I borrowed my best friend’s shorts. Now she thinks she might have an STD. Could I have gotten it from wearing her shorts? (2024)

FAQs

Can you get an STD from wearing someone's shorts? ›

While most STDs can't be transmitted from sharing clothing, there are a few that can: scabies, pubic lice (also known as crabs), and molluscum contagiosum. The thing to know about these exceptions is that they can all be spread through sexual activity, but don't necessarily have to be.

Answer: Most STDs, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, and genital warts, are spread only through direct sexual contact with an infected person. Crabs (pubic lice) or scabies, which are often sexually transmitted, can be passed through contact with infested items like clothes, sheets, or towels.

You can only get chlamydia by having intimate sexual contact with an infected person, not from casual contact, touching another person's clothing, or consuming contaminated food or water.

HPV cannot be spread by touching hard surfaces, like a doorknob or toilet seat. It also cannot be passed by sharing clothes or towels.

How Long Can STDs Live On Skin? In short, STDs can live on the skin for a short period of time. Depending on the strain of the STD, it can survive for anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, with most strains surviving for around 8 hours.

gonorrhoeae bacteria require a warm, moist environment such as the mucous membranes of the urinary tract, the vagin*, or the anus (both men and women). Outside of the body, the bacteria survive for only about one minute.

The Window Period for Common STIs:

Chlamydia: Window period: 5-14 days. Gonorrhoea: Window period: 5-14 days. Herpes: Window period: 6-12 weeks. Syphilis: Window period: 4-12 weeks.

Unfortunately, it's quite likely. People who have sex without using condoms are at high risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It doesn't matter how many people the person has had sex with. Even if someone has only had one sexual partner, that partner could have a disease.

How long does it take for a STD to show up in a man? ›

Symptoms usually appear after 2 to 3 weeks but could start earlier or much later. They include: one or more small painless sores or ulcers on the genitals. a blotchy rash and flu-like symptoms that may follow a few weeks later.

We have not seen any evidence that gonorrhea and Chlamydia live on wash cloths or are passed that way. They are most often passed through unprotected oral, anal and vagin*l sex.

3 The only way to tell which one you have—or if you have an STI at all—is to go visit your local healthcare provider or a free clinic and get tested. There is no way for someone to self-diagnose what STI is causing a discharge without having a laboratory test done.

There's no way to tell by looking if a person has an STD — even people who have STDs sometimes don't know it. If you have had sex before, you and your boyfriend can get tested together at a local health clinic like Planned Parenthood.

Gonorrhea. The symptoms of gonorrhea may also appear within 24-48 hours following contact. The most common sign of gonorrhea is a thick, cloudy or bloody discharge from the penis or the vagin*. For that reason, gonorrhea is often referred to as the “drip”, it is also commonly known as the clap.

HPV is not passed on through kissing, hugging or sharing towels, clothing and everyday items such as cutlery or a toilet seat. Using condoms (male or female) every time you have vagin*l or anal sex is the most effective way to avoid getting genital warts, other than being celibate (not having sex).

HPV can't be spread by washing clothes together, since the virus wouldn't survive. The virus does not survive washing, whether by hand or in a washing machine.

HPV infection spreads from one person to another through sexual contact involving the anus, mouth, or vagin*. The virus can be spread, even if you DO NOT see the warts. You may not see warts for 6 weeks to 6 months after becoming infected. You may not notice them for years.

Of these, 4 are currently curable: syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and trichom*oniasis. The other 4 are incurable viral infections: hepatitis B, herpes simplex virus (HSV), HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV).

Can STDs live on bed sheets? ›

Share Sheets (or Towels or Clothes)

You aren't likely to find viral infections present in your towels or sheets, but there could be other infections waiting in the fibers. The single-celled protozoan parasite called Trichom*onas vagin*lis causes trichom*oniasis.

The main ways people get gonorrhea are from having vagin*l sex, anal sex, or oral sex. You can also get gonorrhea by touching your eye if you have infected fluids on your hand. Gonorrhea can also be spread to a baby during birth if the mother has it.

The short answer

For example, someone might have tested negative for genital gonorrhea but not been tested for oral or anal gonorrhea, and potentially transmit the STI through anal or oral intercourse. STI stands for sexually transmitted infection and STD stands for sexually transmitted disease.

The article notes that years later in the 1500s, there was a widely recognized relationship between prostitution and gonorrhea, and this is when it got its nickname “the clap,” which derives from the French word les clapiers (literally meaning rabbit huts), which referred to “the small huts where prostitutes often ...

Will I Automatically Get an STD If I Sleep with Someone Who Has a STD? No, some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), also commonly referred to as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are not transmitted consistently every time an infected person has sex with someone who is not infected.

