STI test kit for women

If you’ve recently had unprotected sex (including anal, vaginal, or oral sex), you may be concerned that you could have caught an STI. It’s completely normal to be concerned – STIs are very common, and hundreds of thousands of people are diagnosed with them in the UK every year.

The sooner you get treatment, the lower the risk of spreading the infection or of any complications. You can get fast results and fast-track your treatment by taking a test, either at home with a test kit or by visiting a sexual health clinic.

Our female STI test can quickly give you an answer if you’re concerned you have an infection or you have symptoms. If the results come back positive (meaning you have caught a specific STI), you can then begin a treatment plan as soon as possible.

“If you’re worried you might have caught an infection, a female STI test can help give you peace of mind. They’re quick, easy, and painless, and can allow you to get one step closer to treatment if you do have an STI. It can be reassuring to know that whatever result you get, getting diagnosed and treated as soon as possible is always best for your overall health” – Dr Zoe Miller, Medical Editor.

This kit may not detect herpes if you do not have active lesions at the time of testing. If you are concerned that you might have herpes, we would recommend that you take a swab test of the area, using a test that is specifically designed for herpes detection.

Current guidance from the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) recommend that women should get an STI test at different times, depending on the situation. This table provides more information on when you should use an STI test kit for women:

There are a few other reasons you might wish to order a female STI test kit:

1. Unprotected sex

If you’ve recently had unprotected sex with someone whose STI status you’re not certain about, it’s a good idea to get tested. Many people have STIs without symptoms, such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea, and you cannot always tell if someone has an infection just by looking.

2. You have symptoms

You may have noticed possible symptoms of STIs, such as unusual vaginal discharge, pain when urinating, or sores around your genitals. Getting an STI test for women can help get to the bottom of these symptoms.

3. You have a new partner

If you have begun a new sexual relationship, you and your partner may both wish to do an STI test. This can be a good way of building trust. It’s also recommended by BASHH to test at the start of a relationship if you have 1 long-term mutually exclusive partner.

If your partner is a man, then a negative result on both of your STI tests might mean you can start having sex without a condom (while using other contraceptives if you want to prevent pregnancy).

4. You’re planning to start a family

Doing an STI test for women might be something to consider if you’re planning to start a family. Some infections can pass to your future baby, so it’s best to get anything treated first. Untreated STIs can also impact your fertility long term, especially if left untreated for a long time. For example, untreated STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause:

• pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an infection that affects the female reproductive organs, causing scarring of the fallopian tubes
• infertility
• ectopic pregnancy (where the egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in the fallopian tubes)

At ZAVA, we provide 2 kinds of female STI testing kits: a ‘basic’ screen and a ‘full’ screen. Both test kits can detect a range of different organisms that cause certain STIs.

1. Basic female STI test

Our ‘basic’ STI screen will test you for:

• gonorrhoea (vaginal, anal, and oral) – please note that not everyone has to be tested in all these places, but you can take a sample if you’re concerned about your risk
• chlamydia (vaginal, anal, and oral)
• HIV
• syphilis

Gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It can cause abnormal vaginal discharge and bleeding in between periods, amongst other symptoms, however most women do not show any symptoms at all. There has been an increase in the number of people being diagnosed with gonorrhoea in the UK in recent years.

Chlamydia

Chlaymdia is one of the most common STIs in the UK. It’s caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis, and can cause pain when urinating, bleeding between periods, or unusual vaginal discharge. You may also get no symptoms when you have chlamydia.

HIV

HIV is an infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus and usually causes flu-like symptoms when the virus first enters your system before resting dormant for up to 10 years.

HIV damages your immune system and gradually weakens your ability to fight off infection over time. If you are infected with HIV and it’s left untreated, it can progress into a serious illness called AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). There are effective HIV treatments that help stop the virus from replicating and damaging your immune system. By starting treatment early, you can stop HIV from progressing to AIDS and live a full and healthy life.

Syphilis

Syphilis is caused by bacteria called Treponema pallidum and can be treated with a course of antibiotics. A common symptom of syphilis in women is the appearance of small sores on your vagina.

2. Full female STI test

Our ‘full’ STI test kit for women will screen you for:

• HIV
• hepatitis B
• hepatitis C
• syphilis
• chlamydia
• gonorrhoea
• Mycoplasma genitalium
• ureaplasma DNA
• trichomoniasis
• bacterial vaginosis
• herpes simplex I & II

➤ All of the STIs treated by our full test kit have different symptoms. Get a broader overview in our guide to women’s STI symptoms.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) can be triggered by having sex and new research shows it can be sexually transmitted. BV can make you more likely to get an STI as the infection changes the environment of your vagina.

If you’ve never used a female STI testing kit before, it can feel a bit unusual collecting swabs, blood, and urine samples for the first time. But don’t worry, they’re easy to use, and you can simply follow the step-by-step instructions included.

Depending on whether you get the ‘basic’ or ‘full’ women’s STI test kit, you’ll need to provide different samples. After you’ve taken the samples, put them in the protective packaging that’s supplied with the test kit. Then, as soon as possible after taking your samples, you should send it to the lab in the prepaid envelope (also supplied in your test kit).

You can post all your samples in one go and should send them all in the same envelope that comes with your kit. Once the lab has received your samples, you’ll get your results online, through your confidential ZAVA account within 2 to 3 working days. We recommend finding out your local Post Office collection times so you can do your test on the same day it will be sent out.

