Urgent Care Doctor Discusses Sexually Transmitted Infections

There were more than 2.4 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) reported in the United States in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This marks a decline over previous years and offers what the CDC calls “promising signs” that the decades-long epidemic of STIs – from herpes and genital warts to chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea – is finally starting to wane.

The latest statistics available on STIs, also known as sexually transmitted diseases, shows why the CDC is feeling optimistic:

• Gonorrhea dropped for a second year—declining 7% from 2022 and falling below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

• Overall, syphilis increased by only 1% after years of double-digit increases.

• Primary and secondary syphilis declined for the first time in more than two decades, down 10% since 2022. These cases also dropped 13% among gay and bisexual men for the first time since CDC began reporting national trends among this group in the mid-2000s.

• Increases in congenital syphilis cases appear to be slowing in some areas—with a 3% increase over 2022 nationally, compared to 30% annual increases in prior years.

“While these data are encouraging, reportable STIs remain unacceptably high and disparities persist,” the CDC notes.

How Many Sexually Transmitted Infections Go Unreported?

Ladan Pourmasiha, D.O., a family medicine physician with Baptist Health and medical director for Baptist Health Urgent Care centers in Broward County, says the official number of STI cases in the U.S. may be on the low side, for a couple of reasons.

“Many people with STIs fail to seek care out of ignorance, embarrassment or shame and many STIs are never detected because people often have no symptoms,” Dr. Pourmasiha says. Also, it’s not uncommon for female patients to mistake STI symptoms for yeast infections or urinary tract infections, or for men to mistake STI symptoms for folliculitis or jock itch.

Are You At Risk for a Sexually Transmitted Infection?

One of the problems with STIs, Dr. Pourmasiha says, is that everyone is at risk. “Male, female, young, old, black, white, gay, straight – STIs don’t have a face and they don’t discriminate,” she says. “It all depends on your sexual practices. If you have risky sex, you’re at high risk for an STI.”

Dr. Pourmasiha says that STIs can be passed from one person to another through vaginal, oral or anal sex. “Some STIs can lurk in the body for weeks or months before symptoms become noticeable, which is why public health officials emphasize the importance of minimizing your risks by using condoms, avoiding risky behavior and making sure you and your partner get screened for STIs,” she says, adding that people with compromised immune systems need to use extra caution as they can get infected more easily.

STIs can affect individuals of all ages but they are especially common in young people. The CDC estimates that youth ages 15 to 24 account for almost half of all new sexually transmitted infections in the U.S.

Chlamydia is very common and can cause infection among both men and women, according to the CDC. Dr. Pourmasiha says that it can cause serious, permanent damage to a woman’s reproductive system, making it difficult or impossible to get pregnant later. “It can also cause a potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy in which the fetus develops outside the womb,” she says.

Are There Treatments for Sexually Transmitted Infections?

One of the first steps in treating an STI is knowing whether or not you have one. Because STIs don’t always cause symptoms, or may cause only mild symptoms, Dr. Pourmasiha says it’s possible to have an infection and not even know it.

“With STIs, as with most any disease, the earlier the diagnosis, the better the outcome,” says Dr. Pourmasiha. “That’s why it’s so important to both make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment,” she says. “With STIs, time is health. The longer you delay your treatment, the worse the consequences can be.”

Like other STIs, chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics, Dr. Pourmasiha says. “We’re noticing an increased resistance to Azithromycin, the antibiotic typically prescribed for chlamydia, so we’re giving patients Doxycycline, from a class of medications called tetracycline antibiotics,” she says.

Syphilis infection develops in stages, according to the CDC, and each stage can have different signs and symptoms. During the primary stage, the patient may notice a single sore or multiple sores. Sores are typically firm, round, and painless and usually occur in, on or around the penis, vagina, anus, rectum, lips or in the mouth, the CDC says. Left untreated, syphilis can lead to serious and chronic health problems, Dr. Pourmasiha says.

Gonorrhea can cause infection in the genitals, rectum and throat and it can be passed from mother to baby during childbirth, according to Dr. Pourmasiha, who notes that some forms of gonorrhea are becoming harder to treat as drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea are on the rise.

“In our Urgent Cares, we’re able to treat you for gonorrhea and chlamydia onsite with an injection of Rocephin,” says Dr. Pourmasiha. “Then we prescribe Doxycycline, which you can take at home.” That medication is available for purchase onsite at Baptist Health Urgent Care locations using Rx Now, she says. “There’s no need for patients to make a separate trip to the pharmacy after they’ve been diagnosed here.”

How Do You Know if You Have a Sexually Transmitted Infection?

Dr. Pourmasiha advises seeing a healthcare provider as soon as possible for STI testing if you have an unprotected sexual encounter or develop unexplained genitourinary symptoms. “These might include genital lesions, burning with urination or an unusual vaginal or penile discharge,” she says, adding that urethritis, or inflammation of the urethra, can be a painful symptom associated with some STIs.

When someone tests positive for an STI, they usually want physicians to prescribe antibiotics for their partner as well, Dr. Pourmasiha says, but that’s not a good idea. “It’s important that your partner be tested as well so that they can be evaluated and the physician can check their medical history before prescribing any medications,” she says.

STI patients are encouraged to follow up with health department or primary care physicians for a full STI panel screening, Dr. Pourmasiha says. “And whenever someone has chlamydia or gonorrhea, we recommend that they get retested three to four weeks after initiating antibiotic treatment.”

Dr. Pourmasiha says that doctors at Baptist Health Urgent Care centers have the ability to accurately diagnose and treat a variety of STIs. “If you do test positive for an STI, the good news is that they’re all treatable with medication and some are completely curable,” she says.

Ladan Pourmasiha, D.O., a family medicine physician with Baptist Health and medical director for Baptist Health Urgent Care centers in Broward County

To find a Baptist Health Urgent Care location near you, click here.