by 
The Curious Bag
-
According to the National Women's Health Information Center, about 19 million people catch a sexually transmitted infection each year. Most of these occur in the younger demographics. STD tests are important because some can detect the presence of STDs as well as other serious conditions like cancer
Considerations
There are many different STD's and not all can use the same test to detect them. In addition, different stages of STD growth may require more invasive, painful tests
Routine Test for Women
A typical STD test, which looks for common STI's like chlamydia, for women is the pap test. The pap test looks at a swab of cells from the cervix and checks for signs of cancer--an indicator of an STD like human papillomavirus virus.
Testing for Men
According to the Mayo Clinic, men in general do not need an STD test unless they see symptoms like genital warts or discharge from the penis. The typical test for men is taking a simple urine sample.
Genital Herpes
Genital herpes is tested with either a blood sampling or a biopsy of sores. Genital herpes is very hard to confirm or deny because the available tests often give false-positives or negatives.
Syphilis
Syphilis screening may be as simple as the doctor looking for signs of it on the body, but advanced stages of syphilis require drawing fluid out from the spine.
Source:
The National Women's Health Information Center: Sexually Transmitted Infections: Overview
Epigee.com: Testing and Treating Syphilis
Mayo Clinic: STD testing: What to know before your appointment
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC