UTI). Again, itching in the vagina could be a result of allergy from some bath soap or body wash. Even vaginal discharges may vary depending on the person’s health.

There are times when “innocent-like” symptoms like rash in the armpit or sore throat could be the onset of an STI.

In other words, it is wise to have sex with somebody who is healthy, with clear skin and no bumps or rash on skin. Any doubtful situation “down there” should make you deter sex with the person.

Do not be embarrassed to ask your partner about the symptom. If he or she feels bad about being asked and dumps you, well, then it was not love in the first place, right? In matters of sexual health, be sensible. Do not let the other person talk you into having sex by saying, “it’s just a little bump I got due to my hormones.” Hormones don’t do such things; STDs do.