Can you get an STD more than once? More specifically, can you get the same STD more than once? There are a number of factors that influence the answers to these questions.
With some STDs you cannot contract them more than once, because once is enough. Herpes and HIV are incurable; the viruses remain in your body for life. While this technically means you can’t contract the diseases again, having sex with someone who has the same incurable STD as you can still have adverse consequences, such as additional outbreaks if both you and your partner have herpes.
For viral infections that have no cure but usually go away on their own without treatment, such as certain forms of hepatitis and HPV, while you are less likely to be reinfected with the same strain of virus, this is still possible. What is also possible, and much more likely, is that you may contract a different strain of the same virus.
Think of this in terms of another common viral infection: the common cold. The common cold is an incurable viral infection that the body normally fights and removes itself. If you have recently overcome a cold, it is unlikely that you will be infected again with exactly the same cold, although it is still possible. But as you probably know firsthand, that doesn’t mean you’ll never catch a cold again. There are more than 200 variants of the common cold, meaning there are plenty of opportunities to catch a cold again. Likewise, there are more than 100 strains of HPV and numerous types and subtypes of hepatitis.
However, vaccines are available against hepatitis A, hepatitis B and a select number of HPV strains, namely the most common strains known to cause cervical cancer or genital warts. If you have been vaccinated against these infections, you will not contract these specific strains or types, but you may get others.
The question ‘can I get an STD more than once’ is most often raised if you have a curable STD. These are usually bacterial or parasitic STDs. Most of these types of STDs are easy to treat. But as easy as they are to treat, you can just as easily contract them again once you’re free and clear. These infections include:
- Chlamydia
- Gonorrhea
- Syphilis
- Trichomoniasis
- Crabs/pubic lice
With these infections, just because you previously contracted and recovered from the STD does not prevent you from contracting the STD again if you are exposed to it again.
Common causes of reinfection
Do not complete treatment.
One of the most common ways people become reinfected with STDs is that they don’t cure themselves of the STD in the first place. Often people will not finish all the antibiotics during their STD treatment. A common reason for doing this is that their symptoms persist and therefore they think they are cured. But not finishing the course of antibiotics not only prevents your infection from healing, it also contributes to antibiotic resistance: in short, what doesn’t kill the virus makes it stronger. You must therefore always complete a course of antibiotics, unless explicitly stated otherwise by your doctor. your doctor.
Not practicing safer sex.
In this case, practicing safer sex means a few different things. It also involves reporting your infection to your partner, even if you are currently undergoing treatment. Whether you are treated or not, you risk infecting them if you have sex before you have healed. If you and your partner are both being treated, you should avoid sexual contact until you are both healed. And in the future, you can reduce your risk of being reinfected (or unknowingly infecting someone else) by getting tested regularly, knowing your status, and only having sex with others who do the same.
So can you get an STD multiple times? In short, yes. The only safe way to become immune to STDs and STDs is vaccination against the select viruses mentioned above. However, in most cases, there is no reason why you can’t get an STD more than once.