Welcome to STDPedia.net
Getting a potential STI diagnosis can be overwhelming. You’re searching for answers at 2am, trying to figure out whether what you’re seeing is something serious, something harmless, or something in between — and most of what you find is either written in clinical language that’s impossible to parse, or buried in Reddit threads where nobody really knows either.
STDPedia exists to close that gap.
Every article on this site covers a specific question people actually search for: what does herpes look like versus a razor burn? Can you have chlamydia without symptoms? How do you read an HSV IgG antibody result? What are your options if you need treatment but don’t want to go to a clinic?
Richard D. Porter, the writer behind every article on this site, researches each topic using current CDC, NIH, and Mayo Clinic guidelines — and writes in plain English that doesn’t assume you have a medical degree.
Is it an STD or something else?
Many bumps, blisters and rashes look alike. These guides compare them.
- Butt blisters: causes, symptoms and options
- Molluscum contagiosum vs chickenpox
- Vaginal boil vs herpes
- Ingrown hair vs genital wart
- Razor burn vs herpes
- Mucocele vs herpes
- Smegma or yeast infection
- Is a cold sore an STD?
- UTI vs STD in males
- Seborrheic keratosis on the pubic area
- Tyson’s glands on the foreskin
- Pityriasis rosea vs syphilis
Symptoms and what can cause them
Fever, discharge, itching, cramps and other signs, and where an infection fits.
- STDs and fever
- What STD causes sweating?
- STDs that cause constipation
- STDs that cause brown discharge
- Smelly urine and STDs
- STDs that cause cramps
- STDs that make you itch
- Itching after sex: STI or not?
- Can STDs cause gut problems?
- Can STDs raise your white blood cell count?
- STD signs in the mouth and gums
- What STI causes vaginal bleeding?
Testing and results
How soon a test works, what a panel covers, and what the numbers on your report mean.
- Two weeks after unprotected sex: what to test for
- What a full STI panel tests for
- How to read STD lab results
- Decoding your STI lab results
- What your STI panel results mean
- HSV-1 IgG results explained
- At-home STI test kits compared
- How to ask a partner to get tested
You can also order online STD treatment from a partner service.
How infections spread
Plain answers on oral sex, condoms, lube and other common worries.
Who writes these guides
Richard D. Porter writes every guide and researches each topic using current CDC, NIH and Mayo Clinic guidelines. Read how we work in our editorial standards.
Ready to test? Order a private STD test online.
Newest guides
- Spotting Instead of a Period: STI
- Trichomoniasis and Irregular Periods: What’s the Connection?
- Two Weeks After Unprotected Sex: What to Test For and When
- What to Do If You’ve Had Unprotected Sex and Your Period Is Late
- Can an STI Cause a Missed Period? What’s Actually Happening
- Gonorrhea and Irregular Periods: What Women Should Know
- How Trichomoniasis Affects Your Menstrual Cycle
- Missed Period After Unprotected Sex: Pregnancy
- Negative Pregnancy Test but No Period: Could It Be an STI?
- STI Symptoms That Look Like PMS: How to Tell Them Apart
- Can an STI Cause a Miscarriage? What the Evidence Says
- Getting an STI Test During Pregnancy: What to Ask For