Home STI testing is becoming much more prevalent and the advances in home STI testing kits has come on significantly in the last few years. When people think about home test kits, they usually think of simple, home pregnancy testing kits where the user takes the test in their own home and they get a result there and then. This works well for pregnancy tests which only look for one hormone in urine.

Sexually transmitted infections can be more complex than this and depending on the STI involved, the person will be required to supply a urine sample or urine and a swab sample. To be collected neither sample requires a trained nurse or medical practitioner and can be carried out by anyone in the privacy of their own home. Sample collection is non-invasive and easy to do.
To guarantee the accuracy and reliability of the sexual transmitted infections tests the sample or samples need to be posted to a laboratory where complex laboratory tests are carried out to determine if any STIs are present in the sample. Most STIs can be treated quickly and easily with an antibiotic.

Advantages of multiple STI tests

How do you know which STI test to take? Have you self-diagnosed based on your symptoms, what about co-infections? You may not even know you have an STI as many are asymptomatic, which test should you take? These are all questions you should ask yourself before you decide which home STI test you should take. You may choose to take a single chlamydia test but what if you had a co-infection, this single chlamydia test would not detect it and you may go on to pass this to a partner. Therefore the more STI tests you get checked for at once the better, then you can be completely confidante that you are STI free and will not pass infections onto sexual partners.

Who should take an STI test?

Quite simply; anyone that has ever had unprotected sex should take an STI test. You or your partner may have an STI and not know it, it is much better to take a test and know for definite. If you have just come out of a relationship and are thinking about starting a new one you should take an STI test. As more mature people come out of long term relationships and marriages they may choose to start a new relationship, the risk of STIs should not be underestimated. Later in life when pregnancy is not as much of a concern unprotected sex can still lead to sexually transmitted infections.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) undetected

STIs can be left undetected by many people due to there not being any obvious symptoms; this does not mean that they are not causing damage. Undetected STIs can affect a woman’s ability to get pregnant, cause further infections or affect a man’s ability to get an erection.
Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increasing. If you have unprotected sex, your health is at risk. Find out what symptoms to look out for and how to stay safe.