[Question #10479] Any STD
22 months ago
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I am a 41 year old female and have never experienced this before. I need help. I started having a pink color on toilet paper when I would urinate and wipe a week ago. It has been like that everyday since. Yesterday I started having a slight itching sensation in my vaginal area. Now today I woke up to shower and it feels sore to the touch and swollen. I have no open sores or anything like that. I had unprotected vaginal sex 3 months ago and unprotected oral sex 1 month ago. I have never experienced any of these symptoms like this before. Could this be some kind of std that's causing this? I read online and of course it named many std's it could be and even named herpes but I assume this wouldn't be herpes because I don't have any open sores or anything like that.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
22 months ago
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Welcome back -- but I think I'm seeing a pattern here. STDs seem to be the first things that come to mind when any new health problem pops up.
It is conceivable that scant bleeding or vaginal discharge (or both) could be due to gonorrhea, chlamydia, or -- given the soreness to touch -- maybe herpes. However, these symptoms are (in medical terminology) nonspecific: that means they do not point to any single likely cause, but have several possibilities. STDs probably are a lot less likely than a urinary tract infection or other fairly minor problem.
Beyond that, I cannot even speculate. My only advice is that you see a doctor and get things checked out. That probably will include STD testing. If anything shows up, or your doctor suspects any particular STD I will be happy to comment at that time.
I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.
HHH, MD
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