In sex education classes, back in junior high school you were probably taught about STDs. STD stands for Sexually Transmitted Disease. Your mother probably had the same class and in those days it was called Venereal Disease or VD named after the Goddess of Love, Venus. Either way, is stood for nasty little diseases contracted by having unprotected sex with an infected partner. The term is used for reference to a wide range of infections from Herpes to Hepatitis C and everything in between. However, if you have researched the term recently, you probably saw this referred to as STIs. STI stands for Sexually Transmitted Infections. This is confusing to many of us. What is the difference?
What Is the Difference?
Actually, there is little real difference other than how health care professionals present it. A disease implies that a person has identifiable symptoms most of the time. Sexually transmitted infection may present no symptoms at all. Because you get the STI (infection) when you get the STD (disease) it is really two sides of the same coin. Experts are using the term STI more often because it carries less of a stigma. When symptoms do appear, they usually are mild and are not difficult to treat, so calling it a disease seems a bit off. Given the fact that millions of people have had or currently have STIs, making it more comfortable to seek medical attention is very important. The word infection means the germ; virus or bacteria are present that can make a person sick. The word disease means the germ, virus or bacteria are present and usually it means the person is showing symptoms and is feeling sick.
Even medical experts at the American Sexual Health Association are changing over to the term STI. By reducing the stigma that the STD term carries, they feel people will not be so hesitant to seek medical care.
Bottom line is the term STD carries a certain amount of (unwarranted) shame for people and that needless shame is hampering them getting early and effective medical care. Using the term STI, or infection seems closer to reality to what medical professionals want to express and is much less scary for patients. People will be more likely to go to their doctor for treatment of an infection. In this day and age with modern medicine, getting an STD or STI is part of the life experience. It is not considered a deal breaker in relationships. More people have STD/STI than most of us realize. So really, the change in terminology is about breaking down walls and allowing people the freedom to seek health care for this health issue. By increasing the comfort level of the patient and removing unnecessary humiliation and opening communication, the fight against the STD/STI battle takes a giant leap forward.