You might be wondering what happens when you get tested. The answer is that getting tested for STIs is quick and easy. The test itself depends on what’s being tested for and how you’ve had sex. Nevertheless, the test rarely takes more than about 15 minutes. You’re entitled to get tested free of charge and have free treatment for STIs that come under the Swedish Communicable Diseases Act. This applies to chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis and hepatitis.
Sexually transmitted infections
Sexually transmitted infections, or STIs (also known as venereal diseases/VDs), are transmitted through mucus membranes which are found in the urethra, under the edge of the glans, on the inside of the foreskin (if present), and in the anus and throat, for example. It’s important that you say where you need to be tested (but obviously you don’t have to say how you’ve had sex if you don’t want to!).
To find out if you’ve got gonorrhea or chlamydia in the throat, the person testing you will swab the back of your mouth with two small cotton buds.
And the test for chlamydia and gonorrhea in the cock or pussy is the easiest, often you just have to pee in a plastic cup! Not that the other tests are difficult exactly. Just make sure you don’t pee just before testing! Sometimes the personnel may instead test for chlamydia or gonorrhea in the pussy with a cotton bud, if you have symptoms. You may feel it a bit, but it only lasts a second or so. And the cotton bud is actually quite small – despite the rumors!
To test for gonorrhea or chlamydia in the anus, a cotton bud is rolled against the inside.
HIV, syphilis and hepatitis
When you get tested for HIV, syphilis or hepatitis, you may have to give a small blood sample. Once the samples have been taken, they are sent for analysis and you usually get the results within 7-10 days. You can talk to the clinic about how you get the results, but they generally prefer you to make an appointment and get the results in person.
When it comes to HIV, there’s also a quick test you can do that gives a result within 30 minutes. But remember that it can take up to three months before HIV can be detected even in a test with quick results. So it’s only the waiting time between the sample and result that is accelerated, you don’t have to wait a week to get the results. Remember that it can take up to three months before HIV can be detected, even in a blood test.
