Planned Parenthood

You may have heard people talk about sexually transmitted infections (aka STIs) and sexually transmitted diseases (aka STDs), and wondered what the difference is. There’s a lot of confusion about these terms, and which is the right one to use. But the good news is, it’s actually pretty simple: they mean the same thing. Using “sexually transmitted infections” — or “STIs” — just happens to be a newer, more accurate, and less stigmatizing way to talk about them. 

An infection happens when a virus, bacteria, or parasite enters your body, and your immune system kicks in to try to fight it. Disease happens when the infection causes damage in your body and leads to illness. Most of the time, STIs don’t get to the disease stage — they usually don’t cause symptoms, and they can often be treated or cured with medicine before they cause long-term harm. And it’s an infection, not a disease, that gets passed from one sexual partner to another during sexual contact (like oral, anal, and vaginal sex, and skin-to-skin genital touching). That’s why the word “infection” is more accurate.

The word “disease” can also sound kind of loaded and scary. There’s already stigma around STIs because they’re connected to sex — and unfortunately, society has a lot of negative things to say about sex. Calling STIs “diseases” only adds to the stigma and misinformation — and that can make it harder for people to talk honestly with their partners, get tested, and have safer sex (which are the best ways to prevent STIs). So the more we can lessen the stigma around STIs, the healthier everyone will be. 

At Planned Parenthood, we strive to use the most accurate language and talk about sexual health in a way that fights stigma and encourages everyone to care for themselves and their partners. So we use the terms “sexually transmitted infection” and “STI” as much as we can. 

But lots of people still say “STD” because that term has been around much longer and people are more familiar with it. For example, way more people search “STD” than “STI” when they’re looking for information online. So we use “STD” on places like plannedparenthood.org — where millions of people find information on our website through search engines like Google — because we want to make sure people can get the facts they need.

The main thing to remember is that “STD” and “STI” mean the same thing: infections you can get during sexual contact. They’re really common, and they can be cured or managed with medicine. Many aren’t a big deal at all if you get treatment right away. And no matter what you call them, the best way to stay safe and healthy is to have safer sex, get tested, and get treatment if you do get an STI.

-Kendall at Planned Parenthood