Std Testing At Home Or Lab-what’s Right For You?
STDs can be chronic if you don’t get checked at the right time. Take the bold step of STD screening today and save your health and your partner’s health as well. Before opting for at home STD testing or Lab testing, give this article a read to know which STD Testing method is safe, confidential, and affordable for you.
Sexually transmitted diseases are stemming their spread with almost 20 million new cases every year. The need to getting tested is essential for health concerns, but the types of STD Testing may vary. Check out what`s recommended for you.
Thinking about whether you have a sexually transmitted disease (STD) is a bold step and can be stressful. But, getting tested and treated at the right time is good for your health and your relationship. A study conducted by CDC (centers for disease control and prevention) states that about 20 million cases of STDs reported each year and is effectively stemming their spread.
Most of the people are not aware that they have STD infection because it can persist for an extended period. But most STDs can be cured or at least managed if caught early with proper treatment.
Apart from taking the brave step of STD screening, you may have concerns and questions about your privacy. But don’t worry because you have options for private and confidential STD testing and treatments.
What are STDs?
STDs are sexually transmitted diseases that pass from one person to another during sexual intercourse and genital touching. It is also called sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Parasites, bacteria, and viruses can cause STDs. If you are single, married, or gay, you`re susceptible to STDs symptoms. Despite the fact that condoms can be useful in reducing the transmission of some STDs, there is no sure-fire method to keep you safe.
Why you need to get tested for STDs?
With the rapid growth in STDs, it has now become essential to get checked for STD, even if you don’t get any symptoms. According to a survey of the World Health Organization, over 340 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections and diseases occur worldwide every year. These bacterial infections can cause health issues.
Few STDs, like gonorrhea, and chlamydia can cause infertility problems, and infection in the uterus or other reproductive organs.
Other STDs, including syphilis and HIV, can be chronic if left untreated and diagnosed late. Syphilis can damage your nervous system, brain, and heart.
If you don’t get tested for STDs, chances are you could pass it on to someone else. It can be dangerous for your health and your partner’s health as well.
When to Get Tested for STDs?
There is no shame to think of getting tested for STDs, it is a matter of concern for your health, and it’s your social responsibility.
Sometimes STD’s don’t show any symptoms, in fact almost 80% of STDs are known to be symptomless. Most often they can be mistaken for some other conditions. Like, when women have discharge from a yeast infection, and they think it is because of STD. Sometimes symptoms are mild, but you must monitor your health and consult with your regular physician.
When and how often should you be tested for STDs depends on several things:
- Your gender (women get screened more often than men because they are more prone to the risk of infertility.)
- If you are a woman of age 21 and older
- A man who has sex with men
- If you have multiple sex partner
- If you are pregnant
- If you have sex without condoms
- If you share any vaccine drug supplies
- If you have been forced to have intercourse without your will.
- If you have HIV.
How to get checked for STDs?
Choosing the right option to get checked is one big question. Many public health clinics offer free STD testing of gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, and HIV. But are these free STD tests accurate? You will always find yourself obstructed in this matter. And what’s the best way to get checked for STDs continues to be a question which must need to sort out.
With the advancement in the digital world, the ways to get tested for STDs have also been evolved. Apart from the old school way of going to the doctor’s office, you can now receive the medical treatment with just the internet through telemedicine. With the rise in telemedicine, there are options for people to seek secure, efficient, affordable and private STD testing.
You may choose from;
- At home STD testing
- At Lab STD Testing
To figure out which test will be the best option for you, here are comparisons of the processes, and reliability of at-home STD testing and lab STD testing.
At-home STD Tests
If you want to go with more private STD screening, you can opt for an at-home test. Advancement in medical technology has made in-home STD Testing as effective as lab testing with the added benefit of being at home. After all, home is home and lab sound like a sterile place that is full strangers.
In-home STD testing is cost-effective. The recent studies show that the rate of at home STD testing is up to 11 times larger than clinic-based screening. Many individuals think that self-collection and testing of vaginal or urine samples at home is easy, and acceptable. Most of them prefer it over testing at a clinic.
How to test for STDs at Home?
Testing yourself or a loved one in the privacy of your own home now becomes more accessible with the proliferation of STD testing kits. You can get these kits directly from the providers. All the kits are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure you get proper results and treatment from a healthcare provider.
To perform In-home STD Testing, first, you have to pick which test to take. Different kits provide different options, and the process is easy and straightforward.
The In-home STD Testing steps are:
1. Purchase a kit online which is delivered to your home within 5-8 business days.
2. Follow the instructions carefully as indicated in the kit and take your sample (urine, pin-prick blood, or vaginal swab.)
3. Return the package with the samples in the included pre-paid postage box.
4. The company will receive it within 3 to 5 business days.
5. Once the samples are collected and tested, you will get an email from the provider within five business days that your results are ready to view online to your private account.
