The Better2Know Blog

Untreated sexually transmitted infections can cause serious complications for both pregnancy and fertility. Better2Know provides a wide range of confidential STI testing options for pregnant women and couples who may wish to start a family, to give you the peace of mind you need with regards to your sexual health. Untreated STIs could lead to:

• Miscarriage
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Ectopic pregnancies
• Premature rupture of membranes
• Low birth weight
• Health problems for both mother and child
• Transmission of infection to the baby

Better2Know is the UK’s leading provider of private sexual health testing services. Our exclusive Everywhere service is available nationwide, offering a popular alternative to our clinic and home testing options. The Better2Know Everywhere service brings the advantages of our nurse led service to a location that is comfortable for you. Make a booking with us today and a private nurse will Come2You, testing you quickly and confidentially for an extensive range of sexually transmitted infections.

Some countries request an HIV certificate during the visa application process. The circumstances where you will be asked to provide proof of your HIV status may vary depending on the country you are travelling to, and the purpose or length of your stay. Better2Know advises travellers to check the visa specifications of the country they are planning to visit, work in, or migrate to.

Better2Know are the world’s leading provider of private STI testing services. If you need an HIV certificate for any reason, we can provide you with one for small fee following your confidential HIV test or screen.

Better2Know is the UK’s leading provider of private sexual health testing services. At selected clinics nationwide, we offer Instant testing for six common STIs. Namely, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Better2Know’s Instant STI tests are available in towns and cities across the UK, including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Swansea, Newcastle, Sheffield, Aberdeen and many more. With same day or next day availability throughout the country, you can arrange your confidential appointment for a time and date that suits your schedule.

Better2Know is the UK’s largest provider of private STI testing services. We provide confidential sexual health screens and tests to detect HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Herpes and many other sexually transmitted infections. Our private STI testing services are completely confidential. You do not need to provide your real name, age or gender in order to be tested. The Better2Know WhatsApp service helps to maintain your anonymity. This method of contact enables you to message to one of our Patient Services Executives without having to call us directly. Our trained sexual health advisors will provide guidance and support throughout your patient journey.

At Better2Know, we understand that you might find it difficult to discuss your sexual health issues over the phone. As such, our popular WhatsApp service can be accessed through your mobile phone. This easy-to-use service allows you to chat, discreetly, to one of our experienced sexual health advisors. Our confidential, online service is available Monday to Friday, between 8:30am-5:30pm. After privately contacting a Better2Know advisor, you can book a private appointment online, or arrange for one of our advisors to call you at a convenient time to process your booking.

Better2Know, the UK’s largest provider of private STI testing services, provides confidential screens and tests in Milton Keynes for a range of infections, including HIV. Our team of highly trained sexual health advisors will ensure your patient journey is simple, quick and efficient. You are also given the choice of anonymity if this makes you feel more comfortable.

With any sexually transmitted infection, early detection and treatment is essential to protecting your personal health. Undiagnosed STIs can cause irreversible damage if left untreated, and this is particularly applicable to HIV. The number of people diagnosed with HIV continues to increase each year in Milton Keynes, making the town an area of high HIV prevalence. There are also many infected individuals who receive late diagnosis, creating an ongoing concern for public health. Untreated STIs can leave you more susceptible to contracting HIV.

Better2Know is the UK’s largest provider of private STI and HIV testing services. We have private sexual health clinics in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as many locations in Scotland. Our CPA accredited laboratories ensure fast, accurate results. Better2Know’s Patient Services team are highly trained to help make your patient journey as stress-free and discreet as possible. Testing with Better2Know is strictly confidential, and you have the choice of anonymity should that make you more comfortable.

Health Protection Scotland recently revealed that Scotland ‘continues to face challenges in preventing new HIV infections.’ This is evident in their estimation that over 6,000 people are living with HIV in Scotland, and 13% of the Scottish population remain undiagnosed.

Better2Know’s private STI testing services provides a wide range of screens and tests that will identify various sexually transmitted infections, such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and many more.

Our private sexual health clinics are situated throughout the United Kingdom including the cities of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh as well as numerous other locations. Better2Know’s team of highly trained sexual health advisors and medical specialists will make your patient journey as simple and stress-free as possible. Sample analysis is conducted by our CPA accredited laboratory ensuring fast, efficient and accurate results.

Syphilis is often referred to as a silent infection, with many people experiencing little or no symptoms in the initial stages. This can be particularly damaging as those with undetected Syphilis infections are more likely to transmit the STI to others without knowing.

