At Home STD testing?

crfische

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=162644

kate51485

I'd be too paranoid I'd do it wrong.  I have health insurance though, so I'd have no reason to not go to a doctor.

Also I found a typo in that article, they used "fell" instead of feel/felt. 

BecW2be

You still have to go to the dr. to treat either disease, so I'm not sure why you'd test at home.

I think anyone mature enough to have sex should be mature enough to take care of her body and talk openly to her doctor about STDs and testing.

MeaghanandMichael

The more ways we have to track, help, cure, and prevent disease the better. As long as it is accurate I say let's do it up.

AlexiaANDRobert

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_home-std-testing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:48b4cb07-91c3-4f29-8c1f-091b5fb76494Post:e97cc431-d9d3-4419-812f-3dd8acf6f438">Re: At Home STD testing?</a>:
[QUOTE]You still have to go to the dr. to treat either disease, so I'm not sure why you'd test at home. <strong>I think anyone mature enough to have sex should be mature enough to take care of her body and talk openly to her doctor about STDs and testing</strong>.
Posted by BecW2be[/QUOTE]

Agreed.

crfische

3 pure vag responses. NICE!

These are the thoughts off the top of my head:

1) Maybe it'll make younger kids more like to test themselves and save them the embarrassment of going to a clinic to do it.

2) If they are embarrassed by that, they shouldn't be having sex. But, they are having sex, so this comment is null and void.

3) The more awareness the better, and if this will raise people's awareness of their own bodies, maybe there will be less transmission?

4) How much to these things cost? Are they affordable?

5) What will this do to the medical field if all testing can be done in home?

These are random musings, by crfische.

ac_in_dc

Bad idea!! Remove the stigma from STD testing instead.

This stuff is serious--I had a pelvic infection in 2006 and the docs were never able to find any chlamydia (sp?) or gonorrhea or anything, but it was a mess. And there's a high false negative rate out there. So who knows if I had anything? It lasted for 3 months, I had to take a crap load of antibiotics. And at one point during this drama the PA  felt a cyst on my ovary, which she thought was an abscess. An abscess on your ovary has a 10% mortality rate associated with it--until 30 years ago the standard treatment for this was a hysterectomy.

And my douchebag boyfriend at the time wouldn't get tested b/c he didn't want someone to swab his johnson. We broke up.

Rant over. See your fvcking doctor. It's not that big of a deal.

MeaghanandMichael

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_home-std-testing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:48b4cb07-91c3-4f29-8c1f-091b5fb76494Post:e97cc431-d9d3-4419-812f-3dd8acf6f438">Re: At Home STD testing?</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>You still have to go to the dr. to treat either disease, so I'm not sure why you'd test at home.</strong> I think anyone mature enough to have sex should be mature enough to take care of her body and talk openly to her doctor about STDs and testing.
Posted by BecW2be[/QUOTE]

Good point Bec, but I would still like to see more people take the first step if possible. And yeah, of course people should be more mature, but we all know there are way too many dingbats out there.

And, this could be out on a limb, but the privacy factor of one's partner not finding out they got tested because there is no insurance record of a docotr's visit may be incentive to get tested and get help. So nms obviously, but I am in favor of getting people healthy over anything else.

shellydiane820

I think if it gets more people to test, more power to it.  I do agree, that a doctor/patient relationship is really important, though.

swtasa

Lol I love the "My vag is pure"

I wouldn't I prefer my Dr do it. When I got for my yearly they usually run everything. It makes me feel better knowing if anything is wrong my doctor will call me.

Besides that they also leave out that your supposed to get routine screening for other STDs as well, I think it would more then likely keep women out of doctors offices because they wouldn't worry about going to get tested anymore.

So yeah bad idea.

BecW2be

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_home-std-testing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:48b4cb07-91c3-4f29-8c1f-091b5fb76494Post:1945cecf-4db9-44a4-b930-ceb2e6652665">Re: At Home STD testing?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: At Home STD testing? : Good point Bec, but I would still like to see more people take the first step if possible. And yeah, of course people should be more mature, but we all know there are way too many dingbats out there. And, this could be out on a limb, but the privacy factor of one's partner not finding out they got tested because there is no insurance record of a docotr's visit may be incentive to get tested and get help. So nms obviously, but I am in favor of getting people healthy over anything else.
Posted by MeaghanandMichael[/QUOTE]

You're smart and junk. I see your point. I just trust my dr. far more than myself to take an accurate test.

