Hey there Guys,
Today I have been reviewing some of the health guidelines and just wanted to have a bit of an update on the current guidelines for getting sexual health check ups.
Currently it is recommended to have a sexual health check-up once a year if you are sexually active. If you have had more than 10 partners in less than 6 months then it’s recommended to have a check up twice a year or perhaps earlier if you are very sexually active.
As noted at the ACON website the current testing guideline is:
An STI check-up for a man who has had sex with men usually involves:
- A blood sample to check for HIV, syphilis and immunity to hepatitis A and B
- A urine sample to check for Chlamydia
- A swab of your arse to check for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea (a swab is like a cotton bud you would use to clean inside your ears)
- A swab of your throat to check for Gonorrhoea
- A physical examination to check for crabs, scabies, warts and herpes
These tests are recommended for all gay men who don’t have any symptoms. Even if you don’t have any symptoms it’s still possible to have an STI and pass on the infection. Testing is the only way to know for sure.
Even if you have not had anal sex it’s important to have the swab of the arse as Chalmydia and Gonorrhoea can be also transmitted by rimming and fingers.
Of course if you have any symptoms such as discomfort when passing urine, sore testicles or anal pain, bleeding or itch it’s important to have a check-up straight away. If you have had any episodes of unsafe sex be sure to see a doctor as soon as possible as there is post exposure treatments, also known as PEP, available that can reduce the chance of HIV infection.
Don’t forget that these check-ups are a good time to discuss any issues you may have about your health. Results such as HIV are best not given over the phone so currently almost all doctors give HIV results to patients face to face. This allows time to explain the meaning of results and help to answer any questions that may come up.
Remember there are some sexual infections that can be present with no symptoms or signs at all; for this reason be sure to have your regular sexual check-up.
Any questions? Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Yours in good health.
Dr George
Totally against home testing kits, for the reasons given above. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation lobbied strongly here against them being made available for sale commercially. You need to be in a supportive environment if you’re going to have bad news delivered, plus there was the concern that guys wanting to bareback would pick up these tests and use them before hooking up as an (illusory) form of protection.
Dr. George,
If a guy is immune to HPV B from being vaccinated and his partner has HPV B, can the immune guy pass HPV B to a third party as being a carry of the disease when having sex with others?
If you have immunity to Hep B i.e. you have had your three shots and have had a subsequent blood test to confirm they worked, then your partner would not be able to pass the virus to you.
This is a warning for all those who buy home AIDS test kits and then send them out and wait the 4 days before calling for your results. The person on the phone who will give you your diagnosis, (a computer generated message will be given if you are negative), is not qualified as a health care professional, and can do a lot more harm than good. When I got my results, the lady on the other end of the line yelled out “You’re positive”. This is not a professional way to let a patient know their diagnosis. So please, take the time and see your doctor, they will be a lot more empathetic.
Holy crap! That is absolutely disgusting… Other then yelling down the phone at you did they offer any counselling. or other help?
Guys please take this warning, don’t use home test kits, you are missing out in a vital part of the testing which is counselling.