In a recent interview with the BBC, one former Syphilis patient called for a broader public debate on an STI that is ‘not discussed at all.’

Better2Know is the UK’s largest provider of private STI testing services. Our wide range of screens and tests are designed, and regularly reviewed, by a panel of medical specialists to ensure you receive accurate and efficient testing. Many sexually transmitted diseases show little or no symptoms in the early stages of infection, so it is important to be examined regularly. Better2Know’s Platinum and Early Platinum Screens comprise an extensive number of tests to give you a clear picture of your overall sexual health.

There were over 10,000 new cases of STDs diagnosed in Northern Ireland during the year 2016. These figures include cases of HIV, with more than 1,000 people in Northern Ireland currently living with the virus. The BBC recently revealed that ‘as many as one in five people with HIV in Northern Ireland are unaware that they have the infection.’ According to Jacquie Richardson, the chief executive of HIV awareness charity, Positive Life, ‘poor sexual health is a significant burden on the wellbeing of people living in Northern Ireland’.

Better2Know is the UK’s largest provider of private STI testing services. We have sexual health clinics across the country, including Northern Ireland. Better2Know encourages regular testing to detect any infections that if left untreated, can create further health problems. It also reduces the chance of transferring an STI to current or future partners. So, whether you have met someone new or had a one-off encounter, booking your screen or test today is essential to protecting your personal health.

Sexual health services are at breaking point throughout the UK, and no more so than in the city of London. As a result of clinic closures across the capital, the Dean Street Express GUM clinic in Soho is turning away around 1,200 patients every single day. Early detection and intervention are crucial in combatting sexually transmitted infections and at Better2Know, the UK’s largest provider of private STI and HIV testing services, we can get you a confidential appointment in London on the very same day that you make your booking.

In 2016, Public Health England reported almost 700 cases of new STI diagnoses in the town of Ipswich. In addition, Healthy Suffolk recently revealed that Ipswich has the county’s highest rate for sexually transmitted infections, as well as being above the national average. Their report expresses the need for an assessment of Suffolk’s sexual health services, with the county consistently failing to meet their targets for Chlamydia detection.

Better2Know is the UK’s largest provider of private STI testing services, providing a wide range of comprehensive testing options in towns and cities across the country, including Ipswich. Our screens and tests are designed and regularly reviewed by medical specialists, ensuring peace of mind when it comes to your sexual health. Better2Know’s highly trained advisors will assist you in choosing the test or screen that is right for you, and they can arrange same day or next day appointments five days a week in Ipswich.

Mycoplasma is a bacterial infection that can affect both men and women. The Mycoplasma bacterium can be found in healthy genital tracts but can also be transmitted through unprotected sexual contact including vaginal, penile or anal intercourse. Often associated as a common cause of urethritis in men and cervicitis in women, Mycoplasma can also lead to complications like Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), as well as increasing the risk of getting other, more harmful STIs, such as HIV, if left untreated.

Almost 10,000 cases of sexually transmitted infections were diagnosed in Birmingham during the year 2016. In addition, a report by Public Health England showed that the city’s STI rates are worse than the national average, with more than 4,700 cases of Chlamydia alone. These concerning statistics led the Birmingham Mail to label the city as a ‘hotspot’ for sexual infections, highlighting the importance of regular STI testing.

Better2Know provides confidential Gonorrhoea testing at private clinics throughout the UK, including the region of South Wales. We have STI clinics in Cardiff, Carmarthen, Hensol, Newport and Swansea. Our range of comprehensive STI tests and screens are regularly reviewed by a panel of sexual health experts. Patient samples are processed by CPA accredited laboratories ensuring both accuracy and efficiency.

According to data published by Public Health England (PHE), there were 5,920 new Syphilis diagnoses in this country during 2016. Whilst that figure is not quite as prevalent as STIs like Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea, positive Syphilis infections have risen by 97% in the last five years.

At Better2Know, we understand that getting tested for a sexually transmitted infection can be a worrisome time. You want discreet and accurate results, fast. That’s why we offer same or next day appointments in selected clinics across the UK.

Our bespoke Instant testing service provides rapid, confidential results for six of the most harmful infections, including HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. With results available in under half an hour, you will receive your test results whilst you wait in the clinic.

This Monday marks the start of the 2018 Cervical Cancer Prevention Week. The event runs until Sunday 28^th January and aims to raise awareness surrounding cervical cancer and highlight ways in which this dreadful disease can be prevented. This year’s theme is: Reduce Your Risk, and there are plenty of ways in which you can get involved, including hosting fundraising events, sharing your story through blogging or social media, or by joining the #SmearForSmear campaign alongside Better2Know.

This Sunday marks the 2018 National STI Testing Day, encouraging people around the country to take control of their sexual health by getting tested. The event takes place on the 14^th of January each year, referencing the two-week period of incubation that many STI tests stipulate as a minimum requirement prior to testing.

Happy New Year from all of us at Better2Know. Following the recent festivities and seasonal overindulgence, it is understandable that carefulness may have been overlooked when it comes to sexual encounters. As we embark on another new year, if you are concerned about your sexual health, it is important to remember that you are not alone.

According to the latest Government statistics, just 18 travel-associated cases of Zika have been diagnosed in the UK this year. The report marks an astonishing 93.6% reduction in travel-associated cases compared with 2016. Whilst these figures highlight the huge successes in combatting the Zika virus, there is still work to be done if we are to completely eradicate this harmful infection from our shores.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can lead to serious complications if left untreated. They can occur anywhere in the urinary system, and could prove particularly harmful if one or both kidneys are affected. Better2Know’s Urine for Microscopy and Culture test will identify the presence of yeast or bacteria in the urine, which may be the cause of a UTI. The test is available across the UK, and does not require a minimum period of incubation.

Ureaplasma is a lesser known, but extremely common sexually transmitted infection. One of the smallest free-living organisms, Ureaplasma Urealyticum can be contracted through unprotected penile, vaginal, oral, or anal sexual contact. The bacterium can also be found in regular, healthy genital tracts, so a colony of Ureaplasma can overgrow and cause irritation without the occurrence of any risky or disingenuous behaviour.

Across the UK, Better2Know offers a comprehensive array of STI tests and screens, giving you complete peace of mind regarding a host of harmful infections, including Ureaplasma. Visit our testing pages to find out more.

Today is World AIDS Day, and whilst we should celebrate the enormous strides that have been made in HIV testing and treatment, Dr Michael Brady tells Better2Know that there’s still more to be done.

Dr Brady is a Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV at the King’s College Hospital in London. He is also the Medical Director at the Terrence Higgins Trust.

World AIDS Day is an important time for us to both reflect and celebrate. We remember those we’ve lost to HIV and AIDS, but also mark the incredible successes that have been achieved since the beginning of the epidemic. It’s a time to not only show our support for those living with and affected by HIV, but also to highlight the work that is still to be done.

In 2012, an estimated 2,000 people in Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, were living with HIV. More alarmingly perhaps, approximately 20% of those individuals had undiagnosed conditions, and were therefore far more likely to transmit the virus without knowing it. Just one year later, more than 10% of the 15-24-year-olds that received testing in Swindon were diagnosed with Chlamydia, which remains the city’s most prominent sexually transmitted infection.

This Saturday signals the start of the 2017 National and European HIV Testing Week (HIVTW). The week runs until Friday 24^th November and aims to raise awareness surrounding HIV, and the importance of regular testing.

The event is co-ordinated by HIV Prevention England, with support and participation from public, statutory and private sector bodies. Hundreds of organisations took part in last year’s highly successful HIVTW, promoting HIV related services and highlighting the benefits of regular testing and treatment for both individuals and the wider community.

In 2016, Public Health England revealed that Manchester had the country’s highest prevalence of HIV outside of London and the South East. And it’s not just HIV – in 2014 alone, almost 1.5% of the city’s inhabitants were diagnosed with an STI. As Manchester’s cosmopolitan community continues to increase, so too does the threat of sexually transmitted infections.

According to the latest Government figures, an estimated 60,000 people in London have been infected with Hepatitis C. To put that into context, that’s roughly the same amount that flood into the Emirates Stadium every Saturday afternoon. The report, published last month, sited the city’s ‘high rate’ of confirmed diagnoses when compared with other areas in the UK. The statistics for Hepatitis B showed no improvement either, with an incidence rate twice that of the national average. Though perhaps most alarmingly of all, the statistics showed that, globally, fewer than 1% of people with chronic Hepatitis infections are actually receiving treatment.

In 2015 there were more than 5,000 STIs diagnosed in Liverpool – that’s over 1% of the city’s population – with Chlamydia diagnoses accounting for around half of those infections. The report, published by the Liverpool Echo in July of last year, also warned that the city was particularly susceptible to an outbreak of ‘Super Gonorrhoea‘, due to elevated levels of antibiotic prescriptions. In short, Liverpool’s STI infection rate is amongst the highest in the country, thus increasing the importance of regular testing.