Pregnancy is a time when it is especially important to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Every pregnant woman should be tested for syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C starting early in pregnancy. People at risk of infection should also do so. Health care providers can use a urinalysis or swab to test for chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Swabs are taken from the inside of the penis in men or from the cervix in women, and then sent to a laboratory for analysis. Screening tests are essential because if you don't have any symptoms, you may not know you're infected. Your healthcare provider may recommend testing for genital herpes if you have symptoms or other risk factors. However, most people with a herpes infection never have any symptoms, but they can still transmit the virus to others.
If you do have symptoms, your healthcare provider can take a tissue sample or culture of blisters or incipient ulcers and send them to a lab. A negative test result doesn't always mean you don't have herpes, especially if you have symptoms. Certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer, while other types can cause genital warts. Many sexually active people get HPV at some point in their lives, but they never have any symptoms.
Most of the time, the virus goes away on its own within two years. Home testing kits for certain STIs, such as HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea, are becoming increasingly popular. For home STI testing, you collect a urine sample or an oral or genital swab and then send it to a lab. All sexually active people should get tested, and those at higher risk of contracting STDs should get tested annually.
This includes those who engage in risky sexual behavior (for example, pregnant women should also get tested). Since there is no single test that can rule out all STDs, there are several types of STI tests you may need to undergo to perform a full screening test. In New York, parental permission is not required to take any STD tests and your results will remain private at Statcare. Unfortunately, several online sources announce that STI testing packages are inadequate, leading many people astray (for example, failing to detect a specific disease).
If the result of a home test for an STI is positive, contact your healthcare provider or a public health clinic to confirm the test results. Sexually transmitted diseases are common but the types of tests you need may vary depending on your risk factors.
