Sexual health and STI testing

Get help straight away if

These are uncommon, but they need same-day care — go to an emergency department, do not wait for an appointment.

• Sudden severe pain in one testicle, with or without swellingGo to an emergency department immediately. A twisted testicle needs surgery within hours and is easily mistaken for an infection.
• Severe lower abdominal pain with fever, particularly with unusual discharge or bleedingGo to an emergency department.

Contact us promptly if

Not an emergency, but worth being seen sooner rather than waiting it out.

• Unusual discharge, pain passing urine, sores, ulcers, or unusual bleeding
• A known exposure, or a partner who has been diagnosedWorth being seen — treatment is sometimes given without waiting for your results.
• A possible HIV exposure within the last 72 hoursGo to an emergency department now. Preventive treatment works, but only if started within 72 hours, and the sooner the better.

What usually happens

Most sexually transmitted infections cause no symptoms. Feeling fine tells you very little, and testing is decided by what you have been exposed to rather than by what you have noticed — which is why asking for a test is routine rather than an admission of anything.

Testing too early is the commonest mistake. Each infection has a window between exposure and when a test can detect it, and a negative test taken inside that window is not reassurance. Ask when to test rather than testing immediately.

Testing is confidential. Some infections are reportable to public health, which is about contacting partners rather than about you, and it is worth understanding how that works rather than avoiding testing because of it.

Telling partners is uncomfortable and it is also how infections stop spreading. There are anonymous ways to do it, and public health can do it for you without naming you.

Prevention has moved on considerably. Vaccination protects against some infections, medication taken before exposure prevents HIV very effectively, and condoms remain the only method that covers both infection and pregnancy.

At your appointment

Questions about what kind of sex you have had and with whom, asked to decide which tests and which sites to sample — not to judge. Throat and rectal swabs are often needed and are frequently the only positive result.

Advice on timing, so you are not tested inside the window and falsely reassured.

Treatment that may be started before results are back if the history warrants it, and clear guidance on when it is safe to have sex again.

A conversation about partner notification, vaccination and prevention, including what is available to you.

Worth asking

• —Which tests do I need, and when should I have them for an accurate result?
• —Do I need testing at sites other than urine?
• —How and when will I get my results?
• —What should I tell my partners, and can I get help doing it?