What About Rectal And Oral Swabs
Rectal swabs and oral swabs may also be considered for those who have or unprotected oral sex. These tests are known as extragenital, or outside of the genital region, testing. These tests are important to do if chlamydia is suspected but your urine test came back negative.
Rectal and oral swabs can be collected at home and dropped off the same day at a lab, or done in a medical office or lab.
Choose Your Own Path To Protection
myLAB Boxs home testing kits provide all of the benefits of an in-person screening without your ever needing to set foot outside. The only difference is that now you are in total control of where and when you test. Now there are no more excuses!
For some, going to the clinic may be the right choice. For others, at home STD testing is the best method. No matter how you choose to get checked for STDs, it is a critical step in protecting your overall health. Regular screenings empower you to take active control over your body and your love life.
Now that you see how easy it is to screen at home, youll never need to Hmm, where to get tested for STDs near me? again. The answer is right in front of you!
To learn more, check out myLAB Boxs helpful Incubation and Testing Timelines Guide.
Why Do I Need A Chlamydia Test
Chlamydia is a very common STD, especially in sexually active people ages 15 to 24. But chlamydia usually doesn’t cause symptoms, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health organizations recommend regular screening tests if your risk of getting chlamydia is high.
If you are a woman or a transgender or gender diverse person with a cervix , you should:
- Get tested for chlamydia at least once a year if you are:
- Younger than 25 and having sex
- Age 25 or older and have a higher risk of getting chlamydia because you:
- Have a new sex partner or more than one partner
- Have a sex partner who is having sex with others
- Have a sex partner with an STD
- Don’t use condoms correctly every time
Regular chlamydia testing at least once a year is also recommended if you:
The best testing schedule for you may be different than the recommendations. Ask your provider how often you should get tested.
Your provider will order a test if your sex partner has been diagnosed with chlamydia or if you have symptoms. Symptoms of chlamydia may include:
- An unusual discharge from your genitals or rectum
- Irritation or itching around your genitals
- Pain or burning when you urinate
- Rectal pain or bleeding if chlamydia infects the rectum
Don’t Miss: Can You Use A Condom If You Have Chlamydia
What Is An Std Incubation Period
When to get tested for an STD is an important question. To determine when you should get tested, its important to understand how the body responds to STDs.
If you are exposed to an STD, your body will need time to recognize it in your system. Once the STD has been detected, your body will begin to produce antibodies to fight it. The time that it takes your body to identify the STD and produce these antibodies is known as the incubation period.
Most STD tests determine whether or not you have an STD by looking for the presence of specific types of antibodies in a sample of your blood, urine, or saliva. If these antibodies are present, you will test positive, but if they are not present in your sample, you will test negative.
Because STD tests look for the presence of antibodies, testing too early could lead to false negative results. If you take a test during the incubation period, your body may not have had enough time to produce antibodies yet, which means you could test negative even if you really are infected. Thats why it is so important to wait until the incubation period is over to get tested for STDs.
How Often Should I Get Checked For Chlamydia
Sexual health check-ups are recommended for anyone who is sexually active. Frequency of testing also depends on your STI risk:
- An annual sexual health check-up is highly recommended if you are sexually active especially if you are under 25.
- Get checked more often during the year if you frequently change sexual partners.
- Remember, you are at greater risk if you have sex without a condom with 1 or multiple sexual partners.
Read Also: Can You Still Test Positive For Chlamydia After Treatment
Chlamydia Testing: How To Test For Chlamydia
There are lots of ways to test for Chlamydia. If you are not sure which test you have had then please check with your doctor.
Chlamydia is not tested for with a blood test. It is a bacterial infection which means it is living somewhere in your body and can be treated with antibiotics, but is unlikely to show up in a blood test.
Chlamydia can be tested for in urine or with a swab or the site where the infection might be. The urine test is a small urine sample and will identify most Chlamydia infections in men and womens from vaginal sexual intercourse.
Most people have no symptoms if they have early Chlamydia so the only way to know is to get tested. It is important to get tested and treated to help prevent infertility and painful side effects in the future.
Better2Know can test for chlamydia by urine and swab at any of its private STD Testing clinics across the UK.
How Gonorrhea And Chlamydia Are Tested
Both gonorrhea and chlamydia can be diagnosed with similar methods. A healthcare provider might do a physical examination to look for symptoms, and they may do a urine test to check for the bacteria that cause chlamydia or gonorrhea.
But screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea doesnÃât have to take place at a clinic. With the Everlywell at-home Chlamydia & Gonorrhea Test, you can easily check for these STIs from the comfort and privacy of your home.
