Sexually transmitted diseases are a very serious matter, and when someone is sexually active, it can be considered a very large concern., especially if anyone is intimately connected to multiple people in a given amount of time. No, this doesn’t just apply to single people, because sometimes married people carry STD’s they didn’t know they had over time from their past, and it’s important to get regular testing. However, there are some complications. In this post we’re going to tell you how to use self STD test kits safely, as you need to do these tests properly or you can contaminate your results, or even cause health problems for yourself.

Why Use Self STD Test Kits

Depending on where you send your labs for STD testing (for example if a doctor uses a company that is outsourced to do their testing), it may lead to things such as false positives, or other complications as paperwork and labs can get messed up and be beyond your control. Fortunately, there is a solution. There are over the counter tests, pharmaceutical tests, and online. Be sure to talk to a licensed pharmacist or pharmacy tech in order to find out what test is the right one you need.

Be Safe About It

Make sure that the product you buy is sealed and covered, as well as has an expiration date that it is not near. Another thing to ensure is that the test itself is contained in an environment that is a moderately cool dry place (about room temperature. Not too hot, and not too cold).

Ask a doctor about taking a certain home test, and feel free to voice your concerns on why you may not want to “outsource” your test to other labs. Don’t be afraid to also ask numerous questions. If there is anything that even seems a little bit off, or the product has a 100% guarantee, you may want to not believe that statement. Just because it’s a certified product, or even inspected by the FDA, it doesn’t mean that it’s 100% successful and accurate.

What Types of Kits Can You Get?

You can generally get a self-test kit for almost every STI and STD out there. What you may want to do however is ensure that you have a backup plan and a good foundation of support around you should the results be positive. Also, in general, you should make sure that if you get a positive result on a self-test kit, it doesn’t hurt to get a “second opinion”. For serious infections, such as HIV and Hepatitis (no, not Herpes per-say), you should get medical attention immediately and get that wall of support ready because you may need it.

However, your first step should always be to go straight to a physician so you can get an official on-the-record STD or STI test done by a documented medical professional. Sometimes, you may be surprised and find out that you actually received what’s called a “false positive”, and that you don’t even have the disease that you thought you had from the self-test. Other times, you may need to just go to a doctor anyway to rule out other possible STD’s if you get a negative one, rather than spending a bunch of money on numerous self-tests.

Resources:

http://www.homestdtestkits.org