Of the many STDs that exist, a few, like Hepatitis C, leave no outward sign of infection. Others, like Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, show outward signs by the presence of unusually colored discharge from the genital areas and can cause internal abdominal pain. However, many other STDs can be seen outwardly on the skin of the genitals or the body in the form of rashes or lesions. This article will show you how to identify different STD rashes so you can get the appropriate treatment as soon as possible.

To begin with an extremely common and quickly growing STD among women, HPV, or the Human Papilloma Virus, is notorious for causing painful and disfiguring genital warts. The warts are generally small, are grouped around the genitals or anus, may be flat or raised, and are a pink to brownish fleshy color. HPV is easier to spot in men because the warts usually appear on the base of the penis or on the shaft of the penis, while in women they can appear on both the outer labia or inside the vaginal walls. HPV is both very common and extremely dangerous for women, as certain strains cause cervical cancer; it is of utmost importance to go to your gynecologist immediately if any warts are present. The warts can be removed fairly easily through an acid solution or freezing them off using liquid nitrogen (an effective if unpleasant process).

Another extremely common STD is genital herpes, a virus of two different strains that can be transmitted quite easily through sexual contact. Herpes forms blisters, resembling cold sores, around the base of the penis, vagina, or anus, and the blisters may appear reddish or release pus when the infected person is having an outbreak. When the blisters are dormant, they may appear as insignificant, flesh-colored bumps around the genital area that can be activated at any time by stress or external circumstances. While they are more easy to transmit in their blister form, they are always capable of being passed on to a sexual partner through skin to skin contact. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the herpes virus but it can be controlled by anti-viral medications. Also some people find taking lysine helps to minimize outbreaks.

An extremely dangerous STD, syphilis, first begins to manifest itself through bumps and rashes and later can cause brain damage, partial blindness, or even paralysis, so it’s important to understand the symptoms early on. In the first stage of the disease, sores or small bumps would appear around the sexual organs, anus, or mouth, which would then heal on their own. Following this, in the second stage a rash would appear on the body, most notably the hands and feet, along with a fever and general sense of fatigue. After this, the third stage leads to dementia and eventual death. So it’s important to recognize the sores, which will stay around for approximately 6 weeks before healing and moving onto the second stage; syphilis is easily treatable if caught early on.

Finally, a few other things could cause rashes on or near the genitals. One of these is not really an STD, but can be just as irritating: scabies, sometimes called scabbies. Scabies are tiny parasites spread through skin-to-skin contact that burrow inside the top layer of skin and then lay their eggs, causing an intense itching sensation. The rash caused by their burrowing is usually made up of tiny red dots and sometimes follows a line, like a trail. Scabies mites can be killed with certain topical creams, and it’s important to wash and sanitize all clothing and bedding after treatment.

It is also important to mention that the HIV/AIDS virus may cause certain skin rashes or lesions, not always near the genital area, in addition to many more serious health problems. The most important lesson is to pay attention to your body and get tested immediately if you find any unusual rashes fitting any of the descriptions above. Better safe than sorry, and it is always better to treat STDs sooner rather than later.