The kit comes with easy-to-follow instructions and everything you need to collect your sample at home, and your physician-reviewed results can be conveniently and securely viewed online on your device. Plus, if you receive a positive result after you get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea with the Everlywell at-home test, youÃâll have the opportunity to connect with our independent physician networkÃâand may be prescribed medication to treat the infection.
You May Like: What Treats Chlamydia And Gonorrhea
Recommended Reading: Can Chlamydia Go Away And Come Back
Where Can I Get Tested For Stds / Stis
Your general practitioner, OBGYN, or urgent care clinic can all order STI / STD tests for you. You can also try a local or campus clinic or your local Planned Parenthood location.
Depending on your income, you may even be able to get tests for free. Search here for your local Planned Parenthood and call to find out if you qualify for free testing.
If youre uncomfortable with those options, or dont want STI tests on your insurance, some states allow you to order tests at home.
You can also order a testing kit and test yourself at home. Our affiliate myLAB Box can send you one now. Just pick the type of test you want. It wont have to show up on your records or insurance.
Same-day testing today: You can also use this site to order tests online and then stop by a lab near you for same-day testing.
Do Stds Show Up In Routine Blood Tests
Routine blood tests include complete blood counts , complete metabolic panels , lipid panels, thyroid panels, and enzyme markers. These tests can identify a wide range of health conditions, but they are not designed to test for STDs.
Routine blood tests may reveal signs of an STD, such as an elevated white blood cell count. But, an elevated white blood cell count can be caused by countless other conditions, so this is not a reliable way to test for STDs.
Do not assume that your physician is testing you for STDs simply because they have ordered a blood test. STD testing is not included in these routine tests. The bestand onlyway to test for STDs is with an STD test.
You May Like: Ceftriaxone And Azithromycin For Chlamydia
How Often Should I Get Tested
The CDC recommends that sexually active women younger than 25 years old get tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia every year. Women 25 years and older with a new partner, multiple partners, or a partner who has an STI should also get tested annually.
Sexually active gay and bisexual men should be tested for syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea annually. In cases of frequent sexual encounters with multiple partners, the CDC recommends testing every 3 to 6 months.
If youre experiencing any symptoms of an STI, you should get tested immediately.
How Do You Test For Gonorrhea And Chlamydia
HealthLabs.com uses the FDA-approved / cleared nucleic acid amplification test . This test is recommended as the most accurate test for detecting both chlamydia and gonorrhea infections. Chlamydia trachomatis is the bacterium that causes chlamydia. Our NAAT chlamydia test looks for the presence of the bacteria in your urine. If it is found, this means that you have an active chlamydia infection. Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the bacterium that causes gonorrhea. Our NAAT gonorrhea test can detect the presence of this bacteria in your urine. If the bacteria is found, you have an active gonorrhea infection.
Read Also: Does The Same Antibiotic Treat Chlamydia And Gonorrhea
How Do You Get Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids .
You can get chlamydia through:
- sharing sex toys that are not washed or covered with a new condom each time they’re used
It can also be passed by a pregnant woman to her baby.
Chlamydia cannot be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing baths, towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery.
How Do You Test For Oral Chlamydia
This test does not check for oral chlamydia . But, we also offer an Oral Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea Test, which can detect chlamydia in the mouth and throat.
The Oral chlamydia and Gonorrhoea Test is easy to use and is between 91% and 100% sensitive at picking up infections. You take the test using an oral swab which you then send off in the post.
Read Also: Chlamydia Long Term Effects Male
How To Check If You Have Herpes
Many people mistake herpes symptoms for a skin rash or experience such a mild outbreak that they dont become aware theyre infected until subsequent outbreaks occur.
Its also possible that you might experience no outbreaks at all after being infected with HSV-1 or HSV-2.
Luckily, there are several ways to check whether or not you have herpes.The best and most obvious way is to talk to your doctor about herpes testing. There are several herpes testing methods in use today, ranging from swab tests that check for viral activity to blood tests that check for the presence of IgG and/or IgM antibodies.
Each testing method has strengths and weaknesses, meaning your doctor will recommend the best option for your symptoms and potential infection type.
Most of the time, youll need to wait 12 to 16 weeks from the last possible exposure date before taking a herpes test. This gives your immune system time to produce a large enough amount of antibodies for an accurate test result.
Recommended Reading: Is Chlamydia Cured With Antibiotics
How To Get Tested For Chlamydia
This article was medically reviewed by . Dr. Ziats is an Internal Medicine Physician, Researcher, and Entrepreneur in biotechnology. He received his PhD in Genetics from the University of Cambridge in 2014, and completed his MD shortly thereafter, at Baylor College of Medicine in 2015.There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 15,300 times.
