It will probably come as a surprise to many that not all urinary tract infections are sexually transmitted.  In fact  urinary tract infection or UTI as it is commonly known, is not sexually transmitted at all. The bugs that are so transmitted are different.  You may well be familiar with syphilis and gonorrhoea. In the days gone by, these were the dreaded ones transmitted sexually. Nowadays, non gonococcal urethritis in the males is the commonest STD.  The other common STD seen in males is herpes and other viral infections.  In the females the commonest infection that can be sexually transmitted is clamydial infection followed by fungal infections.

PREVENTING STD

Since the infection is transmitted from one infected person to another it is best to have a steady partner. In case of casual sex, one has to be careful. One must also wear  condoms.  It must be emphasised that a condom does not gaurantee protection against sexually transmitted diseases . This may be due to slippage of the condom, bursting of the condom or indeed due to a short condom.

Even oral sex can be a cause of sexually transmitted diseases particularly if  there is a breach in the skin or the oral mucosa.  

In case you are unfortunate to get the disease, do not panic, treatment today is available in most cases. It is very natural to assume that it is HIV as soon as anything goes wrong. Let me assure you that HIV is not as common as other sexually transmitted diseases. So it makes sense to go to a doctor qualified in treating such diseases.

You need to consult a doctor if there is burning sensation in the penile tract following unprotected sex. Pimples and rashes on the glans of the penis are also red flags.

Sometimes there will be no visible signs, but there will be pain in the penis when  pressed. This is also is a sign of infection and must be treated.

Dr Saxena is uro-andrologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. He specialises in treating prostate disease and impotence using a bloodless technique called vapour resection.