Sexually transmitted infections affect millions of lives globally each year. You need to take the responsibility in your hands to keep yourself and your partner sexually healthy. The best way to do that is to take a timely diagnosis of STD tests to make sure you get initial treatment and stop further transmission. To get quick results, Rapid STD tests are a good option. Learn the benefits and disadvantages of rapid STD tests in this article. For more information, you can talk to the best GYN in Brownsville at Doral Health and Wellness – Women’s Health Center or log on to www.doralhw.org for a consultation.

 What are rapid STD tests?

Rapid sexually transmitted disease (STD) tests are diagnostic tests used to get quick results within minutes about whether you have any STD or not. The STDs that are diagnosed with the test are – gonorrhea, chlamydia, human immunodeficiency virus, and other infections that spread through sexual contact.

For this test, the healthcare provider takes samples of bodily fluids, including blood, urine, or vaginal secretions to find the presence of STIs. These tests can be done in a laboratory, clinic, or home.

These tests allow people to get treated earlier to prevent the risk of complications and the chance of the infection spreading to other people.

Advantages and disadvantages of STD testing

Advantages

• Get results in minutes rather than days.
• Can be taken at a laboratory or in the comfort of your home. For some people, they don’t need to be worried about embarrassment while taking the test in the clinic.
• If positive, you can receive immediate treatment which lowers your risk of complications and increases your lifespan.
• These newer tests don’t need needles or blood samples for testing which decrease the fear of many people. However, it depends on the disease, you may need to give a swab of body fluid or a urine sample.

Disadvantages

It has a lower accuracy rate in terms of negative results which means even if your result is negative, you might be infected. Studies show that the home HIV test results achieve 92% accuracy which means one false negative out of every 15 tests.

That’s why doctors recommend a more accurate lab culture test rather than a rapid test for certain bacterial diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.

Where can you get a rapid STD test done?

Here’s a list of places you can go to receive STD testing, including:

• Planned Parenthood: Planned Parenthood allows STD testing. However, the costs can vary by certain factors including income, demographics, and assistance eligibility.
• Doctor’s office: Your doctor can perform quick testing during regular checkups or by making an appointment.
• Local health clinics: Most government-funded healthcare clinics offer free or low-cost STD testing for infections like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV. Some clinics also receive funding to test for herpes, trichomoniasis, and hepatitis.
• Pharmacy: Some pharmacies also offer options to schedule testing for certain STIs like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV.
• At home: Several home test services are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) such as the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test.

Rapid STD testing is an exceptionally good option to get fast and accurate results for many STD infections. You can take tests either at a laboratory, clinic or in the comfort of your home. However, if your result comes back negative then make sure you confirm with your doctor the need for other tests for confirmation because sometimes the negative test result may not be right.

At Doral Health and Wellness – Women’s Health Center, we have the best GYN doctor in East New York, and we provide women with quality health care services. Our specialists aim to deliver the highest quality of healthcare.To schedule an appointment, you can visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11212 or call us on 1-347-384-5690. You can also visit our website at http://www.gynecologistbrooklyn.com/.