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Is There a Difference Between STDs and STIs?

CollageCenter • Jun 18, 2016

Great question. There’s a bit of confusion about these terms and what exactly they mean. We’re here to clear things up (pun intended).


What is a STD?

STD stands for Sexually Transmitted Disease. This term is probably familiar to most people and is the most common term used. It refers to a set of infections that are transmitted through sexual contact (vaginal, oral, or anal) from one person to another. One of the issues with this term is that many people who have been infected don’t develop the symptoms, so in one sense they are infected but it doesn’t develop into a “disease”. This is dangerous, because they can pass the infection on to others without even knowing they are positive. This situation of being infected without symptoms has led to the use of the term STI.


What is a STI?

STI stands for Sexually Transmitted Infection. This term might not be as familiar and is often used in the medical community to try to clarify that all sexually transmitted infections turn into disease. This term is also used because there can be a stigma associated with STDs, and using STI instead may encourage people to get tested and treated.


So…

STD and STI are basically the same thing and the terms that are terms that can be used interchangeably. With both you have a sexually transmitted infection. You just may not be having symptoms if it’s labeled as a STI. At Collage we chose to use the term STD because it’s the most recognized and widely used way to refer to the collection of infections passed through sexual contact.


If you think you or a partner might have a STD, we offer testing and treatment for both Chlamydia and Gonorrhea at no charge. We’d love to schedule an appointment for you at either our Kearney or Grand Island location. Feel free to give us a call.


For more info on STDs and some of the myths people falsely believe, you might find this blog post helpful.

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