Can I tell if someone else has an STI?

<p>No. It'd be great if you could tell who had an STI (sexually transmitted infection, a.k.a. STD) and who didn't, but the most <a href="/articles-and-videos/4-sti-myths-that-get-in-the-way-of-a-healthy-sex-life">common symptom of all STIs</a> is no symptom at all. STIs are often asymptomatic or display such mild symptoms they go unnoticed and/or are mistaken for something else. For that reason, most people with an STI are unaware they have one.When STIs are asymptomatic or exhibiting mild symptoms, they're still transmittable to others&mdash;and there's no guarantee the STI will remain asymptomatic in the newly infected individual. Recognizable symptom or not, STIs can wreak havoc internally long before we're aware of their effects; untreated asymptomatic STIs can pose long-term health risks like liver damage (eg. Hepatitis) and infertility (eg. Chlamydia and gonorrhea).<br><br> To protect yourself against STIs, use condoms or internal condoms. </p>