A person can have a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) without knowing it. How often should you be screened, depend on your age, your sexual behaviors and other risk factors. If you think that you need STI testing, request it from your doctor. Talk to your doctor about your concerns and what tests you'd like or need.
If you're sexually active, especially with multiple partners, you've probably heard the following advice many times: Use protection and get tested. This is important because a person can have a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) without knowing it. In many cases, there aren't any signs or symptoms. In fact, that's why many experts prefer the term Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), because you can have an infection without disease symptoms. But what types of STI testing do you need? And how often should you be screened? The answers depend on your age, your sexual behaviors and other risk factors.
Don't assume that you're receiving STI testing every time you have a gynecologic exam or Pap test. If you think that you need STI testing, request it from your doctor. Talk to your doctor about your concerns and what tests you'd like or need. See these guidelines for STI testing for specific Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs):
- Chlamydia and Gonorrhea
These STIs cause cervicitis in women, urethritis in men and extra-genital infections, including rectal and oropharyngeal manifestations. Common symptoms include vaginal or penile discharge and burning with urination. Infants of infected mothers can contract neonatal conjunctivitis (red eyes) due to exposure to the STIs during vaginal delivery. Rectal and pharyngeal infections can be asymptomatic.
National guidelines recommend that you get screened annually if:
1. You're a sexually active woman under age 25.
2. You're a woman older than 25 and at risk of STIs — such as having sex with a new partner or multiple partners.
3. You're a man who has sex with men.
4. You have HIV.
5. You've been forced to have intercourse or engage in sexual activity against your will.
Doctors screen people for chlamydia and gonorrhea by taking a urine test or a swab inside the penis in men or from the cervix in women. The sample is then analyzed in a lab. Screening is important, because if you don't have signs or symptoms, you may not know that you have either infection.
- HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages HIV testing, at least once, as a routine part of medical care if you're an adolescent or adult between the ages of 13 and 64. Younger teens should be tested if they have a high risk of an STI. The CDC advises yearly HIV testing if you're at high risk of infection.
The CDC recommends hepatitis C screening for everyone born between 1945 and 1965. The incidence of hepatitis C is high in this age group, and the disease often has no symptoms until it's advanced. Vaccines are available for both hepatitis A and B if screening shows you haven't been exposed to these viruses.
National guidelines recommend that you request testing for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis if you:
1. Test positive for another STI, which puts you at greater risk of other STIs.
2. Have had more than one sexual partner (or if your partner has had multiple partners) since your last test.
3. Use intravenous (IV) drugs.
4. Are a man who has sex with men.
5. Are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant.
6. Have been forced to have intercourse or engage in sexual activity against your will.
Your doctor tests you for syphilis by taking either a blood sample or a swab from any genital sores you might have. The sample is examined in a lab. A blood sample is taken to test for HIV and hepatitis.
- Genital Herpes
No good screening test exists for herpes — a viral infection. Most people with herpes infection never have any symptoms but can still transmit the virus to others. Your doctor may take a tissue scraping or early ulcers, if you have them, to be examined in a lab. But a negative test doesn't rule out herpes as a cause for genital ulcerations.
A blood test also may help detect a past herpes infection, but results aren't always definite. Some blood tests can help differentiate between the two main types of the herpes virus. Type 1 is the virus that more typically causes cold sores, although it can also cause genital sores.
Type 2 is the virus that causes genital sores more often. Still, the results may not be totally clear, depending on the sensitivity of the test and the stage of the infection. False-positive and false-negative results are possible.
- HPV
Certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer while other varieties of HPV can cause genital warts. Many sexually active people become infected with HPV at some point in their lives, but never develop symptoms. The virus typically disappears within two years.
There's no routinely used HPV screening test for men, in whom the infection is diagnosed by visual inspection or biopsy of genital warts. In women, HPV testing involves:
1. Pap test. Which check the cervix for abnormal cells, are recommended every three years for women between ages 21 and 65.
2. HPV test. Women older than age 30 may be able to have the HPV test along with a Pap test every five years if previous tests were normal. Women between 21 and 30 will be given an HPV test if they've had abnormal results on their Pap test.
HPV has also been linked to cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and mouth and throat. Vaccines can protect both men and women from some types of HPV, but they are most effective when administered before sexual activity begins.
At-home test kits for certain STIs, such as HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea, have been gaining acceptance and popularity. For home STI testing, you collect a urine sample, blood, or an oral or genital swab and then send it to a lab for analysis. Some tests require more than one sample. The benefit of home testing is that you're able to collect the sample in the privacy of your home without the need for a pelvic exam or office visit.
PT Isotekindo Intertama is a official distributor for the AccuTell® infectious series products:
- AccuTell® Syphilis Test Cassette (Whole Blood/Serum/Plasma).
- AccuTell® Chlamydia Test Cassette (Swab/Urine).
- AccuTell® HIV 1.2.O Rapid Test Cassette (Whole Blood/Serum/Plasma).
- AccuTell® HBsAg / HBsAb / HCV Test Cassette (Whole Blood/Serum/Plasma).
AccuTell® products are rapid chromatographic immunoassay for the qualitative detection of sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, chlamydia, HIV and hepatitis using blood, serum, plasma or urine samples. The AccuTell® infectious series is intended for IVD (In Vitro Diagnostic) use only. The cassette can provide results in 10 minutes after testing and is relatively easy to use. It is enough to just drip the sample and the buffer provided in 1 kit on the test cassette.
Positive results if the test cassette shows 2 lines in column C & T, negative if it shows only 1 line in column C, and invalid results if 1 line is in column T or there are no lines at all. If you test positive from a home test, contact your doctor or a public health clinic to confirm the test results. If your home test results are negative, but you're experiencing symptoms, contact your doctor or a public health clinic to confirm the results. If you test positive for an STI, the next step is to consider further testing and then get treatment as recommended by your doctor. In addition, inform your sex partners. Your partners need to be evaluated and treated, because you can pass some infections back and forth.
Reference:
- Mayo Clinic. (2020). STD testing: What's right for you?
- WHO. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
- CDC. Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
