Can a Treated STD Come Back?

An STD can come back if it is not adequately treated or if you continue to practice unsafe sex that can put you at risk for contracting the STD again. Your STD may come back for several reasons:

• You are taking the wrong medication. Your STD treatment may fail, causing a resurgence of the disease if you are taking the wrong medication. This can occur when you are prescribed the wrong medication because of a misdiagnosis, through obtaining the wrong medication on your own, or when you take someone else’s medication.
• You are taking your medication improperly. You need to take your medication exactly as prescribed by your healthcare professional to ensure that you completely rid yourself of your currently diagnosed STD. You should never stop taking your medication just because you feel better, as the full dose is needed to completely remove the disease from your system. If you do this, you may also develop antibiotic resistance, which can make treatments less effective in the future.
• Your partner was not treated. When you are treated for an STD, you will need to have your partner treated as well. Even if they are not symptomatic, they still may carry the disease and could pass it back to you after you have received treatment. You should also make sure that both you and your partner complete your treatments before having intercourse again.
• You were exposed to a new STD. Just because you have been treated for an STD does not mean that you can never contract it again. If you fail to implement safe sex practices, you can easily contract the same STD over and over again.

To prevent an STD from coming back, you need to follow the treatment plan given to you by your healthcare provider and continue to practice safe sex.