STI screening
STI screening/testing is recommended:
- at the start of a new relationship
- if you have symptoms of a sexual infection
- after unprotected sex with a casual partner.
It’s also recommend every three months:
- if you regularly have unprotected sex with casual partners
- if you use HIV PreP.
When testing, please be aware of the ‘window period’, which is the time taken from the point of contact to being able to detect an infection accurately. Testing too soon after an exposure can lead to a false negative result.
If you have no symptoms, testing is recommended:
- 2 weeks after sexual contact to diagnose chlamydia and gonorrhoea
- 7 weeks after sexual contact to accurately test for HIV
- 12 weeks after sexual contact to test for Syphilis and Hepatitis B
- 6 months after sexual contact for Hepatitis C
You can find out more about sexual health testing services in Newcastle at www.sexualhealthservices4newcastle.co.uk
