Will Having Had an STD Put My Future Fertility At Risk?

STDs, or Sexually Transmitted Diseases, can have a variety of negative impacts on a person\’s life. STDs can cause not only the immediate symptoms of their particular disease, but they can cause long term consequences as well. One of the ways that STDs can affect a person is by putting their future fertility at risk.

One of the most dangerous aspects of STDs is that many STDs have only minor symptoms. Because of the lack of serious symptoms, many times STDs go without getting the treatment that is necessary to clear them up. Some STDs may not even have any visible symptoms other than infertility.

Chlamydia is one of the most common STDs. Chlamydia is one of the specific STDs that can put your future fertility at risk. For women, symptoms of Chlamydia are very often transparent. If Chlamydia does have symptoms, they will include unusual vaginal discharge, pain in urination, or pain in intercourse. Chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, also known as PID, or epididymitis. Both of these can cause fertility problems.

Gonorrhea is another STD that can put your future fertility at risk. Gonorrhea is transmitted by bacteria that live in the fluids of the body. Gonorrhea symptoms can include nausea, bleeding after sex, or a yellow or bloody vaginal discharge. Like Chlamydia, Gonorrhea can lead to PID or epididymitis.

Herpes is another STD that can affect fertility. Perhaps the biggest risk with herpes is that it can put a woman’s pregnancy at risk. The biggest risk that herpes creates in regard to pregnancy has to do with a risk of infecting the baby during the delivery process. If a woman has genital herpes during the delivery process the health care provider will check for lesions or other signs of a herpes out break. If there are legions present, the safest procedure is typically to have a caesarean section delivery to prevent the baby from physically coming into contact with the herpes virus.

Trichomoniasis is another STD that can put fertility at risk. Trichomoniasis is fairly common for an STD, and the symptoms can include a yellow-ish green vaginal discharge, pain during sex, and itching of the genitals. When going untreated, Trichomoniasis can cause the inflammation of the fallopian tubes, causing fertility problems.

If you have had an STD and are trying to conceive, you should discuss the possible affect of the STD on your fertility with your health care provider.

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This entry was posted under Fertility Issues.