At-home STI test kits let college students collect their own urine, swab, or finger-prick blood sample privately in a dorm or apartment, mail it to a lab, and view results online — no clinic visit and
Gay and bisexual men should get vaccinated against both hepatitis A and hepatitis B, ideally before any exposure. The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all adults aged 19–59 and for older adults
For sexually active gay and bisexual men, the CDC recommends STI testing at least once a year, and every 3 to 6 months if you have multiple or anonymous partners, use recreational drugs during sex, or
Dating again after 50 means keeping safer-sex basics in play even though pregnancy is no longer a worry. Menopause thins and dries vaginal tissue, which makes small tears more likely during sex and ca
STI symptoms in teens most often come from chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, or HPV — but normal puberty, acne, and non-STI discharge can look identical. Because many of these infections cause no
If your symptoms could be either an STI or menopause, the most likely culprits are vaginal dryness and irritation from falling estrogen, or one of three often-silent STIs — chlamydia, gonorrhea, or tr
If you're on testosterone and have new vaginal (front-hole) discharge, burning, odor, or bleeding, the likely culprits are chlamydia, gonorrhea, bacterial vaginosis, or testosterone-related atrophy. T
PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is HIV medicine that people without HIV take to stay HIV-negative. Taken as prescribed, it cuts the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% and from injection drug us
A self-collected HPV test lets you gather your own vaginal sample with a swab — no speculum, no clinician inserting an instrument — and that sample is then checked for high-risk (cancer-causing) HPV t
In most states, minors can consent to STI testing and treatment on their own — without a parent's permission — though the exact age and which infections are covered vary by state. The bigger confident
STI screening for trans men should follow your anatomy and your sexual practices, not your gender identity. If you have a cervix, you may still need cervical screening; if you have receptive throat, v
After anal sex, the tests you actually need depend on your role, not your identity. Receptive partners should add a self-collected rectal swab for chlamydia and gonorrhea; everyone exposed should test
If you're on a parent's plan, an STI test can show up on the insurance paperwork — specifically the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) mailed or posted to the policyholder, which may list the date, provide
A window period is the gap between when you're exposed to an STI and when a test can actually detect it. Test too soon and you can get a falsely reassuring negative. For chlamydia and gonorrhea, a NAA
Yes, you can still get an STI after menopause — and in some ways the risk goes up. Falling estrogen thins and dries vaginal tissue, making small tears more likely during sex, and any break in that tis
Transgender women face higher HIV risk than the general population, but the same proven tools protect them: PrEP, condoms, regular testing, and treatment-as-prevention. The most common worry — that es
DoxyPEP is a single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline — 200 mg taken within 72 hours after condomless sex — used to lower the risk of certain bacterial STIs, mainly syphilis and chlamydia CDC. It tar
Teens can get free or low-cost STI testing at Title X family-planning clinics, federally funded community health centers, health departments, and Planned Parenthood — most charge nothing or use an inc
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a relative of smallpox. It spreads mainly through close skin-to-skin contact — including sex — and causes a painful or itchy rash that often appe
Group B strep (GBS) and STIs are screened at different times and for different reasons in pregnancy. The GBS swab is a routine late-pregnancy test for a common gut and vaginal bacterium that can be pa
Yes — vaginal dryness after menopause can make catching an STI easier, not harder. As estrogen falls, the vaginal lining thins, dries, and tears more easily during sex, and any tiny break in the tissu
Receptive anal sex carries the highest per-act HIV risk of any sexual activity — about 138 infections per 10,000 exposures, roughly 1 in 70, from a partner with untreated HIV CDC HIV estimates. The re
A women's STI screening guide tells you which tests to expect by age and risk. If you're a sexually active woman under 25, plan on yearly chlamydia and gonorrhea screening. Everyone aged 15 to 65 shou
Doxy-PEP (doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis) is a single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline taken after condomless sex to lower the risk of certain bacterial STIs. The standard dose is 200 mg take
PrEP is daily or on-demand medicine that HIV-negative people take to prevent infection before exposure. You have two main forms: oral pills (Truvada or Descovy) and an injectable, cabotegravir (Apretu
A pregnancy STI screening panel is the set of infection tests built into routine prenatal care. At the first prenatal visit, everyone who's pregnant is screened for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B, bec
Transgender STI screening follows your anatomy and your sexual practices, not your gender marker. Screen by organ inventory: if you have a cervix, you may need cervical chlamydia and gonorrhea screeni
In most of the US, yes — teens can get STD testing without a parent finding out, because every state lets minors consent to confidential testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. The
After a hookup, don't test the next morning — most STI tests can't detect a brand-new infection yet. For chlamydia and gonorrhea, a urine or swab NAAT is reliable about two weeks after exposure; HIV a
Adults over 50 are often skipped for routine STI and HIV screening — not because the risk disappears, but because of provider bias and outdated assumptions. If you're sexually active, you should still
Gay and bisexual men should test for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia at least once a year, and every 3 to 6 months with higher risk such as new or multiple partners, a partner who tested posit
Lesbian and bisexual women can and do get sexually transmitted infections, so the "women who sleep with women don't need screening" idea is a myth. STIs pass through skin contact, shared fluids, and s
Extragenital STI testing means swabbing the throat and rectum — not just collecting urine — to catch chlamydia and gonorrhea that live where you were exposed. Because oral and anal infections rarely c
STI testing for college students means routine screening — getting tested when you feel fine — through your campus health center, a local clinic, or an at-home kit. Most students should test for HIV a