What is an STI?

Sexually transmissible infections (STIs) are infections you can get from having unprotected vaginal sex, anal sex, oral sex, or skin to skin contact with someone. Unprotected sex is when you have sex without a condom, or an oral dam.

Lots of STIs don’t have obvious symptoms — so it’s important to get tested for STIs before and after unprotected sex, or anytime you have sex with a new person. The best time to test is 2 weeks or more after having sex with a new person. You can’t tell for sure if someone has an STI, or if you have an STI, without doing an STI test.

You can get STI tests at our clinics. If you have an STI, we can help you treat it.

Lots of people who have sex will get an STI at some point in their life. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Some STIs can be dangerous — especially if they are not diagnosed or treated. That’s why using condoms or oral dams, and doing regular STI testing, is a normal and important part of a healthy sex life.

In some countries, STIs are called sexually transmissible diseases (STDs).  

Symptoms of STIs include:

• Unusual discharge from your vagina, penis or anus
• Pain when peeing
• Lumps or skin growths around your genitals or anus
• A rash
• Unusual vaginal bleeding
• Itchy genitals or anus
• Blisters and sores around your genitals or anus

People who have unprotected sex in Aotearoa are most likely to get these STIs:

• Chlamydia
• Genital warts
• Gonorrhoea

HIV — which causes AIDS — is a less common STI.

Condoms and oral dams can protect against STIs. It’s a good idea to make sure that you know how to use them correctly — and that you use them every time you have sex.

If you are going to have unprotected sex, it’s really important that you, and the person you are going to have sex with, both get STI tests before and after sex.

You never have to have unprotected sex with anyone. It is always wrong to make someone do anything sexual that they don’t want to do.