Tests for STDs

If you're sexually active, particularly with multiple partners, and not using any protection, you are advised to go for sexually transmitted disease tests. This is important because a person can have a sexually transmitted disease without knowing it. In many cases, there aren't any signs or symptoms.
What types of STI testing do you need? And how often should you be screened? The answers depend on your age, your sexual behaviors and other risk factors.
Some guidelines for STI testing for specific sexually transmitted infections.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea: Get screened annually if you're a sexually active woman, if you're having sex with a new partner or multiple partners, gay if you are a man,have HIV, you've been forced to have intercourse or engage in sexual activity against your will. Chlamydia and gonorrhea screening is done either through a urine test or through a swab inside the penis in men or from the cervix in women.

HIV, syphilis and hepatitis: Go for yearly HIV testing if you are at high risk of infection.
Vaccines are available for both hepatitis A and B if screening shows you haven't been exposed to these viruses.
Go for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis testing if you test positive for another STI, which puts you at greater risk of other STIs, have had more than one sexual partner (or if your partner has had multiple partners), use intravenous (IV) drugs and share needles, gay if you are a man, are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, have been forced to have intercourse or engage in sexual activity against your will

Your doctor tests you for syphilis by taking either a blood sample or a swab from any genital sores you might have. The sample is examined in a laboratory. A blood sample is taken to test for HIV and hepatitis.

Genital herpes: No good screening test exists for herpes, a viral infection that can be transmitted even when a person doesn't have symptoms. Your doctor may take a tissue scraping or culture of blisters or early ulcers, if you have them, for examination in a laboratory. But a negative test doesn't rule out herpes as a cause for genital ulcerations. A blood test also may help detect a past herpes infection, but results aren't always conclusive. Some blood tests can help differentiate between the two main types of the herpes virus. Type 1 is the virus that more typically causes cold sores, although it can also cause genital sores. Type 2 is the virus that causes genital sores more often. Still, the results may not be totally clear, depending on the sensitivity of the test and the stage of the infection. False-positive and false-negative results are possible.

HPV: Certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer while other varieties of HPV can cause genital warts. Many sexually active people become infected with HPV at some point in their lives, but never develop symptoms. The virus typically disappears within two years.

There's no routinely used HPV screening test for men, in whom the infection is diagnosed by visual inspection or biopsy of genital warts. In women, HPV testing involves:

• Pap test. Pap tests, which check the cervix for abnormal cells, are recommended every three years for women between ages 21 and 65.
• HPV test. Women over 30 may be offered the option to have the HPV test along with a Pap test every five years if previous tests were normal. Women between 21 and 30 will be given an HPV test if they've had abnormal results on their Pap test.

HPV has also been linked to cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and mouth and throat. Vaccines can protect both men and women from some types of HPV, but they are most effective when administered before sexual activity begins.

If you test positive for an STI, the next step is to consider further testing and then get treatment as recommended by your doctor. In addition, inform your sex partners. Your partners need to be evaluated and treated, because you can pass some infections back and forth.