PIP: Information is presented on the treatment of infections associated primarily with sexual transmission. Attention is directed to the following: gonorrhea (urogenital gonorrhea, anal and pharyngeal gonorrhea, resistant infections, and gonorrhea in pregnancy); syphilis (syphilis in pregnancy and congenital syphilis); nongonococcal urethritis and related infections (diseases of infancy and other chlamydial infections); and vaginitis (trichomoniasis, trichomoniasis in pregnancy, nonspecific vaginitis, vulvovaginal candidasis); chancroid; pediculosis pubis; venereal warts; and genital herpes simplex. 5 days of oral tetracycline HCI taken 1 hour before or 2 hours after meals is recommended for urogenital gonorrhea in both women and men. Anal gonorrhea in women can be treated like urogenital gonorrhea, but men should be treated with intramuscular procaine penicillin G or spectinomycin. Pregnant women can be treated with the same regimens of penicillin G, amoxicillin, or ampicillin as other patients. Parenteral penicillin G remains the drug of choice for treating all stages of syphilis. Either a tetracycline or an erythromycin taken for 7 days is usually effective against nongonococcal urethritis and related infections. Neonatal pneumonia caused by "Chlamydia" can be treated with systemic erythromycin for 14 days. Suspected infectious vaginitis is best managed by making a specific etiologic diagnosis. The important of sexual transmission in vulvovaginal candidiasis is most likely low and remains to be determined in nonspecific vaginitis. Metronidazole remains the treatment of choice for trichomoniasis unless contraindicated by pregnancy or hypersensitivity. Metronidazole is the drug of choice for nonspecific vaginitis. Several remedies are available for treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. Topical antifungal drugs are effective, but recurrences are frequent. Although common in the U.S., chancroid is prevalent in other areas of the world. Resistant infections can be treated with erythromycin. Pyrethrins with piperonyl butoxide offer effective topical treatment for pubic lice and are less toxic than lindane. Podophyllin is the most widely used treatment for veneral warts. Patients with genital herpes should be told to avoid emollient creams and ointments, for these may delay healing and promote local spread of lesions by autoinoculation; acyclovir may soon be available for topical treatment.