STD Test Centers-Haven for those who are Infected

STD test centers are safe havens for those people who feel they may have been exposed to STDs. These are places where you can have yourself tested for STDs at the same time receive treatment and counseling in dealing with the disease.

You can get STD testing in hospitals or use products you can buy online to do STD testing at home. In hospitals you will have to wait in long lines before you get your turn to be tested. Due to the large volume of tests they take you will have to wait for your results and that will sometimes take several days. Home test kits are convenient but sometimes they do not give accurate results. You might even end up with a fake product!

STD test centers specialize in these diseases. Not all doctors specialize in this field and if they suspect you have the symptoms, will refer you to a specialist or to an accredited STD testing center. These centers give disease-specific tests depending on the recommendation of the medical practitioner. The health professionals in these centers will render the appropriate tests basing it on the initial findings of the physical examination of the patient. You get your results fast and accurate at half its cost if you get them at a hospital.

STD test centers do have certain guidelines with regards to STD testing. For example, if you are female below the age of 25 and sexually active, or you have multiple partners or just starting with a new one, or you are a man having sex with fellow males, they will recommend that you have yourself tested yearly for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia.

Once you are positive for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia, automatically you are to have yourself tested for HIV, Hepatitis and Syphilis. Other criteria for testing for these 3 types of STDs include: having more than one sex partner from your last test, if you are using intravenous drugs, if you are having sex with the same gender. If the test results show you are not infected with Hepatitis you can request for pre-exposure vaccination shots.

For Genital Herpes, STD testing is done with gathering of tissue scrapings and fluid from the blisters for culturing. A type specific blood test called IgG is conducted in order to detect if there are anti-bodies in the blood and to determine which specific type is causing the infection. For women, a vaginal swab test is taken called a pap smear test. The inner lining of the vagina is gently scraped and tested for presence of the virus. Genital herpes in women if left untreated can cause Cervical cancer.

These centers may also conduct a rigid questioning about the nature of the symptoms. Medical history will be taken which includes the past and most recent sexual activities. This is necessary in determining where the infection came from and what exactly caused it. This method is called tracing. Once the infection is traced to its source, the center will recommend that the source person should also be brought in for testing and treatment.