One of the noblest things you can ever do for your body is a test for diseases and know the status of your health. Among the diseases, you should test for is STIs. The good news is, in Australia, testing for STIs is free and the results are confidential. So you shouldn’t worry about costs and the results of your tests being shared with other individuals or made public. For more information on STI testing Australia and to learn more about these infections, continue reading this article.
What are STIs?
STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) are infectious diseases that are commonly spread through close sexual contact. Even though most of these infections are spread through sexual intercourse, others can also be spread without intercourse through childbirth or breastfeeding, and contact with contaminated tissues or blood.
How can I test for STIs in Australia?
If you wish to test for STIs in Australia, you’ll be pleased to know that it is free of charge and your results will not be shared with anyone else without your explicit consent.
To detect herpes, trichomonas, or gonorrhoea, you’ll be required to provide your urine for testing. However, whether you’ll be asked to give a swab or sample depends on the site of the infection. For syphilis and HIV, the health worker will perform a blood test to detect antibodies to the two diseases. And in women with abnormal PAP smears, a doctor or health practitioner may recommend HPV testing.
Sadly, because STIs range widely in terms of their spectrum, there is no one test that can be used to detect all of them.
Common STIs and their symptoms
There currently exist more than twenty known STIs. When you contract some of these infections, you may experience symptoms that you shouldn’t waste any time but visit your doctor immediately. Also, if you engage in unprotected oral, genital, or anal sexual intercourse, getting regularly tested for STIs is of utmost importance since some of these infections do not have noticeable symptoms and can go undetected for a very long time.
Treatment
STIs, such as syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea can be easily treated with antibiotics. However, these STIs can cause serious health consequences, such as organ damage, infertility, and stillbirth if not treated. This is why detecting them early enough is crucial. Others, including hepatitis B, HIV, and herpes can be managed by using antiviral medication. In recent years, the resistance to antibiotics by STIs has rapidly increased. This has reduced the number of available treatment options, which means that for effective treatment, early detection of these STI testing Australia through regular testing is very important.
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