sunny
Both. STD and STI are being used interchangeably now. A disease causes problems, but STI is an infection without symptoms. So if you are infected, it is an STI. If you start having symptoms, it is an STD.
The mom
Either term is correct. It's a matter of finely parsing your words. A disease is an abnormal condition of a part, organ or system that interferes with the normal function of it. The cause may be either internal or external, meaning you could have it due to genetic factors or something like an infectious organism like chlamydia. Chlamydia causes a disease, and it is transmitted sexually- so it is both STD and STI. Which term a doctor chooses to use is up to him. They are gradually moving away from the term STD because the word disease implies there are symptoms associated with the problem. But many of the causes actually do not cause symptoms that are peculiar to any one particular organism, and some are silent. In that sense, you have an infection that is present, but does not cause a disease. So you see, the two terms can be used interchangeably, and still be correct. Sometimes too, a doctor will choose to say STI rather than STD just because of the negative connotations that STD carries. Don't ask my why you'd feel better to have an infection versus a disease, but some folks do.
You might also like:
STIs: Gonorrhea & Chlamydia
A UNC-TV segment on gonorrhea and chlamydia infections in North Carolina. Produced by the Science & Medical Journalism Program of UNC at Chapel Hill.
Orignal From: is chlamydia an std or an sti (sexually transmitted infection)?
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