Home Std Tests Are Convenient But There Are Drawbacks
Seeing a health care provider usually is the most reliable way to determine if you have a sexually transmitted disease . In some cases, home testing for STDs provides a convenient or necessary alternative, but it may come with some drawbacks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that of the nearly 20 million estimated new STD infections each year, about half of them are among young people age 15 to 24. The most recent CDC surveys show large surges from 2014 to 2018 in cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia, primary and secondary syphilis, and congenital syphilis.
Some STDs do not cause symptoms or the symptoms are barely noticeable so many infected people dont know they need treatment. If left untreated, though, STDs can lead to severe health complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease, increased risk for HIV, certain cancers, and infertility.
Because the number of infections and need for screening have increased, at-home test kits for STDs such as HIV, chlamydia, and gonorrhea have grown in popularity. Visiting a clinic is the best choice for screening, but if privacy concerns, inconvenience, or limited access to a provider are issues, then online and home-to-lab STD screening tests may be a good option.
Pros and Cons
UAB Medicine obstetrician and gynecologist Shweta Patel, MD, says home testing may be a good option in certain cases.
After the Results Are In
Why Getting Tested For Chlamydia Is Important
The only sure way of finding out if you are chlamydia positive is to undergo a Chlamydia test. If you are sexually active and have multiple partners, getting tested for chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases is extremely important. An untreated infection can create serious complications in both men and women.
Getting tested for chlamydia is not at all difficult. All you have to do is visit the nearest STD testing facility and get tested for a wide range of sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia. The testing is done using a swab or a urine sample . Reputed STD testing centers offer immediate chlamydia test results, often within a few hours.
When To Speak With A Doctor
STI tests are often a standard part of a gynecological exam or regular health checkup, but this is not always the case. With this in mind, anyone who believes they may have chlamydia should consider a test.
One symptom of chlamydia is a burning sensation when urinating. A person experiencing this issue should contact a doctor, even if a home chlamydia test has returned a negative result.
If a home test returns a positive result, individuals should consult their doctor to get confirmation.
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Why Should You Go For Chlamydia Testing
Chlamydia is a dangerous disease and is very common among those who are sexually active. Finding symptoms of this disease is very tedious and it usually takes more time to figure out this disease. If the disease is diagnosed at early stages then it can be cured. If you are afraid to visit doctor then you can buy some at-home Chlamydia test kit. It will be you anonymous result that nobody can see.
When Should You Check For Chlamydia
Commonly referred to as the silent infection, Chlamydia often shows little to no symptoms. This can lead to a lot of untreated infections which can cause possible problems later on in life.
If symptoms appear, in women, they may include:
- Pain when urinating
- Pain in the tummy or pelvis
- Pain during sex
If you are sexually active, its important to regularly check in on your sexual health.
If youve been experiencing symptoms of Chlamydia, its important to take a test. The best way to do this from home is with an at-home STI test. The process is simple:
You should take the LetsGetChecked STI test if:
- You become sexually active
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Just How Usual Is Chlamydia
In 2017, more than 1.7 million situations of chlamydia were reported to the Centers for Illness Control as well as Avoidance . Several cases go unreported, so the real number of chlamydia infections every year may be closer to 3 million.
Men and women can both obtain the infection, but much more instances in women are reported.
Infection rates are highest among more youthful females, with the highest rates of infection occurring in females in between ages 15 and 24.
The CDC recommends that all sexually active women ages 25 years as well as more youthful obtain evaluated for chlamydia each year, in addition to older ladies with threat factors like numerous or new partners.
Statistically, an individual is more likely to obtain an STI if theyve had sex with more than a single person. Other risk factors consist of having had an STI in the past, or currently have an infection because this can lower resistance.
Prices for chlamydia and also various other STIs have been climbing up in recent times.
