Most of you are aware that there are STDs or sexually transmitted diseases. This was a part of our sexual education, at least for most of us and we are aware that these types of diseases are transmitted by having sexual activities.
What is interesting about these diseases is the fact that, initially, you will have no symptoms at all which makes it even harder to track down the carriers. You can easily transmit this to other people without knowing it and by doing so cause harm to the health of others. This is what it is highly important to educate yourself about these diseases and why it is important to do regular checkups at home or hospitals/clinics specialized for this job. If you need more info on that visit stdtestingnow.com and familiarize yourselves with the procedures and locations on where you can get tested.
Now to those that aren’t still aware of these diseases, there are several that fall into two categories – Bacterial and Viral. Bacterial STDs are chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis while Viral are genital herpes, HIV/AIDS, and genital warts. Both of these categories are dangerous and both can be prevented by practising safe sex at all times. Now, when it comes to the title of the article, we are going to tell you a few things about tests that can be home used to see if you have an STD and we will do so right below so enjoy!
To start of most of you are probably wondering why should I get a sexual health test. Well, the fact is that sexual health tests are really important in the early diagnosis of these diseases and they keep you safe. You should also insist on information from the person you plan or are having a relationship with to test and provide you with the results because this is the way to make sure you are in a healthy relationship both physically and mentally.
Why are we telling you all of this? Well, the fact from the beginning of the article states that STIs and STDs are problematic because they don’t often have symptoms that are visible or experienced immediately. This means that, if you are a very sexually active individual, you can infect other people and bring a lot of problems down on them as well. If you think of it these types of diseases tend to grow exponentially and the more contacts, you make the more the chance it will spread more and more.
According to data, around 80% of people who have either STI or STD do not have symptoms which is why we have had such an outbreak of this over the past few years with an incline of the positive trend. This is why you need to know if you are positive or not or if your partner is positive or not. Many people sadly are too ashamed to go to a clinic or a hospital and get tested which is why th ere are at-home tests you can do. These types of diseases and infections bring a lot of discomfort to your social life, besides the health one as well. If you test to be positive you will have to inform all of your partners about the result and you have to get them to test as well and find out if they caught the infection as well. This is highly problematic to do which is why most people opt not to get tested or, more terribly, decide not to inform other partners about the results, if they do the test.
At-home tests are easy and anyone can do them. It is also highly advisable to do these tests at least once every six months or more if you are a very sexually active person. The best thing about these at-home tests is that they are provided discreetly to any address you chose and you can do them in the comfort of your home. These come in a kit so you get everything you need as well as an explanation with it but we will walk you through one of those standardised kits and what you should do.
Depending on which kit you get you should have the following things delivered in a cardboard box: urine collection cup, specimen collection kit with a pipette dropper and transport tube and sample collection bag. Now, as you can see there is not much stuff in here but it may get overwhelming especially if you are suspicious of you or your partner has an STD or an STI which can bring you in a different state of mind, where the easiest things can seem overcomplicated. But do not despair we will go through this together.
The first thing you do is use the urine cup where you will collect your urine sample. You must catch the first part of your urine stream. After that, it is time for the transport tube and the pipette. With the pipette, you will take some of your urine and drop it in the transport tube until you reach the marked level on the tube. Make sure not to go too little or to over the markings because it may render the test invalid. Screw the cap on the transport tube tightly so you don’t spill anything and put it in the collection bag which you will secure according to the instructions. See, it wasn’t all that difficult it is just a few simple steps that may seem a bit overwhelming when your mind isn’t all clear. After you have done everything necessary you will pack everything up and send it to the lab or one of their accredited partner laboratory and wait for your results. Depending on the kit you got and the lab your results may come in a period of 2 to 5 working days and if your test is positive you will also get a phone call from one of the nurses most likely and you will get instructions in terms of further referrals needed or any necessary, further treatment.
All in all, this is nothing to be ashamed of or scared of. Your health and the health of people around you is important which is why you need to do these tests regularly. This is not something that will stigmatize you or it should stigmatize anyone else around you, this is something that regards your health and the continuation of your normal day-to-day life.
