About Richard D. Porter

Who Is Richard D. Porter?

Richard D. Porter is a sexual health writer and patient advocate based in Chicago, Illinois, with over a decade of experience translating complex medical information into plain, honest, accessible language. His work sits at the intersection of health journalism, patient education, and stigma reduction, focused entirely on the questions people are too embarrassed to type into a search bar, let alone ask a doctor out loud.

Before specializing in sexual health, Richard spent several years as a general health journalist, covering topics ranging from chronic illness management to public health policy for regional and national outlets. The pivot came in 2014, when a close friend spent weeks navigating a confusing and demoralizing series of consultations after an STI diagnosis, receiving clinical information that was accurate but delivered without context, compassion, or practical guidance. Watching that experience firsthand made Richard acutely aware of how large the gap was between what medical professionals know and what patients actually receive. He decided to spend his career trying to close it.

Since then, Richard has focused exclusively on sexual health education, building a body of work that covers everything from STI transmission and at-home testing to treatment options, antibiotic protocols, relationship disclosure, and vaginal health. His writing is read by people at every stage of the process: those who are anxious about potential exposure, those navigating a new diagnosis, and those managing a long-term condition and seeking practical day-to-day guidance.

What Richard Writes About

Richard’s areas of expertise at stdpedia.net include:

• STI Symptoms and Diagnosis Herpes (HSV-1 and HSV-2), chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis, HPV, molluscum contagiosum, and related skin conditions, including Fordyce spots, pearly penile papules, ingrown hairs, razor bumps, and seborrheic keratosis. Richard describes what each condition looks like, how it is diagnosed, and how to distinguish it from other conditions with similar symptoms.
• Testing and Treatment: How STI testing works, what at-home test kits test for, and how accurate they are; how to read lab results; what antibiotics are used to treat which infections; how to access treatment online through telehealth providers; and how long medications like doxycycline and azithromycin take to work.
• Vaginal and Reproductive Health: Bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, vaginal pH imbalance, discharge changes, probiotics for vaginal health, boric acid suppositories, and how these conditions intersect with STI testing and diagnosis.
• Sexual Health After a Diagnosis: How to tell a partner about an STI diagnosis, how to navigate dating with herpes or HPV, what an STI means for fertility and relationships, and how to manage recurring infections over the long term.
• Prevention and Products: Condoms, lubricants, pubic hair removal, and its relationship to STI risk, PrEP, and home test kit reviews.

How Richard Works

Every article on stdpedia.net begins with structured AI-assisted research, pulling and organizing current data, clinical guidelines, and relevant sources from authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Mayo Clinic, PubMed, and MedlinePlus. Richard then reads, evaluates, and writes every article entirely from scratch in his own words. AI assists the research phase only, it does not write sentences, form conclusions, or make editorial decisions. Those are Richard’s alone.

For more details on this process, see the AI Disclosure and Editorial Standards pages.

Community Work

Beyond his writing, Richard volunteers with sexual health outreach programs on Chicago’s South Side, working with community organizations to develop peer-led educational resources for populations with limited access to clinical care. He has partnered with the American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) in developing plain-language patient education materials, and contributes to community health forums where people seek guidance on sexual health questions they feel they can’t raise with a provider.

Richard believes strongly that access to clear sexual health information should not depend on geography, income, or comfort level in a clinical setting. Stdpedia.net is, in part, an extension of that belief.

A Note on Credentials

Richard is a health writer and patient advocate, not a licensed physician or nurse practitioner. He does not diagnose conditions or prescribe treatments. Every article on this site is written for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Readers experiencing symptoms or concerned about a possible infection are always encouraged to consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Sources referenced in articles are drawn from government health agencies, peer-reviewed journals, and recognized medical institutions. Richard does not cite forums, anonymous blogs, or unverified user content as primary sources.

See the full Medical Disclaimer for more details.

Outside the Desk

When he isn’t writing, Richard is an enthusiastic but inconsistent runner. He has completed the Chicago Marathon twice and the Houston Marathon once, a record he is proud of in principle, if not always in training. His preparation for each race has been generously described by friends as “ambitious in January and chaotic by August.” He is also a passable home cook, a devoted if critical reader of long-form health journalism, and someone who takes Sunday mornings seriously.

Contact

Have a question, a correction, or a suggestion for a topic Richard should cover? Reach out at info@stdpedia.net. Correction requests are taken seriously; if something on the site is inaccurate or outdated, Richard wants to know.

Richard D. Porter is the founder and sole writer of stdpedia.net. All articles are written by Richard and published under his name. The site is independently operated and does not accept sponsored content.