Best At home STD test kits
There are many top kits available online. All of them are 100% Lab certified and give you confidential results. Here are some good names to help you find the best STD test kit.
- MyLab Box
MyLab Box is the pioneer in providing STD screening solutions. You can screen in less than five minutes while keeping the things private. You will not get disappointed with ordering a test from MyLab Box as it is high-rated regarding privacy, accuracy, and customer service. The company provides a single test for multiple STDs at once. Plus, you can have free-consultation with physician and get prescriptions without any hassle. You can save some money on your purchase if you use MyLab Box Coupon at checkout.
- LetsGetChecked
LetsGetChecked is all about making healthcare and diagnostics open and patient-led. The company aims to empower you to use technology in a convenient yet powerful way. You can get checked for STDs like Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Trichomoniasis, Gardnerella, Mycoplasma, Herpes Simplex I and II, HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B. Plus; you can have clinical support from doctors, nurses, health advisors, and genetic counselors.
Lab STD Testing
It is the increasingly outdated and widely-known method is to go to your doctor’s office for STD screening. Lab testing used to be a reliable option for screening since ages. It is also affordable and everyone can bear the STD test cost.
If you want to get checked for STDs at lab, follow these STD lab testing steps;
1. Find the best STD-clinic near me.
2. Schedule an appointment for testing.
3. Go back home and collect the sample of urine. (for a blood test you don’t need to come back home, you can provide it the same day)
4. Submit your sample to the lab.
5. After a few days return to the lab to discuss results and treatment.
Warning: You will have to face the awkward conversation with the doctors and nurses, spend forever in the waiting room and face the people who stare at you like you have killed someone.
I can easily bet that this wouldn’t be your ideal way of spending your free time. But if you want to opt for lab testing, the most important thing is to find the best STD-testing clinics near me that offer convenient hours and fast results.
Convenient STD lab testing Solutions
With the evolution in many other things, STD lab testing has also been modified and become more comfortable for you. Some online labs allow you to get your STD testing results online without any hassle of waiting for hours in the lab.
- STD Check
The company gives you control over your sexual health by eliminating the annoyance and embarrassment of traditional STD Testing. You can get access to the FDA- approved testing method used by the doctors by placing your order online at a reasonable cost with STD Check Coupon. Take the print of your order form from you to receive in your email and bring it to a test center close to you and provide the sample. You will get 100% Confidential STD Testing results within 1 to 2 business days to your private account online, 10 Test Panel advantage, doctor’s consultation, and 24/7 customers support.
- Walk In Lab
Walk-In Lab allows you to take charge of your health by offering blood tests online. It is a cost-effective and convenient solution for all medical laboratory needs. Avoid the hassle of visiting the lab for just ordering a blood test or paying for it. Do it at your home and get the test reports online within 1-2 business days. The company offers different kinds of tests at affordable rates with Walk In Lab Coupon, which include STD testing for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea or others, Hepatitis Antibody tests, and many more.
Which one is better?
Both the Lab tests and at home STD Test kits provide 100% accurate, and FDA-approved results. They are checked and verified by professionals and their experience avoid the chances of occurring any mistake.
To find out which is better, let’s dive deeper into the survey based results. Multiple studies have been conducted to find out what people prefer for their STD Testing, the results are generated from cost-effectiveness, and reliability of both methods.
Cost-effectiveness analyses
A research was conducted in UK by using a dynamic transmission model to compare the cost-effectiveness of home test kits to clinic visits. The home-based screening was found to be cost saving for the overall study population. And the availability of home test kits reduced the use of clinic services which may prove to be cost saving from a public health perspective.
Reliability
When at home STD Testing and clinic-based STD screening were compared from social and economic settings in a survey, the outcomes were found to be reliable for home-based STD screening. The study showed a significant increase in at home STD testing rates compared to traditional Lab testing, especially in women.
The survey results mentioned above proved that home-based STD Testing is a feasible, well accepted and most preferred option to test for Sexually transmitted diseases as compared to the traditional clinical testing. While it is also true that some public health clinic
What if you get Positive STD test results?
If in case you find positive results for STD Testing, the first thing you need to do is to consider two or more tests with the consultation of your regular physician. Get your treatment as recommended by your doctor. Furthermore, you should have to inform your sex partners and ask them to get checked for STD as well because the chances are that you can pass some infections back and forth.
Don’t become frustrated with your mood swings because you may feel ashamed, afraid, or angry that why you went for screening. But it’s okay. Let it be. Hold a deep breath and get ready to face the treatment procedure.
The Final Verdict
STDs can be curable if you get tested at the right time. But which STD Testing option is right for you, well, that’s a concern. In almost all studies, and the testing methods as described above, I will suggest that at home STD testing is reliable, cost-effective, convenient, and better as compared to clinic-based STD screening. And to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections, you need to get STD testing right now and spread awareness about the disease.
Stay Safe And Healthy!
Asher Perker
It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.
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