What’s the difference between STIs vs STDs?
Have you binged an old favorite like ‘Sex in the City’ recently, heard Carrie and Miranda talking about STDs, and realized you haven’t heard that term in a while? When did STI replace STD as the go-to term and why? Are STIs and STDs the same thing or is one term more accurate than the other? As September is Sexual Health Awareness Month, let’s explore.
What is an STI?
A sexually transmitted infection (STI) is a virus, bacteria, fungus, or parasite passed from person to person during sexual contact. While penis-in-vagina sex is one way for STIs to spread, any sexual contact where bodily fluids are exchanged or where there is skin to skin contact of the genital area can carry a risk of contracting an STI. There are dozens of STIs, but some of those most commonly diagnosed in the US include: chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, HPV, syphilis, and trichomoniasis.
Are STIs and STDs the same thing?
If an STI is a sexually transmitted infection and an STD is a sexually transmitted disease does that mean they’re different? Yes and no.
Yes: All STDs begin as STIs, but not every STI becomes an STD. Disease occurs when an infection is able to take hold and cause symptoms. Many people with STIs don’t experience symptoms, which is why testing is so important. If an infection is caught and treated before it causes long-term harm it won’t become a disease.
No: The way the average person uses STI or STD in their everyday vocabulary they’re likely talking about the same thing. Both are simply general terms people use to describe a range of conditions that pass from body to body through sexual contact.
So why the switch?
While STI is a more accurate term, the reason that so many in the field of public health, including Power to Decide, now use it is that it carries less stigma than STD.
With such a long history of use, STD has become a loaded term that sometimes carries a specter of shame. Research shows that when that shame meets the fear inspired by the word disease, people delay testing, are less likely to want to speak to their sexual partner(s), and may not receive treatment as a result. A 2017 study found that only 5% of young people associated negative words with the idea of an STI compared to 11% who associated the idea of an STD with words like, “gross” and “embarrassing.”
By changing our language we can help reduce the stigma about STIs and better educate folks about how to prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections. Since STI rates have continued to climb and with 1 in 2 people contracting an STI by the time they reach the age of 25, it’s incredibly important that we fight STI stigma and encourage, testing, treatment, and safer sex practices.