Women are also biologically more vulnerable to STDs than are men. Women are more susceptible to STDs during sexual intercourse because the vagin*l surface is larger and more vulnerable to sexual secretions than the primarily skin-covered penis.

The most dangerous viral STD is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which leads to AIDS. Other incurable viral STDs include human papilloma virus (HPV), hepatitis B and genital herpes.

About half of these infections are in people between the ages of 15 and 24. Young people are at greater risk of getting an STD for several reasons: Young women's bodies are biologically more prone to STDs. Some young people do not get the recommended STD tests.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are very common, and over half of people in the U.S. will have an STI in their lifetime. In fact, the CDC estimates there are over 110 million sexually transmitted infections among men and women in the U.S., with 20 million new cases each year.

What is late stage chlamydia? ›

What is late-stage chlamydia? Late-stage chlamydia refers to an infection that has spread to other parts of the body. For example, it may have spread to the cervix (cervicitis), testicular tubes (epididymitis), eyes (conjunctivitis), or throat (pharyngitis), causing inflammation and pain.

Cloudy urine. Abnormal vagin*l discharge. Abnormal vagin*l bleeding with intercourse or between periods.

STD Symptoms If you already have an STD such as herpes or HIV, anxiety will have the effect of bringing dormant symptoms (such as sores on and in the mouth or the genital areas) to the forefront.

The signs that usually alert men to an infection—bumps or rashes on the genitals, discharge, discomfort or itching in the penis or testicl*s, or pain while urinating or ejacul*ting—can be mild and easily mistaken for other conditions. Unfortunately, a lack of symptoms doesn't mean you don't have an STD.

Chlamydia cannot be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing baths, towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery.

If 2 people who don't have any STDs have sex, it's not possible for either of them to get one. A couple can't create an STD from nothing — they have to get spread from one person to another.

Although chlamydia is highly contagious, it does not always transmit to a person's sexual partners. It is also possible to have a false-negative test result. Having more frequent sex with a partner who has chlamydia may increase a person's risk of contracting it.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a common concern for many people. The fear of contracting an STD can lead to paranoia and anxiety, which can negatively impact mental health.

How do I stop stressing about STDs? ›

If you think you may have a sexually transmitted infection (STI), go to your GP or local sexual health or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. Most STIs can be successfully treated, but it's important to get any symptoms checked as soon as possible. Read about visiting an STI clinic.

The most common sexually transmitted infections in the United States are HPV, chlamydia, and gonorrhea.

Laboratory tests can diagnose chlamydia. Your healthcare provider may ask you to provide a urine sample for testing, or they might use (or ask you to use) a cotton swab to get a vagin*l sample.

For at-home STD testing, you collect a urine sample or an oral or genital swab and then send it to a lab for analysis. You can collect the sample in the privacy of your home without the need for a pelvic exam or office visit.

If you recently tested negative for an infection but are still experiencing symptoms, consider getting tested again. STIs can be dangerous to your well-being if left undetected and untreated. When it comes to your sexual health, prioritize testing and visit an urgent care center at your convenience.

There is no proven alternative therapy to treating an STI. Treatment is testing and antibiotics. The most effective complementary treatments of STIs — that is, those that that go along with standard medical treatment — involve prevention and patient counseling.

They can't survive in air or on surfaces, such as a toilet seat. You can't contract a bacterial STI from sitting on a toilet seat. Bacterial STIs are transmitted through sex without a condom or other barrier method, including oral, anal, and vagin*l sex.

Although chlamydia is highly contagious, it does not always transmit to a person's sexual partners. It is also possible to have a false-negative test result. Having more frequent sex with a partner who has chlamydia may increase a person's risk of contracting it.

Can STDs be absorbed through skin? ›

Most sexually transmitted infections (STIs) spread either by exposure to infected fluids or by direct contact with infected skin. Skin-to-skin STIs are spread from one person to another by skin-to-skin contact and can be transmitted without intercourse.

STDs pass from one person to another through vagin*l, oral, and anal sex. They also can spread through intimate physical contact like heavy petting, though this is not very common.

Yes. Many STDs and other infections are spread through oral sex. Anyone exposed to an infected partner can get an STD in the mouth, throat, genitals, or rectum.

If 2 people who don't have any STDs have sex, it's not possible for either of them to get one. A couple can't create an STD from nothing — they have to get spread from one person to another.

You can only get chlamydia from someone already infected with the STI; it's transmitted by vagin*l, anal, or oral sex. If you've had it before, you can get reinfected with it, regardless if you were in contact with bodily fluids or not.

Genital and oral herpes – Two to 12 days. Trichom*oniasis – Five to 28 days. Chlamydia – One to three weeks. HIV – Two to four weeks.