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STDcheck |
How To Test For Chlamydia At Home
How to test for Chlamydia at home with an FDA approved at home std test kit. Order the test kit online for discreet STD Testing, results in 2-5 days. With Mylab Box you can order any STD test online, then you get it in the mail and follow the simple instructions. Then you mail it back to the FDA Approved lab and you get your results quickly, and with no embarrassing conversations with a doctor or with someone at the pharmacy. The best part about dealing with Mylab Box is that your test samples are being screened at an actual clinic, so it is much safer than trying to figure out which kit to buy at CVS or Walgreens, and you do not know how reliable the over the counter std test in stores will be.
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When Is A Chlamydia Test Performed
A chlamydia infection doesnt usually cause symptoms, so people may not know they have it. Untreated, chlamydia can cause serious health problems and infertility. Thats why providers screen for chlamydia, which means they regularly test certain people who have a higher risk of infection. You should get regular chlamydia screenings if you:
- Are sexually active, especially if youre under 25.
- Are a man who has sex with men.
- Are pregnant and under age 25. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases can be dangerous for you and your baby.
- Know that your partner has a sexually transmitted disease or sexually transmitted infection .
- Plan to have sex with a new partner or have more than one partner.
If you previously tested positive for chlamydia and got treated for it, you should get follow-up tests. You usually need a test about a month after treatment and two months after that to make sure the treatment worked.
If you have symptoms of chlamydia infection you may or may not have symptoms of chlamydia. If so, your provider will recommend a test. Symptoms of chlamydia include:
- Burning sensation while urinating .
- Discharge from your vagina, penis or anus.
- Painful intercourse or bleeding after having sex.
What Types Of Chlamydia And Gonorrhoea Tests Are There
The most common test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea is a simple urine or swab test, which is what Superdrug Online Doctor offers. This is the same type of test that you would get in any sexual health clinic. This test is easy to use at home, or with the help of a clinician, and provides highly accurate results.
While chlamydia is not a bloodborne infection, blood tests can pick up the presence of chlamydia antibodies. But, blood tests cannot be used to diagnose chlamydia as they can only detect whether you have had chlamydia in the past and developed antibodies against it. It cannot confirm if you have a current infection.
Why should I get tested for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea?
Testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, as well as other sexually transmitted infections, is important to keep yourself and your partners safe. Regular testing makes sure that, if you do pick up an infection, you can get treated as soon as possible. Left untreated, these infections can cause serious health problems, like pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.
Getting tested regularly also helps you reduce the spread of these infections. Chlamydia is the most common STI in the UK, and making sure you get tested before having sex with a new partner helps to protect them from a potential infection. Some people choose to do a home chlamydia and gonorrhoea test when they meet a new partner to check they do not have either of these sexually transmitted infections .
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What Is Extragenital Chlamydia Testing
Contrary to popular belief, chlamydia does not always just infect your genitals. In fact, it can also affect your mouth, throat and rectal region. Today, lets take a closer look at the oral version of this sexually transmitted infection . Believe it or not, oral chlamydia is trickier to test for than you may expect.
Anatomy Of A Pathogen
For around half a millennium, syphilis has been one of the most widely recognized and feared STIs. It spurred the development of the first drug dubbed a magic bullet and, since the advent of penicillin three decades later, has largely been considered curable. With proper condom use, disease transmission can be reduced to near zero. Left untreated, however, the disease can prove deadly, causing severe neurological issues, especially if transmitted at or before birth.
Many syphilis tests detect antibodies against the bacterial family that includes the corkscrew-shaped Treponema pallidum.Credit: Dr Kari Lounatmaa/Science Photo Library
Detecting the disease, which is caused by the corkscrew-shaped bacterium Treponema pallidum, is easy enough, says Deborah Williamson, a microbiologist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who has spent several decades studying syphilis. At a clinic, a health-care worker usually takes a blood sample and runs an assay to look for antibodies against the bacterial family that includes T. pallidum. If this assay is positive, the clinician runs further tests on the original sample to zero in on a diagnosis.
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How Do They Test For Chlamydia In Men
Chlamydia is one of the most common bacterial infections that are spread through sexual intercourse not only in the United States but in several other areas of the world too. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.7 million cases of this sexually transmitted infection were reported in 2018. This data accounts for the United States alone. The World Health Organization estimates that about 2.7% of men around the world have been infected with Chlamydia between 2009 and 2016.
