You should consider a home sexual health test if you suspect that you could be having a sexually transmitted disease or infection. Many companies these days offer home testing kits for STIs, so you do not necessarily need to visit a health facility near you to get tested.
So, how does a home sexual health test for an STI work? There are two types of at-home STI tests, namely self-collection and lab-based tests. With a self-collection test, once you get your test kit from an online provider, you can take the STI test with all the provided tools, which include may include needles, alcohol swabs, tubes, and a prepaid envelope, among others. You might need to take a blood or urine sample or an oral, rectal, or vaginal swab, depending on the STI test that you are undergoing. After doing all that, you can return your sample to a testing center. As for the lab-based home sexual health test, you will receive a lab requisition and present it to a testing facility, where a healthcare provider will perform the test.
Individuals usually get results from both tests via email or through the company’s patient portal within a couple of days. You can also purchase individual tests that you can use to test for one STI or a kit that can test for multiple conditions.
You are probably wondering if an at-home sexual health test is reliable. Home tests undergo validation testing to help ensure their accuracy. However, the companies providing these tests also need to make sure that the shipping as well as stability of samples in transit do not affect the integrity of tests.
For more information on home sexual health tests for STIs, visit our website at https://www.harleymedic.co.uk/