How long does it take for STD symptoms to start after sex?

Healthy Sex – How Soon Should You See The Symptoms?

If you are in a limbo right now with regards to when the STD symptoms show, be sure that you are not the first one. So many people have in the past been exactly where you are, always looking forward to the worst news of their life. Some have ended up getting this bad news while others have been lucky enough to escape the predicaments. One thing you must understand is that whether your symptoms don’t show immediately or are never manifested, it doesn’t mean you are in the clear. According to the STD test, most STDs including herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhea tend to be asymptomatic, which means that they would not show any signs.

Khalil Ghanem, a PhD holder and an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine insists that “The most important thing to remember is that you should never assume that the absence of symptoms signifies that you are free from an STD.”

According to Ghanem, almost 90% of gonorrhea and chlamydia infected persons do not show these signs. The same is true when it comes to 70% of herpes patients.

Possible To Infect Others

As much as the symptoms are asymptomatic, it is still possible to transmit the infection to your partner. Furthermore, it exposes you to increased risk of complications such as cancer and arthritis by failing to treat the STD. STD test remains the only sure way to determine the presence or absence of an STD.

Now that we have fully understood that, let us revisit our original concern: “How soon should you see the symptoms of gonorrhea after having unprotected sex?”

The answer to that depends on whether your sex partner was infected or not. If he/she wasn’t infected, then that’s your lucky day. No symptom will be visible. However, if it’s the other way around, the symptoms would start to show somewhere from 3 to 10 days after exposure.

Some STD symptoms that may be seen include a burning sensation while peeing; painful sores; blisters and lumps around one’s genitals. Also, fever, skin rash, sore testicles and swollen lymph nodes can be an indicator of an STD presence.