How often should I get tested for STIs?

If you are sexually active, it is smart to test for venereal diseases. But how often should you do this? It depends on your lifestyle, sexual preference and relationship status.

You might consider testing once a year if you:

• Being sexually active
• Have a monogamous relationship
• Never contracted an STI before
• Doing safe sex

In some cases, more frequent testing is recommended. We recommend testing every 3 to 6 months if you have a higher risk of contracting an STI:

• Many alternating sex partners (more than 3 in the last 6 months)
• Swingers
• MSM
• Paid sex (you are a sex worker or you have had sex with a sex worker)
• You or your sex partner is from a country where STIs are more common (especially Asia, Africa, South and Central America, Eastern Europe and Russia)
• Your sex partner falls into one of the above groups

In addition, there are situations where we advise you to test as soon as possible; this is outside the scope of periodic checks:

• Warning by your sex partner
• Complaints consistent with STDs:
• Pain or burning when urinating, discharge from the penis or anus, discharge from the vagina that has a different color, smell or amount than you normally have
• Warts, vesicles or sores around the genitals
• Not feeling well, fever, (severe) flu and/or skin rash arising 1 to 6 weeks after a possible HIV infection
• If you had sex against your will
• Extra-marital relationships

Do keep in mind the window phase; the tests are reliable only after a certain period of time after unsafe sex. For chlamydia and gonorrhea this is after 14 days, for mycoplasma and trichomonas after 21 days and for HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis the test is only reliable after 3 months. Of course, if you have symptoms, you can test right away to get treatment as soon as possible. If your tests do come back negative, it is important to repeat STI testing after the window phase to make sure you are not infected. In the meantime, make safe sex until you test negative to avoid possible infections!

Finally, there are some situations where you should also think about STI testing:

• If you are starting a new relationship and you want to have unprotected sex. For gonorrhea and chlamydia, wait 14 days and for a blood test 6-12 weeks before you can test reliably. After this, you basically don't need to test if you are monogamous.
• If you are pregnant, it is advisable to test early in pregnancy to avoid infecting the baby.
• When you inject drugs and share needles with someone else.

Still unsure about when and how often to test? Feel free to contact us for advice or make an appointment here. You can test at the following locations:

Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam, Nijmegen and Eindhoven.

You can even get a rapid test done where you will have a result after only 90 minutes.

Sources: STI AIDS Netherlands, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention