The Better2Know Blog

A Glasgow drama group has gained support from Paul Brannigan (star of The Angels’ Share) for a set of films that highlights issues affecting people with Hepatitis C.

A woman from New York is suing MAC Cosmetics after a contaminated makeup sample allegedly gave her Herpes, CBS New York reports. A used lipstick was applied onto her lips by a MAC employee at a concert in May, and two days later her lips started to swell. A doctor confirmed that she had a cold sore, caused by contracting Oral Herpes.

Andre van Zijl, 63, was diagnosed as HIV positive over 30 years ago, but that hasn’t stopped him from living life to the full. van Zijl currently holds 39 world records, and now plans to claim a 40th by spending 12 days in a jacuzzi.

Students in Hull lead the way on sexual health awareness around campus, and a recent survey has declared them amongst the least promiscuous in the country. Since the start of their courses, University of Hull students have had an average of 3.32 sexual partners. But even with a lower number of partners than many universities, being aware of your sexual health is still important. How have Hull kept its student safer and more informed?

Cases of gonorrhoea in England have soared by 25% over the past year, but what is responsible? British health officials have warned of strains of the Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) becoming more resistant to drugs due to overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Indeed, in 2008, a strain completely resistant to antibiotics was found in Japan.

As Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust leads an awareness drive through Cervical Screening Awareness Week (CSAW) -running from the 9th to the 15th of June – LGBT health experts aim to highlight the issue of lesbian and bisexual women and their attitude towards cervical cancer.

A renewed effort to find a vaccine for HIV has now begun. Whilst treatment for those who have contracted HIV is available, scientists in London, Rwanda and Nairobi hope to be the first to find the elusive vaccine. A trial in Thailand in 2009 has already found a combination of two vaccine prototypes that is 30% effective in HIV infection, and further trials are set to improve this statistic. Principle investigator of the latest study, Dr Jill Gilmour, believes “it’s not if, it’s when we will have an effective HIV vaccine.”

The use of condoms is essential if you want to practice protected – thus safer – sex, especially if you are having sex with new or ‘casual’ partners. They offer protection against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and are effective as an additional birth control measure. However did you know some lubricants, oils and liquids can in fact break down various materials that condoms are made from? How protective is your protection?

Worrying about having an STD can be a difficult time, it can make you irritable and anxious.  The only thing you can do to find out if you have an STD is to get tested as many STIs do not have any symptoms (until it is too late) and your fertility and health may be compromised.

If your results come back negative that’s great!  Please ask your doctor about the window period, as any new partners from inside your window period may have transmitted an STI to you that will not be detectable yet.  Regular testing is always advisable, especially if you are lucky enough to have more than one partner.

If you test positive for an STI with Better2Know, don’t worry. We are here to help.  We can either write you a prescription to get you sorted and back to normal, or write a referral letter if you need specialist advice, so whatever your needs we have a tailor made solution to get the best treatment pathway for you.

Michael Douglas – of Basic Instinct fame – has recently spoken out about his throat cancer and its cause: cunnilingus. Douglas’s cancer was triggered by HPV (the Human Papilloma Virus), which is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the UK, and can be transmitted through performing oral sex.

Well, maybe…. is the not definitive answer you are looking for.  We are not going to tell you not to worry about, even if you have never had one before, do you think your partner has?  Really?  Are you going to risk your long term sexual health and fertility?  Whether you are in a long standing relationship or not, having a one night stand is always going to be a risk.  Especially if you had unprotected sex, but remember condoms are not 100% effective and do not protect against everything (although they do give good protection against HIV).

If you have had a one night stand, the best thing to do is get tested, and not to have sex with anyone else before you get the results, as you could pass any STI that you have acquired on.  How bad would you feel then?

Better2Know can help, with testing from just ten days after any event that you are concerned about, with results fast enough to get you back in the saddle in the fastest time possible.

There is no nationally accepted answer to what is a Full STD screen. If you go to a GUM clinic, you will probably be offered testing for Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV. Ask them for a Herpes test and they will only test you if you have symptoms to suggest that you have a current outbreak of blisters or sores.  You will get your results in two to three weeks.

At Better2Know, we recognise that this experience is not for everyone, and we offer a much wider comprehensive range of STD tests, including Hepatitis B, Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma in our Full Screen.  Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma are two of the most common STIs in the United States, but are rarely tested for in the UK.  It doesn’t mean that we don’t have it or aren’t spreading it, but it does mean that we are not treating them, and they can cause infertility if left untreated.  If you want a Herpes test as well, no problem we can bolt in on, and of course we have the right test for you whether you have symptoms or not.

The results of a Better2Know full screen take just five days from when your samples are received by the laboratory, we need a blood and urine sample, we don’t need to look at anything that you don’t want to show us, just fast results and appropriate treatment if you need it.

Better2Know is pleased to announce that it has two new clinics in West Yorkshire in Bradford and Keighley.  Once again, partnering with One medicare, a private company, to provide bespoke STD testing services to patients who want an appointment quickly and the fastest results possible.

Don’t worry, Better2Know is here to help.  Join the thousands of patients every year who trust Better2Know with their Sexual Health testing.  Many of our patients do not want to see their own doctor for fear of being judged in a future visit – and of course many GPs do not even do Sexual Health testing – referring patients to the NHS GUM clinics which may not be convenient for you.

Instant or Rapid HIV tests have improved a lot over the years, and it is now possible to get a very accurate results just 26 days after potential exposure.  This is the most advanced test we know about, and the Rapid HIV test that we use at our STD testing clinics.  The test takes 20 minutes to run, so do not be surprised if the doctor asks you to wait while the test runs.

The rapid HIV  test we use at Better2Know is a fourth generation HIV test (which means that it is the fourth in a line of constantly improving tests – in some countries (e.g. Switzerland) only fourth generation tests are legal.  A fourth generation test is also known as the H-Duo as it tests for both the p24 antigen and the HIV 1 and 2 antibodies so that it will detect HIV starting from a minimum of 26 days.

Use our on line booking app to find the nearest rapid HIV test for you.

Here are the answers to last weeks Sexual Health quiz:

A recent survey by Balance Activ found that British women knew more about beauty treatments than sexual health.  67% people knew what a bikini wax was, but only 39% had heard of Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) which can lead to infertility and an increased chance of catching other STIs.

Strange as it may seem, you can get an STI that’s a sexually transmitted infection without actually having sex – in the intercourse sense of the word.  This is because some STIs can be passed on by skin to skin (or body fluid to body fluid) contact, and bacteria and viruses just love the warmer and moist environment that being intimate can often create.

Better2Know delivers private, confidential and anonymous Sexual Health testing services for adults through our network of over 80 partner clinics across the UK. Our service provides an alternative to the NHS and charitable services, offering patients the opportunity to see clinicians without visiting their own GP or GUM clinic.

At Better2Know, we tend to use the acronyms STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) interchangeably, but we are often asked which one is “correct”?  The short answer is that they both are.  The cover all the different “things” that we test for. STD is now seen as a more old-fashioned term as the term disease conveys an illness that is dangerous and long lasting.  Many of the infections we test for can be treated with antibiotics and can clear up in a week – hardly the same as a disease.

There are some symptoms associated with being HIV positive, but it must be noted that these symptoms do not mean that you are HIV positive, they are also very commonly found with other illnesses including cold/ flu and tummy upset/ food poisoning.  Even if you have more than one symptom please do not panic, it does not mean you are HIV positive.  It is a good idea to get tested alongside treating the symptoms if you have engaged in risky activity such as unprotected sex.

A baby girl, born in Mississippi has been cured of HIV, by the early treatment given to the baby in the first 30 hours of her life.

The most popular STD tests and screens at Better2Know change regularly, however the top five choices remain pretty consistent, they are:

1. HIV Test
2. Full STD/ STI Screen for HIV, Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, Hepatitis B, Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma
3. Comfort Screen a urine only test for: Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, Herpes (Current Infection), Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma, Trichomonas and Gardnerella
4. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea
5. Herpes

This shows the popularity of tests which are not available on the NHS (mycoplasma, ureaplasma, trichomonas, gardnerella) and also the Herpes blood test which detects the Herpes Virus (types I and II) whether or not you have symptoms (the NHS usually only tests if you have symptoms).  With testing for Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma increasingly common in Europe and the USA, and budgets being stretched in the NHS, more people are taking control and seeking a new way of testing.

In the UK, London has the highest proportion and number of people who are living with HIV in the country.  However, the funding to prevent new infections has been cut, despite record numbers of people being found to be HIV+.

A sexual health group have pressured the Scottish Government to consider allowing the morning after pill to be available in schools.

Before considering having a baby it is really important to be certain that you are not carrying any sexually transmitted infections. These infections can be passed on to your baby before they are born and they can also make it more difficult for you to get pregnant. If you are considering donating sperm then you should also get tested to be certain you are not passing any infection onto the mother.

We understand how worrying this is, when you have done the right thing, and then get let down by the equipment.  As far as your STD and STI testing needs are concerned, in this situation both of you should have a full STD screen as infection could go both ways.

The important thing is not to get into a blame game. The really important thing is that they have done the right thing and told you.

It does only take one time to get an STD, STI or HIV. Of course the chances are less than if you have multiple partners, but if you sleep with someone without knowing whether they are infected then once is all it takes.