Positive STD Test Result? STD Treatment and Next Steps

Most people have no symptoms, which is why it’s so easy for chlamydia to pass from person to person. People don’t always realize they need treatment. But some people can develop symptoms like:

• Pain or burning with peeing

• Discharge from the urethra, which can be confused with vaginal discharge in females

If not treated, chlamydia can cause other health problems and make it hard to get pregnant.

Chlamydia can be easily cured with antibiotics in 95% of people. Chlamydia is treated with antibiotic pills. Options for chlamydia treatment include:

• Azithromycin (Zithromax): 1 g by mouth as a single dose

• Doxycycline monohydrate (Mondoxyne NL): 100 mg by mouth twice a day for 7 days

• Levofloxacin: 500 mg by mouth once a day for 7 days 

You should wait to have sex until 1 week after starting your medication. You may also need to get tested again in 3 months to make sure your infection has gone away.

Your sexual partner(s) will also need to be tested and treated. Your healthcare provider can help you contact them. They may also be able to give your partner a prescription without seeing them in person. 

Most people with gonorrhea don’t have symptoms. It can sometimes cause pain with going to the bathroom and itching, as well as discharge from the urethra. If not treated, it can cause health problems. Gonorrhea and chlamydia bacteria can easily coexist, so many people often have both infections at the same time. 

Gonorrhea can be cured with antibiotics. But gonorrhea treatment is becoming more challenging in some places around the world. Some antibiotics that used to work well against gonorrhea bacteria no longer work because of antibiotic resistance. 

For most people, the treatment for gonorrhea is 500 mg of ceftriaxone (Rocephin), which is given as an injection. You only need 1 shot of ceftriaxone to treat and cure gonorrhea. 

Right now, there are no reported cases of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhea in the U.S. But there is ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhea in other parts of the world. Let your healthcare provider know if you think you could have gotten gonorrhea from a partner while outside the U.S. They may order testing to make sure that ceftriaxone will still work for you.

You should wait to have sex until 1 week after receiving your medication. You may need to get tested again in 3 months to check that your infection has cleared up.

Your sexual partner(s) will need to be tested and treated for gonorrhea too. In some states, your healthcare provider can give your partner a prescription without seeing them in person.

Most people with herpes have no symptoms at all. Some people will have symptom “outbreaks” from time to time, where small blisters appear in the mouth or genital area. Genital herpes can also cause flu-like symptoms during an outbreak.

There’s no cure for herpes. Once you have herpes, the virus stays in your body for life. But most people with herpes don’t even know they have it because they experience few (if any) outbreaks. If you have outbreaks, the first one is usually the worst. Outbreaks often get milder over time. And fortunately, herpes doesn’t usually cause other health problems.

Many people with herpes don’t need medication. But if you do have outbreaks, medications can help shorten or even stop outbreaks. Medication can also protect your sexual partner(s) from getting herpes. Some people take treatment only when they have outbreaks, while others take medication every day to stop outbreaks from happening. 

Treatment options to prevent herpes outbreaks include:

• Acyclovir (Zovirax)

• Valacyclovir (Valtrex)

• Famciclovir 

It’s important to talk to your partner(s) if you have herpes. You can lower the chances of giving your partner herpes by using medication and using condoms or other barriers during sex. It’s also a good idea to not have sex during an active outbreak. 

About 50% of people with hepatitis B don’t have symptoms. But some people can have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, and fatigue. You can also have yellow eyes and skin (jaundice).

There’s no cure for hepatitis B. However, most adults do recover on their own within 2 months, without any treatment. Others will go on to have a long-term (chronic) HBV infection. 

If you develop chronic hepatitis B, there are antiviral medications and other treatments that can help keep your liver safe. Some treatments include:

• Entecavir (Baraclude) 

• Telbivudine 

• Adefovir (Hepsera)

• Tenofovir (Viread) 

• Lamivudine (Epivir)

• Interferon alfa-2b (Intron) 

The best way to protect yourself is to get the hepatitis B vaccine. Anyone can get the hepatitis B vaccine at any age. Condoms and dental dams can also prevent the hepatitis B virus from spreading.

In the first month after you get HIV, you can have flu-like symptoms. But after this first stage, you may look and feel healthy for many years — even though the HIV is continuing to damage your immune system. As your immune system weakens, you can start to get sick from infections and cancers. When this happens, you have AIDS. People with AIDS can have many different types of symptoms.

There’s no cure for HIV. But there are safe and effective treatments called antiretroviral therapy (ART) that slow down the HIV virus. ART includes two or three medications that all work in different ways to stop the HIV virus from dividing and spreading in the body. 

With ART, people can develop an undetectable HIV viral load. This means that they won’t develop AIDS. It also means they can’t pass the HIV virus to other people through sex or childbirth. Most people can get to an undetectable HIV viral load within 6 months of starting ART therapy. You will need to take ART therapy for life to keep your immune system healthy. 

You can protect yourself from HIV infection by using condoms or other barrier methods during sex. You can also protect yourself by not sharing needles or other objects that come in contact with blood. 

There are also combination medications that can reduce your risk of getting HIV if you come in contact with the virus regularly. These medications are called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and are available by prescription.

Some types of HPV cause genital warts. They’re also called “low-risk” HPV because they don’t cause cancer. Other types of HPV have no symptoms, but they can lead to cancer over time. These are called “high-risk” HPV.

There’s no cure for HPV. But for most people HPV will go away on its own in 1 to 2 years without causing any health problems.

If you have genital warts because of HPV, there are medications, chemicals, and procedures that can help them go away. If you have HPV that can cause cancers, you will need to see your healthcare provider for monitoring. Your provider may recommend additional treatments if needed.

There is a HPV vaccine that can help protect you against getting some strains of the HPV virus. The vaccine is available for anyone between the ages of 9 and 45 years old.

Syphilis can cause a wide range of symptoms depending on how long the bacteria has lived in your body. It usually starts as a painless sore on your mouth or genital area. If you’re not treated, you can go on to develop other symptoms like rash, fever, aches, and fatigue. Over time, syphilis can also damage your organs and brain.

Syphilis is curable with antibiotic treatment. Most people only need treatment with a single injection of penicillin. People with more advanced types of syphilis will need longer treatment with penicillin. 

After treatment, you should wait to have sex until you’ve finished treatment and any syphilis sores have completely gone away.

You should let your partner(s) know if you have syphilis, so they can also get treatment. Using condoms or other barriers during sex can also help protect you from getting syphilis again. 

Trich can cause genital itching or burning. Some people also have pain when peeing. But about 70% of people have no symptoms at all. Most people with trich don’t even know they have it. 

Trich is easily cured with antibiotics. Treatment options include:

• Metronidazole (Flagyl): 500 mg by mouth twice a day for 7 days (recommended for females)

• Metronidazole (Flagyl): 2 g by mouth as a single dose (recommended for males)

• Tinidazole (Tindamax): 2 g by mouth as a single dose (alternative option for both females and males)

You should wait to have sex until you’ve finished all your medication and any symptoms have gone away. You may also need to get tested again in 3 months, to make sure your infection has gone away.

Your sexual partner(s) will also need to be tested and treated. In some states, your healthcare provider may consider giving your partner a prescription without seeing them in person.