5 STDs You Can Screen For Today

If you’re sexually active at any age, regular STD testing is important. It’s especially imperative to keep up with it if you have multiple sexual partners or when you enter a new relationship. 

Many STDs do not cause symptoms, but they’re contagious and you can still spread them to others even if you experience no irritation, pain, or visible changes. Regular testing can tell you whether or not you have any STDs and get you on track with treatment as soon as possible. 

Washington Internal Medicine offers STD testing using blood draws, urinalysis, and swab methods. Here at our office in Chantilly, California, internist Sohan Verma, MD, provides reliable, safe, and fast STD testing for many of the most common STDs. He can tell you which STD tests to consider according to your risks and gives you clear, concise answers once your results are available. 

If you’re interested in STD testing, here are five common STD tests you can get with us today:

1. Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a common STD that comes from a bacterial infection and rarely causes symptoms. It only spreads through sexual contact, not casual contact, but can also spread to your baby if you’re pregnant. Chlamydia tests detect bacteria in swab samples from either the rectum or vagina, or from a sample of urine that you provide in the office. 

If you get a positive chlamydia test result, you may take antibiotics to clear the infection. Without treatment, even a symptomless infection can lead to serious health complications in the future. 

2. Gonorrhea

Like chlamydia, gonorrhea is a bacterial infection that spreads through various types of sexual contact. It also rarely causes symptoms but can do a fair amount of damage to your future health if you don’t treat it with antibiotics. You can test for gonorrhea with a painless swab from the site of a possible infection or with a urine test. 

3. Syphilis

Syphilis is an STD that you can identify either with a swab test or in a blood sample. If you get symptoms from syphilis, they include sores on the genitals, a faint genital rash, or systemic symptoms like fever and unexplained weight loss. You can also go for years with a syphilis infection having no idea of it. 

Syphilis is easy to treat: You simply need to take antibiotics. Without treatment, syphilis can cause severe complications affecting various body systems including your nervous system and cardiovascular system. It can also impact pregnancies and lead to stillbirth, misscarriage, or a syphilis infection in your baby.

4. Hepatitis

There are a few different types of hepatitis spreadable through sexual contact, including hepatitis B and hepatitis C. An untreated hepatitis B infection can do serious liver damage, and there is unfortunately no way to cure it. 

Thankfully, hepatitis B is preventable. There is a vaccine for the disease that teaches your immune system to fight off the infection, and you can further prevent it by using condoms for sexual intercourse.

Both hepatitis B tests and hepatitis C tests involve samples of your blood. In a lab, the samples are tested for the viruses that cause the illnesses. 

5. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

HIV is an infection that can inhibit your immune system. Serious HIV infections can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is chronic and life-threatening. HIV tests are designed to detect antigens or antibodies from the virus in either blood or oral fluid samples.

An HIV infection stays with you for life and doesn’t have a cure. However, certain medications can ward off potential complications and even prevent the spread of the infection. With professional treatment, you can prevent HIV from developing into AIDS.

Whether or not you have any new partners, are pregnant, or are planning on getting pregnant, it’s always a good idea to get tested for STDs if you’re sexually active. Schedule an appointment over the phone or online at Washington Internal Medicine today.