For a complete analysis, we may ask you to share a:

• small blood sample
• urine sample
• throat swab
• genital swab

The female STI test kit comes with several swabs and a finger prick test for you to collect the samples. If you accidentally make any mistakes, there are spares included in the package.

Find out how to use each swab or test in your kit by thoroughly reading the instructions included in your test kit, or checking the relevant section below. Make sure you wash your hands before doing your test.

Vaginal swab

1. Insert the swab into your vagina, up to about 5cm deep.
2. Gently rotate the swab with your fingers while brushing it against the walls of the vagina for 5 seconds.
3. Once finished, take the swab out and place it inside the tube so the cotton end is at the bottom of the tube, then snap the stick at the black line and put the lid on tight.
4. Place your test tube in the transport pouch provided.

Oral swab

1. Open your mouth wide and brush the swab against the back and sides of your throat for 30 seconds.
2. Once finished, put the swab inside the tube and snap the stick at the black line.
3. Place the tube lid on and tighten before putting it in the transport pouch provided.

Rectal swab

Please note: the rectal swab is optional and only needs to be carried out if you’re at risk of a sexually trasnmitted infection in your anus, or you’re concerned and would like to make sure.

1. Insert the swab about 2 to 3cm into your anus and rotate it gently with your fingers around 5 to 10 times.
2. Take the swab out and place it inside the tube provided with your test kit, snap the swab at the black line and tighten the lid on the tube.
3. Place your tube inside the transport pouch provided.

Finger prick test

1. Wash your hands in warm, soapy water. It’s easier to collect blood when your hands are warm and we recommend taking blood from the middle or ring finger.
2. Use the alcohol swab provided to clean the area you will be using.
3. Twist and remove the blue stick from the lancet.
4. Position it against the side of your chosen finger and then press it firmly against the skin until you hear a click.
5. Once your skin is punctured, you should see a small drop of blood. Wipe this first drop away.
6. Then, hold your hand downwards and massage your hand down to your finger to encourage blood flow into the tube, filling the tube up to the upper line. If you cannot collect enough blood, repeat this process again with another lancet on a different part of your finger (spare lancets are provided in the kit).
7. Once blood is collected, screw the tube on and tighten to secure it.
8. Label your tube, and place it inside the clear case provided.

For more detailed information on getting blood from your finger during this process, read the instruction guide included with your test kit.

If you’ve had unprotected sex, you may want to know as soon as possible whether you have caught an infection. However, you should wait for a few days or weeks before you can test for an STI. Certain STIs will not be detected by a screening kit if you test too early. This can give you a false negative result and delay your treatment if you have an STI.

After taking a test, you need to send all your samples in one go for the lab to complete the screening. If you’re unsure about whether it’s the right time to get tested, speak to your doctor or sexual health clinic. Please note that an at-home test kit should not be done on a Sunday or bank holiday, as the sample will take longer to arrive and it should be posted as soon as the samples are collected.

Here is the guide for the best time to get a test for STI after unprotected sex:

Getting a positive result

If you test positive for any of the STIs listed in this screening kit, it means you have an STI. Getting a positive result can be daunting, however, it’s important to know that all STIs can be treated with medications. Some can be completely cured, such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea, while others can be treated for the long term but will still dormant in your body and may cause outbreaks (such as genital herpes). As there are many treatment options available for preventing and managing outbreaks, you should be able to continue to live a perfectly normal life.

What to do next

Our doctors can help and support you with what to do next, including providing information on where to get treatment. After getting a positive result, there are a few steps you need to take next. This will depend on what STI you have tested positive for.

For certain STIs, you’ll need to take a short course of antibiotics or antiviral medication. Some of these are offered through ZAVA, including treatments for chlamydia, genital herpes, and trichomoniasis.

If you test positive for HIV, you’ll need to do another test to confirm that you have HIV. If this comes back positive (meaning that you have HIV), we can advise you on specialist treatment centres to contact so that you can get started on treatment as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can choose to speak to your doctor about your test results.

If you have a positive STI test result, we strongly advise you to tell any recent sexual partners you’ve had, so they can get tested too. This can, of course, feel a little awkward. But it’s better for them to know sooner rather than later for their health. You should be able to do this anonymously at your local sexual health clinic via text or we can provide this service for you.

Getting a negative result

If your test comes back negative, this means you do not have any of the STIs you tested for. There’s also a chance that you have not waiting long enough to take a test (if you tested earlier than recommended for the STIs you were testing for).

What to do next

If your result is negative and you’re sure you tested at the right time, you do not need to do anything, unless you get symptoms or have unprotected sex again.

If you have certain symptoms that you thought might be an STI, a negative result can be confusing. There are other conditions where the symptoms might appear similar to those of an STI, such as bacterial vaginosis so it’s best to speak with your doctor to get further tests done.

Sometimes, we cannot give you a definitive result for your STI test. If the swabs were not used correctly or there was cross-contamination somewhere, it may not be possible to give you a result. If you have any concerns, you should raise this via your patient account.

Our STI test kits are very accurate in detecting the organisms that cause infections. All our test kits are processed by our UK-based accredited lab partner. These are the same labs that process tests and samples from hospitals and other clinical services.

For some STIs, you may need to test twice to confirm a diagnosis. This includes HIV, where you’ll have to do a follow-up test after an initial positive result – this is recommended whether you test with us or with the NHS. By doing more than one test, we can confirm your STI status more accurately.

Feeling uncertain about whether or not you have caught an STI can be very worrying. However, our female STI tests help to give you answers fast. We deliver the test kits quickly and discreetly to you, and will provide results within 3 days of the lab receiving your samples, so you can get the support and treatment you need.