The reality is that most people with an STI won’t have sores, discharge, or any other symptoms worth noting. Because of this, the only way to know for sure if you have an STI is to get tested.
Still, it is natural for people to wonder whether a lump, bump, or sore could be an STI. The following photos are intended to provide you some idea of what to look for. They are not meant to diagnose your condition or serve as a substitute for proper medical care.
Oral herpes can be easily transmitted through kissing. They can also be passed to a partner’s genitals during oral sex.
Not everyone who has HSV-2 will develop symptoms. Those who never develop symptoms or only have mild symptoms (such as tenderness and unbroken bumps) may unknowingly infect others.
Suppressive therapy not only shortens outbreaks in people with recurrent outbreaks, but it also makes transmitting the virus to a partner far less likely.
In the end, there is no way to know whether a person has herpes unless they’ve been tested. In fact, a great many people infected with HSV-2 will only realize they have the virus when a partner is diagnosed.
The anal lesions pictured are extreme but provide you some sense of what genital warts look like. Generally speaking, the warts are whitish or skin-colored and have an irregular surface, much like cauliflower. They can be big or small and occur in clusters or as a single wart.
Genital warts can develop on the vulva, vagina, cervix, penis, scrotum, or anus. They are sometimes itchy, but most of the time they don’t hurt.
Sadly, there is no way to tell if someone has been infected with HPV by looking at them. Testing is invariably required. Moreover, there is no commercial test to diagnose HPV in men. For this reason, you should always practice safer sex to help reduce your chance of infection.
Men with gonorrhea are more likely to experience discharge than those with chlamydia. With gonorrhea, the discharge can often be profuse. In some cases, the discharge may only be noticed by yellow stains in your underwear or by a glazed, dry film around the opening of the penis.
Other symptoms may include pain and swelling around the testicles and a greater frequency and urgency of urination. If the infection occurs in the throat, a sore, scratchy throat may develop.
Vaginal itching or irritationBleeding between periodsPain during sex and/or bleeding after sexPainful urinationA foul-smelling gray or which dischargeA feeling of pressure in the pelvis
Because STIs are often internalized in women, they are frequently missed or misdiagnosed.
Syphilis chancres are reasonably easy to spot on the external genitals and will usually heal on their own in three to six weeks. This does not mean the underlying infection has disappeared.
If left untreated, a syphilis infection can persist for years. After the secondary phase of infection (characterized by fatigue, flu-like symptoms, and, occasionally wart-like growths around the genitals), the disease will go into a period of latency, only to emerge years later as tertiary syphilis, the most severe form of the disease.
Pubic lice are not the same thing as head lice. They are almost always spread through intimate contact and are far less likely to be transmitted through shared clothing or sheets.
Infestations are characterized by itching and the appearance of crab-like insects in pubic hair. You should also be able to see white oval eggs attached to hair shafts.
Pubic lice are usually found in the genital area but can be spread to other coarse body hair. They are not usually found on the head. Treatment includes a lice-killing lotion containing 1% permethrin or a mousse containing pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide.
Scabies symptoms commonly develop in areas such as between the fingers, on the wrists and ankles, and in the genital area.
Scabies can also be spread through casual contact with clothing, towels, and bedsheets.
Treatment typically involves topical medications such as Elimite (permethrin), Eurax (crotamiton), Lindane (gammaxene), or Stromectol (ivermectin).
Symptoms usually develop within four to 10 days of exposure. The rash will begin as a tender, elevated bump filled with pus. The bump can erupt into an ulcerative sore similar to a chancre, albeit with ragged rather than smooth edges. Unlike syphilis, the sores will be painful.
Chancroid can usually be cured with a single oral dose of azithromycin or a single intramuscular injection of ceftriaxone.
Swelling of the inguinal nodes (known as inguinal lymphadenopathy) is a common symptom of chancroid and often the only sign of the infection. Although lymph node ruptures are rare, they may develop if symptoms are ignored and left untreated.
