Home Oral Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea Test

A home oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea test is a test kit you can use to take a test sample at home by yourself. The test uses a swab of your throat to check for the 2 most common STIs in the UK: chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

After you’ve used the home oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea test kit, you’ll package your sample up carefully and send it to our partner lab. Everything you’ll need is usually included in the test kit, including instructions and a pre-paid label. Your results will then be available on your confidential, online account after the laboratory has finished testing.

Oral STIs are less common than those of the genital but they still happen. You should get tested if you have unprotected oral sex, especially if you get any symptoms or a sexual partner tells you they have an infection.

You’re most at risk if you’re:

• with a new sexual partner or change partners frequently and do not use a barrier contraceptive method during oral sex
• a man who has sex with men – most cases of gonorrhoea affect gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men

If none of the above applies, the NHS recommends testing for STIs once a year if you’re under 25 and having any kind of unprotected sex, including anal, oral, and vaginal.

Why should I get tested for oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea?

It’s important to get tested for oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea because they’re the most common STIs, so they’re most likely to be contracted if you do have regular unprotected oral sex.

Both infections can be passed easily and cause long-term health complications if left untreated for too long. They can be especially dangerous for a pregnant woman.

Regular testing can reduce the number of cases and protect other sexual partners from catching the infection.

Most infections won’t show up straight after unprotected sex on an STI test. It takes up to 1 week for oral gonorrhoea and 2 weeks for oral chlamydia. So, if you’re taking an oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea test you need to wait 2 weeks for accurate results.

If you get tested before this, do another test after this time frame has passed. You can get tested straight away if you have symptoms of oral chlamydia or gonorrhoea however, this is rare.

The test kit includes a swab to take a sample from your throat, and a leaflet containing detailed instructions. You must follow these instructions carefully to ensure your test result is accurate.

It’s best to avoid taking the swab straight after drinking or eating.

Taking your oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea test: a step-by-step guide

1. Wash your hands and unpack the kit.
2. Remove the cap from the sample tube. The test kit will come with a small opening to hold the tube during testing so you don’t have to hold it. Check the instructions if you’re not sure.
3. When you’re ready, remove the swab from the packet. Be careful it does not touch anything and do not touch the swab end with your fingers.
4. Open your mouth and stick your tongue out – it might help to look in the mirror.
5. Swab the back and sides of your throat several times over both sides.
6. Remove the swab carefully and put it into the sample tube. There is a ‘score mark’ on the swab where it can be gently broken in half so that the swab will fit into the tube.
7. Screw the lid tightly.
8. Place it in the pre-addressed and prepaid envelope provided. Make sure your details are included inside.
9. You can post it in any post box.

The at-home oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea swab tests we use are 90% to 95% accurate. No STI test is 100% accurate but the instructions can help you do the test properly to ensure an accurate result. Things that could make it less accurate include testing too early after oral sex or not swabbing for long enough at the back of the throat.

Home testing for oral infections like chlamydia and gonorrhoea is just as accurate as testing done by a healthcare professional in a clinic.

Once the lab has received your sample, it will take 2 to 3 working days for your results to be available. How long it takes your sample to reach the lab will depend on whether you post it on a working day, where you post it, and at what time. Check your local Royal Mail website for more information.

You will receive your results through your patient account. We will send you an email asking you to log in when they are ready. We will never send you confidential information such as a test result via email or phone.

When you get your results, our doctors will send a message on what they mean and what to do next if you have tested positive for an infection.

What does a negative oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea test result mean?

If your test result is negative, you do not carry either infection in the throat and will not require any treatment or follow-up tests.

What does a positive oral chlamydia and gonorrhoea test result mean?

If your result is positive for either or both infections, it means you are currently infected and need treatment.

ZAVA can prescribe doxycycline for oral chlamydia, which is the best antibiotic for chlamydia. Gonorrhoea treatment is an antibiotic injection so needs to be given in person by a nurse or doctor. Treatment of oral chlamydia or gonorrhoea can also be obtained from your GP or local sexual health clinic.

You can get another test 6 weeks after treatment to make sure the infection is gone. You’ll also need to speak with any sexual partners or a local sexual health clinic may be able to send an anonymous text to them on your behalf.

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the UK. This is partly because it's often symptomless and so people do not know they have it without regular STI testing (at least once a year).

The symptoms of chlamydia include:

• pain during urination (peeing)
• unusual discharge from the vagina, penis, or anus (bottom)
• in women – pain in the stomach, bleeding after sex, and bleeding between periods (spotting)
• in men – pain and swelling of the testicles

Oral chlamydia usually causes no symptoms but it can cause mouth sores, sore throat, swollen neck glands, and fevers.

How it’s spread

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that’s spread through unprotected oral, anal, or vaginal sex, or in any other way that you may come into contact with infected semen or vaginal fluid. This means you cannot spread oral chlamydia by kissing but it can be passed through things like sharing unwashed sex toys or getting fluid in your mouth.

It can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her child during birth if the infection is in the vagina.

Are there any risks of leaving chlamydia untreated?

Yes, leaving chlamydia untreated can cause long-term health problems as the infection can spread. This includes:

• in women – pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can then cause pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy
• in pregnant women – premature labour and birth, a low birth weight, and the risk of passing chlamydia to the baby during birth
• in men – epididymitis (inflammation of the epididymis tube behind the testicles) in men
• in anyone – reactive arthritis

If you pass chlamydia to your baby, they may develop an eye or lung infection. Chlamydia can be treated with a short course of antibiotics.

Gonorrhoea is the second most common STI in the UK. Like chlamydia, this is partly because it does not always cause obvious symptoms, so people do not know they have it.

The symptoms of gonorrhoea are also different for men and women. Oral gonorrhoea usually has no symptoms, but it can cause sore throat, white spots in the mouth and swollen neck glands.

Gonorrhoea symptoms in men include:

• unusual penis discharge, such as being white, yellow, or green
• pain or burning during urination
• swelling of the foreskin
• pain or tenderness in the testicles (rare)

Gonorrhoea symptoms in women include:

• unusual vaginal discharge, such as being thin or watery, and green or yellow
• pain or burning during urination
• pain or tenderness in the lower stomach (uncommon)
• spotting, heavier periods, and bleeding after sex (uncommon)

How it’s spread

Gonorrhoea is caused by a bacteria usually found in vaginal and penis discharge. It’s passed through unprotected oral, vaginal, and anal sex, or in any other way that fluid may come into contact with your genitals, anus, mouth, or eyes. This includes things like sharing sex toys that are not clean.

Recently there has been some evidence that suggests that oral gonorrhoea can also be transmitted through kissing.

Gonorrhoea can be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby during birth if the infection is in the vagina.

Are there any risks of leaving gonorrhoea untreated?

Yes, the bacteria that causes gonorrhoea can spread, causing further complications. This includes:

• in women – PID which may then cause pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy
• in pregnant women – miscarriage, and premature labour and birth
• when passed to a newborn baby – conjunctivitis, which is not promptly treated can cause blindness
• in men – a painful infection in the prostate gland and testicles, which may cause infertility in rare instances
• in anyone – sepsis (a life-threatening infection)

If treated early enough, it’s very unlikely to cause any long-term health problems but the more times you get gonorrhoea, the more likely complications are. Gonnorhoea is treated with an antibiotic injection in the thigh or bottom.