I’ve had a one night stand. Which STD test is right for me?

The first thing is that you should not sleep with your partner until you get tested without using protection (but see our suggestions for just touching and oral sex in this series). We have an incubation or window period for all our tests – this is the time that needs to pass before any STI or STD will be detectable, but you can still transmit any infection in this time.

In this situation, when you want results as quickly as possible we would recommend our screens that can detect infections with the shortest incubation period. These are:

Early Detection Screen (at 10 days after any incident) for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C – results in 3 days from when the sample is received in the laboratory.

Peace of Mind (at 14 days after any incident) for Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis – results in 2 days from when the sample is received in the laboratory.

Comfort Screen (a urine only STD screen at 14 days after any incident) for Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Herpes I and II (current infection), mycoplasma, ureaplasma, trichomonas and gardnerella – results in 5 days from when the sample is received in the laboratory.

Early Platinum Screen (at 14 days after any incident): Early Detection (above), Comfort (above) and syphilis – results in 5 days from when the sample is received in the laboratory.

Everyone’s circumstances are different, and it is your responsibility to choose the tests that are right for you depending on your sexual activity and what you know about your partner. If you are unsure then Better2Know recommends a Full STD screen. Once is enough to catch an STD, STI or HIV.