STD Counseling and Testing

Sexually transmitted diseases are diseases generally transmitted through sexual contact, including vaginal and anal intercourse, as well as intimate touching and oral sex. Condoms are always recommended to help protect against most STDs, but they are not 100% protective, especially in the transmission of genital herpes. Some STDs, such as HIV and Hepatitis, can also be transmitted through a blood transfusion, exposure to contaminated bodily fluids, or from mother to baby. Many times people who have these diseases do not know they have them, so they spread them easily. Thus anyone who has had sexual contact is at risk. The best way to decrease your risk of STDs is to limit your number of sexual partners, use condoms every time you have sex, and ask your potential partner to show you recent STD testing results before you have sexual contact.

We offer sexually transmitted disease counseling and testing to all our patients. However patients must request that they want this testing done. It is not automatically performed. We offer screening tests for the following STDs: Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Trichomonas, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Herpes, HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. Depending on which tests you want performed, you may need a urine sample, vaginal/cervical swab, and/or a blood test performed. Results usually come back within a week. Not all insurance companies cover screening tests for STDs. So we advise you to call and learn your benefits from your insurance company so you will know if this is a covered service or if you need to pay for it. If you have symptoms of one of the above diseases, most likely your insurance company will pay for it because it would be a diagnostic test and not a screening test.