What is the risk of an STI?
What is the risk of an STI?
Sex without a condom can cause you to contract an STD. It is not at all strange if you forget a condom once in the heat of the moment. You also don't immediately think of all the possible consequences during sex because you are in the moment. But afterward, these questions can arise. How likely is it that you have contracted an STD? We try to list some things for you.
What are the most common STDs?
In the Netherlands, the most common STDs are Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. In 2022, some 25,000 diagnoses of Chlamydia were made. For Gonorrhea, there were about 11,000. Gonorrhea is the most common STD among men who have sex with men, but is also rising sharply among heterosexual, young women.
What are the odds of me catching Chlamydia or Gonorrhoea?
We now know how common Chlamydia and Gonorrhea were in 2022 in the Netherlands. But what are the chances, now, of contracting one of these STDs during one time of unsafe sex?
For women, for each time you have unsafe sex with an infected partner, you have a 45% chance of contracting Chlamydia and an 80% chance of contracting Gonorrhea.
For men, for each time you have unsafe sex with an infected partner, you have a 28% chance of contracting Chlamydia and a 77% chance of contracting Gonorrhea.
The risk of contracting an STD after having unprotected sex with an infected partner is different for men and women because women have a larger mucous membrane surface in the vagina and are therefore more susceptible to this STD.
What are the chances of me getting HIV?
Everyone is afraid of HIV, what many people don't know is that the risk of HIV in one-time vaginal contact is not that high at all. The risk of HIV that men run per time of unsafe vaginal contact with an infected partner is 0.014%, for women it is 0.2%.
In case of anal contact, the chance of transmission is slightly higher, this has to do with the fact that the anus is more easily damaged during sex and that small blood vessels can develop, which increases the chance of transmission.
For anal sex, the risk of HIV per time of unsafe sexual contact is 0.06-0.2% (top) and 0.1-3% (bottom).
A few important things to know is that HIV can also be prevented during unprotected sex by taking a PrEP or PEP course. These are medications that protect you from HIV infection. Read more about PrEP.
What are the chances that I have contracted syphilis?
Syphilis is an STD that goes through several stages. In each phase, the likelihood of transmission is different. The most infectious phase, is the first phase. In this phase, a large proportion of people have an ulcer at the spot where he/she/they are infected. This can be in the mouth/vagina/anus or on the penis. When you come in contact with such an ulcer, the chance of transmission is about 30% for both men and women.
When the ulcer goes away again, usually on its own, a person may remain contagious.
Better safe than sorry!
Hopefully we were able to reassure you a bit with our numbers and words above. The chance of getting an STD after one time of unprotected sex is not extremely high, but it does exist. And nobody knows how big the chance is that you are just that person. It is therefore important, when you are in the possibility with your sex partner, to talk about protected sex. To be able to use a condom in the heat of the moment, which ensures that you both don't regret things afterwards.
This makes the pleasure before, during and after sex the greatest for everyone.
If you did have unsafe sex, always get tested for an STD. OneDayClinic tests for all STDs and offers direct treatment when necessary. We also offer a test in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven that can give a definitive result within 90 minutes. This test is just as reliable as a laboratory test!
Schedule an appointment for an anonymous test online immediately.
