11 articles
Disclosure, partners, stigma and the awkward conversations.
The hardest part of an STI is often the conversation, not the infection. How do you tell a partner, disclose a positive result, or handle the stigma without it derailing your dating life? These guides give you the scripts, the timing, and realistic expectations for the human side of sexual health.
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Yes - if you've had sex with a new partner, getting tested is the only reliable way to know your status before you change anything, like stopping condoms. Many STIs cause no symptoms, so how you feel
Read the guideIf you've cheated or been cheated on and feel fine, you can - and should - still get tested. Many STIs cause no symptoms, so how you feel tells you nothing about your status.
After treatment for nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), wait until both you and any partners have finished the full course of antibiotics and have no symptoms before having sex again.
Your partner doesn't get treated for PID itself - PID isn't transmitted from person to person. What can pass between partners are the infections that cause it, usually chlamydia and gonorrhea.
To tell a new partner you have an STD, pick a calm, private moment before things get physical, lead with your own plan ('I get tested between partners and I use condoms'), and state your status simply and factually.
STI stigma is the shame, judgment, and fear that gets attached to having or talking about a sexually transmitted infection.
Reducing and stopping HIV stigma starts with two facts: HIV is a manageable, lifelong condition, and someone on treatment with an undetectable viral load cannot pass it on to sex partners.
Dating with an STI comes down to four steps: get your own facts and treatment sorted, decide when and how to tell a new partner, agree on protection together, and test together before you change anything.
Disclosure of HIV status means telling someone - a sex partner, a healthcare provider, family, or an employer - that you live with HIV. In the US there's no single federal law requiring it.
Sharing your STD status with a partner comes down to four things: get your own facts straight first, pick a calm and private moment before intimacy, lead with a simple honest script that frames it as.
Risky sexual behavior is defined as any sexual activity that puts one both sexual partners at risk for unwanted pregnancy, HIV, sexually transmitted infections or sexual assault.