Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
The following is a description of a sexually transmitted disease followed by testing done at the Luther College Health Service. After reading through the discriptions please take a few minutes to visit the following website to see if you should be tested for an STD: www.stdwizard.org.
Sexually transmitted disease (STD) is serious, sometimes painful, and can cause a lot of damage by infecting your sexual and reproductive organs or cause general body infections.
Gonorrhea: Symptoms of white or yellow pus-like vaginal or penile discharge with painful urination. May be the first symptoms appearing within 2-21 days after exposure or there may be no symptoms.
- Spread through oral, vaginal, and anal sex
- Tested by cervical, urethral, anal, oral samples
- Sent to St. Francis Laboratory at no cost to student
Syphilis: A painless sore around the sex organs or mouth may occur 3 weeks after exposure in the first stage. The second stage presents with a rash, temporary hair loss, fever, and sore throat.
- Spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex
- Can to spread to baby during pregnancy or cause miscarriage
- Can cause heart disease, brain damage, blindness, and death
- Test by blood sample
- Sent to State Hygienic Laboratory at no cost to student
Trichomoniasis: (NGU) May have no symptoms, or may have vaginal discharge, itching or swelling with unpleasant odor or frequent urination. It can live for years without symptoms. Re-infection is common. Men may have watery white penile drip and burning urination.
- Spread during vaginal sex
- Test by cervical, urethral, anal, oral, vaginal swab, or blood.
- No charge to student
Chlamydia: Watery or milky discharge with painful urination may appear 1-3 weeks after exposure although many men and women have no symptoms.
- May have painful urination, abdominal pain, fever, and/or nausea
- Spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex
- Can cause reproductive organ damage
- Can be spread through childbirth
- Test by cervical or urethral swab or blood
- Sent to St. Francis Laboratory at no charge to student
Genital Warts: Small, bumpy warts on sex organs and anus with itching burning around the sex organs occuring 1-8 months after vaginal or oral sex
- Genital warts is another type of HPV linked to cervical cancer in women
- Warts may go away on their own, remain unchanged, grow or spread
- Virus sometimes stays in the body and the warts can return
- Can be spread during childbirth
- Test by blood sample, or cervical or urethral sample through PAP exam or through visual exam by provider
Hepatitis B: Many don’t have symptoms or mild symptoms of fatigue, lingering flu-like symptoms, jaundice (yellow skin), or dark urine and/or light colored stools.
- Spread during vaginal, oral, anal sex, sharing drug needles or by infected blood
- Can cause permanent liver damage or cancer
- Can be spread during childbirth
- Test by blood
- Done at no charge to student
Herpes: Small, painful blisters that can last 1-3 weeks on the sex organs or mouth occurring 1-30 days or longer after exposure
- Blisters may go away, but you still have herpes
- Spread during vaginal, oral, anal sex and sometimes by genital touching
- No cure
- Can be spread during childbirth
- Test by blood, urethral or cervical swab
- Culture swab sent to State Hygienic lab at no cost to student.
- Blood tests vary on cost