HOW THE TESTS ARE DONE

Screening for infection consists of a visual inspection, plus blood and urine samples, and swabs. The type of swabs which you may need to have taken will depend on the type of sexual exposure which you have had.

Screening for individual infections is done as follows:

Female patients undergo a pelvic examination with visual inspection for genital warts and other skin infections. Swabs are then taken gently from the vagina and the cervix (the entrance to the womb) for analysis and testing for Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea (by highly sensitive DNA testing) Trichomonas, Bacterial Vaginosis and Thrush. The examination usually takes no more then 5 minutes to complete. A blood sample is then taken to check for HIV antibodies, Syphilis and Hepatitis B (unless it has already been established that you are immune to Hepatatis B).

Male patients undergo a genital examination with visual inspection for genital warts and signs of other skin infections. A single swab with a small plastic loop is taken from the end of the penis to check for NSU. A urine sample is then collected and tested for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea (also by highly sensitive DNA testing). As in women, a blood sample is taken to check for HIV antibodies, Hepatitis B and Syphilis.

Please note:

If you have had oral or anal sex we recommend that, in addition to the above tests, you should also have a swab taken from the throat and/or the anus. This is to check for Gonorrhoea at the back of the mouth or in the rectum. These additional swabs incur a small extra charge in addition to the standard fee.

We do not normally use urine samples to check for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea in women as other clinics do. This is because our method of taking swabs directly from the cervix is much superior as it is much more sensitive at picking up these infections compared to testing urine samples. By contrast, when it comes to testing men, urine based testing has proven to be very sensitive so this is what we use.

How soon do you get your test results?

The time between testing and the availability of results is as follows. As you will see, provided you are clear, we will normally be able to issue your Certificate within 24 hours of testing.

Immediate Results:

• HIV antibody test, NSU, Trichomonas, Bacterial Vaginosis, Thrush.

Within 24 hours:

• Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea DNA tests from cervical swabs or urine.
• Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea DNA tests from rectum and throat.
• Syphilis antibody test, Hepatitis B immunity.

Please note

If you require throat and rectal tests for gonorrhoea, you can choose whether to have a rapid test, where the results will be available within 24 hours or a ‘culture test’ where the results are not available for 72 hours. The difference between them is that with the rapid test, in very rare instances, there can be a ‘false positives’ where a positive result is given when someone is actually free of the infection. With the 72-hour culture test (where a sample is grown on a media) there can never be a false positive.

In the event of a positive result from a rapid test, you will always be re-tested using the culture test to produce a definitive result.