Chlamydia Tested Negative. Should I Take a Test Again
Could I still have an STI if my results were all negative?
You got tested last week and all your results were negative.
But that guy you hooked upwards with a couple of weeks agone has merely told you he tested positive for syphilis. You consider getting tested once more, but it seems like overkill. Y'all've got no symptoms, and if he'd passed information technology on to y'all, your tests would have picked it up, right?
Correct?
Non necessarily. Welcome, brother, to the window menstruum.
What is a window period?
For an explanation, we spoke to Dr Vincent Cornelisse, Sexual Health Physician at the Melbourne Sexual Wellness Centre (MSHC), who is also completing a PhD on the prevention of STIs.
"The window period is the fourth dimension later on an exposure to an STI, during which it may not prove up on a test. The window menstruum for every STI is different, mainly because nosotros use different tests to detect them," says Cornelisse.
"For example, the tests nosotros currently use for gonorrhea and chlamydia — from urine samples and swabs — exam for the DNA of those organisms themselves, and have quite brusk window periods," he explains (see below for a listing of STI window periods). "But the syphilis exam is a blood test. In that location is no good way of directly looking for syphilis, so the test we use looks for your immune response to the infection, which takes a bit longer to show up. It likewise varies, because some people'south allowed systems volition react more apace or more slowly, so the window menses is longer to account for those individual differences."
It's important to note that this doesn't brand testing useless within the window catamenia. "The window menstruum only refers to the accuracy of a negative result," says Cornelisse. "A positive issue is still possible within the window period, and it would yet be an accurate positive upshot."
And then, if I accept no symptoms after the window catamenia, do I still need to get tested?
Yes, information technology'southward a good idea if you call up you've been exposed. The window period refers to testing, not to the time it takes for symptoms to testify.
"Just like your Scruff pics, your test results are an intimate glimpse of the recent by."
"There are a lot of people with STIs who take no symptoms," says Cornelisse. "Having no symptoms afterward a possible exposure doesn't put you in the clear, even when you've passed the window period. We recommend that men who have sex with men get tested every three months if they take more one partner. In addition, get tested if yous've think you've been exposed, or if you've attended a 'sexual practice issue' — like group sexual activity or sexual activity parties — that you recall might accept put you in contact with STIs."
Afterward more info on getting tested? Here's how!
How do window periods affect my test results?
Just like your Scruff pics, your examination results are an intimate glimpse of the recent by.
"Say for instance that you lot come in and get a examination done for all STIs, and all your results are negative. What that means is that one week ago you didn't have chlamydia and gonorrhea, half-dozen weeks ago y'all didn't have syphilis, and so on. If you've caused any of these infections since then, they may not bear witness up nonetheless," says Cornelisse. "That's one of the reasons it's so important to get tested regularly."
And then, to return to our example, a guy gets a call that he'southward been exposed to syphilis, which has a window period of six weeks. He was exposed two weeks ago and had a negative test event since then. What should he do?
"He should become and get a syphilis test," says Cornelisse. "He volition usually accept two options. Option ane is to get treated at the same fourth dimension as the test, on the presumption that he might have syphilis, and because the syphilis may not show upwards on the blood test. Selection two is to test today, abstain from sexual activity for half-dozen weeks and then come back and re-test when he is outside of the window flow. Most guys choose selection one."
No surprises in that location. Cornelisse says this would be different for other STIs, though. "For gonorrhea, the test is a lot more sensitive, has a much shorter window flow, and the consequence is available in one or 2 days, so nosotros often just recommend the examination and non necessarily the handling straight away," he says.
There are currently two means to test for HIV: the HIV antibody test method, and the HIV RNA test. What is the divergence, and does this affect the HIV window menses?
"In Australia, nosotros use the quaternary-generation antigen antibiotic combination test for HIV. Without getting also technical, this test is designed to be able to detect HIV at various stages of infection."
"…information technology'south important to go tested regularly, get treated if necessary, and come back for retesting if your doc recommends it."
The RNA test (which you may accept seen headlining the opening seconds of your favourite bareback porn) isn't used routinely as function of a screening test in Australia. "We would apply it in specific situations, which are quite rare, and it's non function of the STI testing yous'd commonly get. It would make peradventure a few days' difference to the HIV testing window menstruum."
More virtually all forms of available HIV Testing in our Knowledge Hub.
What can you do if yous're non on PrEP, you've been exposed to HIV, and you're still inside the window menstruation?
"Information technology depends on the timing," says Cornelisse. "If yous've been exposed in the last 72 hours, make an urgent appointment with a health professional to start Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). PEP does demand to be started within 72 hours, and preferably within 24 hours."
If you're outside the 72-hour period, then PEP is not a very constructive pick. "But it'due south still worth getting an HIV test washed," explains Cornelisse. "Even though you lot're within the window period, it doesn't mean the test volition exist useless. A positive upshot is still possible, and if that's the case you tin can get started on your treatment quickly. And if you've had a high risk of exposure and you've missed the gunkhole with PEP, minimise your risk of passing HIV to your sexual partners until yous accept a definitive outcome, either by abnegation or by using condoms."
What are the window periods for different STIs?
While there are researched-based guidelines, STIs don't necessarily stick to a schedule, and new research and technology tin can alter how testing works. That'south why it'southward important to get tested regularly, get treated if necessary, and come up back for retesting if your doctor recommends it.
With that in listen, the current STI window periods for testing in Commonwealth of australia are:
| STI | Window catamenia |
|---|---|
| Chlamydia | i-5 days (most accurate subsequently 7 days) |
| Gonorrhea | 2-4 days (well-nigh accurate afterwards seven days) |
| Syphilis | vi weeks |
| HIV | 6 weeks* |
| Hepatitis A | four weeks |
| Hepatitis B | 30-60 days |
| Hepatitis C | 6-10 weeks |
*For HIV rapid tests and HIV cocky exam kits the window menstruum is upward to 12 weeks (three months).
You lot can discover sexual wellness testing services nearby and across Australia using our interactive map.
Source: https://emen8.com.au/health/sexual-health/still-sti-results-negative/
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