Hey Dr Sue — What is the Most Common STD?

This is a little trickier to answer than you might think.

Of the notifiable diseases — chlamydia is the most common, without a doubt.

The latest numbers from the CDC show that there were more than 1.8 million cases of chlamydia in the US- the specific numbers work out to be about 553 cases per every 100,000 people.

What comes in second and third place? Gonorrhea and then syphilis.

But, you need to keep in mind that not every STD must be reported so we don’t always have exact numbers for the viral STDs like herpes and HPV.

What we do know is that both of these viruses are common. About 50 million Americans have herpes 1 and 2. And HPV, the virus that causes many things including genital warts and some genital cancers is “so common that nearly all sexually active men and women get the virus at some point in their lives.” That’s according to the CDC, not me.

How can you protect yourself from getting an STD if you’re sexually active? Good question.

First, talk to your partner about their sexual history and be ready to share yours with them. If you (or they) have an STD then make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to prevent spreading it to each other.