April 13-19, 2025, is STI Awareness Week.
Misinformation is a lot like an STI — you may pass it on to someone else and not even know it.
Myths and assumptions about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been around forever. Before the internet, you probably heard something questionable about STIs from your best friend, who heard it from a cousin, who knew someone who said you can’t get an STI the first time you have sex.
While it’s true that you can find reputable, fact-based information online about STIs, it’s not always easy to tell fact from fiction, or whether a viral post about toilet seats is true (more on that later).
In an effort to spread the word — not misinformation — here’s the truth behind 7 of the most common myths about STIs.
Read: 6 STIs You Need to Know About >>
1. “You can’t get STIs from oral sex.”
(Purses lips.) You can get STIs from oral sex. Oral sex is sexual activity just like vaginal and anal sex.
The good news is that dental dams (a piece of plastic that goes over the vagina or anus) and condoms can help reduce the risk for STIs during oral sex.
2. “Douching after sex protects you from STIs.”
This is a hard no. Douching after sex can’t protect you from STIs. In fact, douching may increase the risk for STIs because it removes good bacteria along with bad bacteria in the vagina, which makes you more vulnerable to infection.
As a rule, douching messes with the natural balance of your vagina and isn’t recommended for anyone — ever.
3. “You can get chlamydia from a bench at the gym.”
You’ve probably heard this gem on social media, but it’s highly unlikely for anyone to get chlamydia from a bench at the gym or anywhere (unless maybe you’re getting busy with your trainer on that bench.) For one, chlamydia is a bacterial infection and the organisms can’t live outside the body for long — especially on hard surfaces like a bench. And chlamydia affects mucosal surfaces — the inner lining of the vagina, rectum and mouth — through sex. So, it would be extremely difficult for the organism to get where it needs to go without sexual activity.
4. “You can get an STI from a public toilet seat.”
Getting an STI from a toilet seat is also very, very unlikely. This is because STIs are passed from person to person during sex or through intimate skin-to-skin contact. Even if a STI was hanging out on a toilet seat, the odds that it survived long enough and somehow made it into your body is slim to none.
5. “You can’t get an STI if you’re pregnant.”
You can get an STI if you’re pregnant. And some STIs such as syphilis, HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B and genital herpes can be passed on to the baby during pregnancy or childbirth.
This is why it’s important to get screened for STIs before getting pregnant or early in pregnancy to treat or manage any infections.
Read: FAQs About HIV and Pregnancy >>
6. “Two condoms are better than one to protect against STIs.”
Double the condoms are not double the fun. When you layer one condom over the other, the materials rub together and that actually makes them weaker and more likely to break or tear.
7. “STIs only happen to young people.”
Anyone who has sex — regardless of age — is at risk for STIs. In fact, the rates of diagnosis have been on the rise for people ages 35 and older. You can reduce the risk for STIs by using a condom and/or dental dam every time you have sex. It’s also a good idea for you and your partner to get tested before you do the horizontal mambo.
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