Chlamydia is a relatively common sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis.XResearch source In 2012, there were 1.4 million reported cases of chlamydia.XResearch sourceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2012. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services December 2013. Both genders can contract chlamydia , although it’s difficult to know if you’re infected because it doesn’t often cause obvious symptoms. As such, it’s important to get tested for chlamydia on a regular basis if you’re at high risk for getting infected because it’s easy to treat, but potentially devastating to your health if left untreated.
You May Like: Amox Clav 875 125 Mg For Chlamydia
When Should You Get Tested For Hiv After Condomless Sex
Keep in mind, if you believe youve been exposed to HIV, its important to see a healthcare professional as soon as possible.
Theres no HIV test that can accurately detect HIV in the body immediately after exposure. Theres a time frame known as the window period before you can be tested for HIV and receive accurate results.
Regardless of the type of test you take after a potential HIV exposure, you should get tested again after the window period has passed to be certain.
People at higher risk of contracting HIV should get regularly tested as often as every 3 months.
Read Also: How Do You Know If You Got Rid Of Chlamydia
Guide To Sti Window Periods: When Should I Get Tested
Looking for convenient, discreet, at-home STI Testing? Take our simple quiz to find the right test for you.
The condom broke, or slipped off, or maybe you had oral sex without protection, and now youre scared youve gotten an STI. The prevalence of these sticky situations is what makes discussing sexual health before getting intimate with a new partner so important. But we all know that mistakes happen, timelines can move faster than expected, and unfortunately sometimes situations arent fully within our control.
At this point, your panic might convince you that you must get tested right away. Once youve entertained the possibility of an STI it can be very difficult to get the intrusive thought out of your mind. While this fixation is completely valid, getting tested immediately might be premature. If you get tested the day after sexual contact, the infection may not result in a positive test. In order to lower your risk of a false negative, its important to adhere to specific STI window periods.
Recommended Reading: Can I Go To The Emergency Room For Chlamydia
How Common Is Chlamydia
CDC estimates that there were four million chlamydial infections in 2018.3 Chlamydia is also the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States.4 However, a large number of cases are not reported because most people with chlamydia are asymptomatic and do not seek testing. Chlamydia is most common among young people. Two-thirds of new chlamydial infections occur among youth aged 15-24 years.3 It is estimated that 1 in 20 sexually active young women aged 14-24 years has chlamydia.5
Disparities persist among racial and ethnic minority groups. In 2019, reported chlamydia rates for African Americans/Blacks were nearly six times that of Whites.4 Chlamydia is also common among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men . Among MSM screened for rectal chlamydial infection, positivity has ranged from 3.0% to 10.5%.6,7 Among MSM screened for pharyngeal chlamydial infection, positivity has ranged from 0.5% to 2.3%.7.8
Nucleic Acid Amplification Test
The most common test for chlamydia, this is a simple, non-invasive test during which you collect a swab or urine sample yourself . A doctor can assist in taking a swab if you prefer.
The sample is then sent to be tested to see if there is genetic material that indicates the presence of chlamydia bacteria. Results come back quicker than the traditional culture test.
Read Also: How Much Does A Chlamydia Treatment Cost
How Long Does It Take To Show Up On A Test
There are several tests that you doctor might use to diagnose chlamydia:
- Urine test. Youll pee in a cup thats sent off to a laboratory testing facility to see if any chlamydia bacteria are present in your urine.
- Blood test. Your doctor will use a sterile needle to draw some of your blood and send it to a lab to see if antibodies to the chlamydia bacteria are present in your bloodstream.
- Swab. Your doctor will use a cotton round or stick to take a small sample of tissue or fluid that carries the infection, which is then sent to a lab to be cultured so that lab technicians can see what bacteria grows from the sample.
How long it takes for the results to show up depends on the test and on your specific health insurance plan.
- Urine tests take about 2 to 5 days to show a positive or negative result.
- Blood tests can come back with results in a few minutes if the blood is analyzed on site. But they can take a week or more if sent to an off-site lab.
- Swab results take about 2 to 3 days to show a positive or negative.
1 to 3 weeks to show up in people with vulvas.
Symptoms may take up a few months to show up. This is because bacteria are living creatures and have an incubation period that affects how long it takes them to cluster together and become infectious.
This incubation period is dependent on a variety of factors, including:
- how much of the bacteria you were exposed to
- how quickly the bacteria reproduce
- how strong your immune system is against the bacteria