Due to the fact that chlamydia is a condition that affects male and female patients in unique ways, it is important to consider the differences in testing for these conditions too. In this post, we will consider some unique ways that chlamydia tends to affect men and take a look at what tests are performed to identify the presence of this bacterial infection in a male patient.
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What Is An Std And An Sti
STIs are infections that are transmitted from one person to another during vaginal, anal, and oral sex.
An STI is only considered an STD a disease when it causes symptoms. Usually, an infection is the first step on the road to potentially developing a disease, but it hasnt yet turned into disease and often doesnt cause any symptoms.
Not all diseases start out as infections. But in the case of STDs, they do.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , 1 in 5 people in the United States had an STD or STI on any given day in 2018.
Although common, most people dont realize they have an STI because the majority of STIs cause no symptoms or only mild symptoms.
- abdominal pain
Vaginal discharge can also signify something is wrong.
It is important to note that while most STIs are contracted through vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse, some can be transmitted through non-sexual means, such as blood transfusions and shared intravenous products like needles and syringes.
As such, it is important that you are tested frequently and regularly.
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What Is Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria. Gonorrhea can increase the risk of contracting HIV, and symptoms can include inflammation of the cervix and urethra. Gonorrhea infection rates are nearly equal among women and men.
In women, gonorrhea often occurs without symptomsâbut an untreated gonorrhea infection can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease , which can cause serious issues for women’s health . Thatâs why routine gonorrhea testing is so important: the CDC recommends that all sexually active women under the age of 25 get tested for gonorrheaâas well as chlamydiaâevery year.
In men, gonorrhea can cause symptoms like painful urination, genital swelling, and testicular pain.
How Much Do At
A test that detects three or four STDs starts at just under $100. That goes up to about $400 for some of the most comprehensive offerings that detect 8 or 9 different STDs.
If the cost is a problem, some regional Planned Parenthood offices are also offering at-home STD testing their services are usually free or low cost, depending on your income level. There are also many free and low-cost clinics that remain open, perhaps with limited hours, for in-person STD and HIV testing.
Below is a list of at-home and lab-based tests available without a doctors visit, with information about costs, how long results take, and which STDs they can test for.
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Best Chlamydia Home Test Kit
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How Does Chlamydia Spread
Testing is essential to stop the spreading of this STD. Chlamydia can be transmitted in a variety of ways, including:
- Vaginal intercourse
- Anal sex
- Oral sex
One of the biggest misconceptions is that this disease is transmitted only through ejaculation. But this is not the case. Even if the male does not ejaculate, his partner can still contract the disease.
Any form of unprotected sex can result in contracting chlamydia.
If youve had this disease in the past, you are not immune from it. There is still a chance that you can contract chlamydia if you have unprotected sex.
Children can also contract chlamydia from the mother. If you are pregnant and contract chlamydia, there is a very high chance that your baby will also contract the disease during childbirth itself.
In the United States alone, there are over 200,000 new cases per year of chlamydia. The medical diagnosis is important when seeking treatment, and an at home Chlamydia test is your best option for privacy concerns.
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How Do Home Testing Kits Work
Because most self-testing kits have a 4-month expiration date, collected samples must be sent to the lab as soon as possible:
- Finger prick sample collection: You prick the tip of your finger with a small needle and collect your blood in a container. This sample can be tested for human immunodeficiency virus , hepatitis, and syphilis.
- Urine sample collection: Once you pee into the urine sample pot, you can send it to a lab for it to be tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea.
- Swab collection: Some kits may contain a cotton swab, which is used to collect mucus or tissue from the infected or private areas and test them for STDs.
You should wait at least 2 weeks between having sex and collecting test samples if you are getting tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea, and 12 weeks for HIV and syphilis. If you have any symptoms or suspect you have an STI, you should avoid having intercourse until you obtain the test results.
If the samples are not collected properly or submitted to a lab in enough time, there is a good probability that a false-negative result may be generated, which increases your risk of your STI going untreated.