Of course, I'm also the freak who flipped thefuck out and begged for an emergency full STD screening the day I figured out EX was a swinger, and even though I'd already been tested once before I had sex after he left. My dr. laughs at me often. It's ok. My vag is still pristine, as indicated from my vote above. :)

reddy123

so.. that graph was just for Illinois? My question is what happened in 2005 to make cases drop down?

sarabellam

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_home-std-testing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:48b4cb07-91c3-4f29-8c1f-091b5fb76494Post:eeb2d858-3e8e-4e48-82c4-637cbe09e05a">Re: At Home STD testing?</a>:
[QUOTE]The more ways we have to track, help, cure, and prevent disease the better. As long as it is accurate I say let's do it up.
Posted by MeaghanandMichael[/QUOTE]

This. Exactly.

Nebb

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_home-std-testing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:48b4cb07-91c3-4f29-8c1f-091b5fb76494Post:9e8a0228-08c4-4e94-8056-dd65092b17ce">Re: At Home STD testing?</a>:
[QUOTE]Bad idea!! Remove the stigma from STD testing instead. This stuff is serious--<strong>I had a pelvic infection in 2006 and the docs were never able to find any chlamydia (sp?) or gonorrhea or anything, but it was a mess. And there's a high false negative rate out there. So who knows if I had anything? It lasted for 3 months, I had to take a crap load of antibiotics.</strong> And at one point during this drama the PA  felt a cyst on my ovary, which she thought was an abscess. An abscess on your ovary has a 10% mortality rate associated with it--until 30 years ago the standard treatment for this was a hysterectomy. And my douchebag boyfriend at the time wouldn't get tested b/c he didn't want someone to swab his johnson. We broke up. Rant over. See your fvcking doctor. It's not that big of a deal.
Posted by ac_in_dc[/QUOTE]
This happened to me too, but the doctors couldnt find any sign of anything. Luckily I had JUST started dating my husband (then new boyfriend) and had to tell him that I had a pelvic infection that may or may not have been caused by an STD, no one knew. That was brilliantly fun.  God was it painful though.

Stackeye210

I think as long as it doesn't discourage people from going to their yearly gyno visits then there isn't much harm.  It's when people start using the STD home tester as a replacement to a yearly pap - when other things need to be checked for, in addition to just STD's. 

You just don't want something like this giving people a false sense of security.

ETA:  This is no different then an at home AIDS test, sometimes anonymity with testing can help you get over the initial fears of what you're face. 

T1+T2

Yup, I agree with Meaghan.  In an ideal world, nobody immature enough to not seek medical attention would be having sex but.... um... yeah.  I would at least hope that if some kid administers the test and it comes back positive, they would be prompted to go to the doctor instead of just "ignoring that itch."  I would also hope that the more "out there" we get the message of STDs, that the stigma around seeking professional help would lessen.  Heck, I'd settle for kids actually becoming aware of STDs rather than not really knowing what they are.

iamjoesgurl

When I saw the subject, I was wondering what kind of testing you would do for Save The Dates. 

Now that I see what it really is, no way.  Of course, it would be cheaper for the insurance companies if people were responsible for doing it themselves.  But I think it's a bad idea.  You don't want to make a mistake on something like this.  And what if you are positive.  If you have to go to the doctor anyway, you might as well start there.

Moneypenny424

I think this is excellent.  Sure, I have insurance and am not afraid of going to doctors and having them tell me unsavory news--but having worked with people on reproductive health and STDs, I think this may help take away some of the fear.  I am pro home pregnancy tests, home HIV tests, etc.  I'm not saying the method of this test is perfect, but in general, women should be able to monitor their sexual health in ways that are best for them.  Sometimes things like this will make women more comfortable with their bodies and they won't see their vaginas as giant riddles or something.

Clearly, if you have an STD, you'll need treatment, but you also need treatment after the other "at home" tests as well.

kkchisholm

my doc screens both those each annual pap.. so I'm all set. I thought all doctors had to?? She tells me its mandated.

Moneypenny424

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_home-std-testing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:48b4cb07-91c3-4f29-8c1f-091b5fb76494Post:cdb9c3b8-b575-4af9-8237-66dba53ba6e8">Re: At Home STD testing?</a>:
[QUOTE]my doc screens both those each annual pap.. so I'm all set. I thought all doctors had to?? She tells me its mandated.
Posted by kkchisholm[/QUOTE]

This is largely for people who aren't getting annual paps.

kkchisholm

Oh right... guess I should have really read the article..