| You are at high risk and should be checked every one to three months if...
You are at moderate risk and should be checked every three to six months if...
You are at low risk and should be screened every 12 months for two years if...
|
Prepare for questions
You and your doctor will try to match your symptoms with an STD. You should also expect to be asked what may seem like very personal questions. This is called "taking a sexual history." Here are some questions that doctors and nurses often ask in order to know what infections to test for, plus the reasons they ask them:
| Q: Have you had a sexual experience with another person in the past year? |
| R: Gives your doctor or nurse an idea of what else to ask you. |
| Q: (If yes) With how many different people in this year? |
| R: Your doctor needs to know because the more partners you've had, the greater your risk for having contracted any STD. There is no wrong answer. |
| Q: (If yes) What kind of sex have you had, vaginal, oral, or anal? |
| R: Different kinds of sex can cause trauma to different parts of the body. Knowing this can help your doctor make his or her diagnosis. |
| Q: Can you tell me about your sexual life before this last year? |
| R: You may be married or monogamous now, but might have put yourself at risk a year ago. |
| Q: Have you ever had a sexually transmitted disease of any kind? |
| R: People who've had an STD before are often at higher risk for other infections. |
| Q: Have you ever shared a needle or injection equipment with another person for any reason? |
| R: Sharing needles can infect you with someone else's blood. It is a main mode of transmission for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). |
| Q: What do you do to protect yourself from STDs? |
| R: Your answer will help your doctor or nurse understand how much you know about the infection process. |
