Whether it’s your first time or if you have been having sex regularly for a while, knowing what to look for and how to protect yourself from a STD can be overlooked. Eish, but what is an STD? What do they look like? And how do I catch it?

Getting confused is easy when trying to figure out all this talk about STDs and STIs, protecting yourself and getting checked. Let’s hold up and take a step back to basics. First, what is an STD or STI? A STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and a STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) are kinda the same but not really. Let me break it down for you choma: 

• STI: An STI refers to an “infection”. Typically an infection won’t present symptoms, and most STIs are grouped as viral, bacterial or fungal infections such as genital herpes, yeast infections and pubic lice. A STI won’t always present any symptoms or develop into a disease.
• STD: An STD is in reference to a disease. When you get a STD it will carry many symptoms and most likely make you feel sick. These are transmitted sexually or by bodily fluids. With STDs, knowing the symptoms and what to look for is first things first, but prevention is better than cure. Use that protection chomas and make sure you have regular checkups at your local clinic to make sure you’re in the clear. Regular visits and the regular use of a condom can protect you from catching the nasties, so as soon as you start hooking up – wrap it up. The pill, injections or other forms of contraceptives other than the male or female condom will only help keep pregnancy away but won’t protect you from HIV. Be smart and in charge of your health.

Eish, but let’s just say things don’t always go according to plan and you had unprotected sex, what do you look for? What are the signs that you might have a STD? The best option would be to go see a doctor to get things checked out.

These are SOME things you could check for: 

• Check for any signs of a skin rash. 
• Do you have any unusual vaginal discharge? 
• Are you losing weight but you ain’t on that diet? 
• Struggling to sleep or night sweats. 
• Look for unusual bumps like sores or warts near your goods or mouth. 
• Itching, swelling or redness near your genitals.
• Experiencing pain during or after having sex.

Picking up on any of these symptoms means you need to visit a doctor asap. Learning more about different STDs and what their symptoms and preventions are can help you live a healthy life. So ladies let’s be smart and be in charge of our bodies.