+ STI’s Child Development
+ Genital Herpes Symptoms: Some girls will notice itching and a breakout of small, red blisters and open sores—they're usually pretty painful—around their vagina, butt and inner thighs. Eventually, scabs form and the sores heal, but breakouts may occur every few months. Treatment: There is no cure for herpes, but there are prescription medications that can help clear up blisters and work to prevent additional outbreaks.
+ Chlamydia Symptoms: Most girls (about 80%) show no signs of being infected. But if symptoms do occur, it's usually some combo of these: Burning during urination, yellowish or greenish vaginal discharge, lower abdominal pain and discomfort during sex. Treatment: Chlamydia can be easily treated and cured with antibiotics for both you and your partner. If untreated, Chlamydia can cause permanent problems, like infertility.
+ Gonorrhea Symptoms: Many girls don't show signs of gonorrhea, either, but those who do notice symptoms usually have frequent or painful urination, vaginal itching, a green or yellow discharge from their vagina and/or painful sexual intercourse. Treatment: Like Chlamydia, gonorrhea can almost always be cured with antibiotics for both you and your partner. As with Chlamydia, if gonorrhea is not treated, you can develop permanent health problems.
+ HIV/AIDS Symptoms: It’s hard to spot HIV right away, since some people show no symptoms for years. And those who do get early symptoms usually develop a fever, headache and swollen glands that go away within a week or two and are easily mistaken for the flu. Treatment: AIDS can be fatal, and there is no cure for HIV. But there are combinations of drugs that can help strengthen the immune system and keep HIV from developing into AIDS.
+ HPV Symptoms: There are more than 100 strains of HPV, and it’s possible to be infected with more than one. Some cause itching with small pinkish warts or larger cauliflower-like lumps around your vagina, while others have no noticeable signs. Treatment: Genital warts can be removed by a doctor, but they may come back. The other symptomless strains of HPV may actually cause changes to your cervix that can lead to cancer, so it’s important to get Pap smears. That way, your doctor can check for any abnormal cells. The HPV vaccine protects against the strains that most commonly cause cervical cancer and genital warts.
+ Trichomoniasis Symptoms: In some girls, there are no symptoms. Others will have a yellow-green frothy discharge with a strong odor, itching in or around the vagina or pain during urination. Treatment: Trichomoniasis can usually be cured with single dose of prescription medication.
+ Syphilis Symptoms: Many girls don't have symptoms at first, but those who do first notice a painless sore at the site where the infection was transmitted—so on your vagina, anus, tongue or lips. The sore goes away without treatment, but the infection remains. A second stage of signs (a rash of penny- sized sores which can be anywhere on your body including your palms and soles, a fever, and aches and pains) may kick in several weeks later. Treatment: Syphilis, when left untreated, can spread to and damage other parts of your body, such as your heart and brain. A course of antibiotics can cure the infection, but it won't undo the damage that's already been done—that's why it's important to go to your doctor at the first sign of symptoms.
+ Did You Know? Latex condoms are the only form of birth control that reduce your risk of getting an STD. Spermicides, diaphragms, and other birth control methods may help prevent pregnancy, but they don't protect a person against STDs. If someone is going to have sex, the best way to reduce the chance of getting an STD is by using a condom.