Confidential STD Testing

We offer complete and confidential STD testing and treatment.

Why Care    •   STD Testing    •   STD Prevention    •   STD Treatment

STDs — Why Should I Care?

Everyone should care about STDs. Most of the time there are no symptoms at all and you can’t tell you have them. They are easily passed from individual to individual. They can cause complications and symptoms such as:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can damage a woman’s fallopian tubes & lead to pelvic pain & sterility
• Tubal pregnancies (where the pregnancy grows in the fallopian tube instead of the womb), sometimes fatal to the mother & always fatal to the fetus
• Sterility in men & women
• Cancer of the cervix, vagina, penis, anus and/or throat
• Damage to major organs, such as the heart, kidney & brain, if left untreated
• Discharge from the vagina, penis or rectum
• Pain or burning during urination or intercourse
• Pain in the abdomen (women), testicles (men) & buttocks
• Blisters, open sores, warts, rash or swelling in the genital, anal or mouth areas
• Persistent flu-like symptoms – including fever, headache, aching muscles or swollen glands – which may precede STD symptoms

Some STDs never go away, even with treatment. Think about it. Do you, for the rest of your life, want to tell every one of your sexual partners that you have an STD? It’s not fun, but absolutely necessary if you get an STD. If you can’t imagine telling someone that you have an STD, take every step you can to avoid one.

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Testing

Our board-certified Nurse Practitioners at FamilyCare of Kent, Washington routinely provide sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing and treatment for clients off all ages and inclinations. STDs affect over 12 million people in the United States each year. We believe this risk can be reduced if STD testing was done by all partners before sexual activity. For some, ongoing screening every 1 to 3 months (depending on number of partners and risk factors) is the best choice.

In most cases it is impossible to tell if an STD is present without clinical evaluation.

The more sexual partners you have, the greater your chance of exposure to HIV or other STDs. It is always difficult to know whether a person is infected or has had sex with people who are infected. Sometimes, early in the infection, there may be no symptoms, or the symptoms may easily be confused with other illnesses.

At FamilyCare of Kent we use the most sensitive tests available for clinical testing. Our complete STD screening consists of the following:

• Directed physical examination looking for evidence of infection. This includes oral and genital examinations. When looking for human papilloma virus (also known as HPV, genital warts or condyloma acuminata) we frequently use magnification and may apply acetic acid (vinegar) to better identify genital warts caused by HPV (clinical exam)
• HIV (AIDS) testing using Western Blot technology with confirmation of all positives (blood test)
• Syphilis (blood test)
• Chlamydia (cervical, oral, anal and/or urine sample depending on circumstances)
• Gonorrhea (cervical, oral, anal and/or urine sample depending on circumstances)
• Herpes both type 2 genital herpes and type 1 nongenital herpes image (blood test and/or culture) Listen to Molly’s story about having herpes
• Human papilloma virus also known as genital warts or condyloma acuminata image (clinical exam with high risk cervical DNA testing for women 30 and older)
• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (cultures and clinical exam)
• Trichomoniasis (DNA hybridization assay, women only)
• Bacterial vaginosis* (DNA hybridization assay, women only)
• Yeast vaginosis* (DNA hybridization assay, women only)
• Molluscum contagiosum image (clinical exam)
• Hepatitis B (blood test done if never immunized against Hepatitis B)
• Hepatitis C (blood test)
• Lice and Scabies (clinical exam)
• Granuloma inguinale (clinical exam with additional confirmatory testing required if disease is suspected)
• Lymphogranuloma venereum (clinical exam with additional confirmatory testing required if disease is suspected)
• Chancroid (clinical exam with additional confirmatory testing required if disease is suspected)

*Not currently considered a sexually transmitted infection.

For women, if you are due for your Pap smear, we can obtain that at the same time we do your STD testing.

What are STDs anyway?

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Prevention

To reduce your chances of being infected with AIDS or other STDs, you should always use a condom from start to finish. While this is not 100% effective it does significantly reduce risk. In monogamous relationships both partners should have STD testing prior to any sexual activity. In multiple partner situations anyone joining the relationship should have STD testing done before any sexual activity with current partners. Periodic STD testing should be done every 1 to 12 months depending on a variety of factors. Talk with your nurse practitioner to determine the best schedule for you. Individuals who engage in sexual activity as a source of income should have at least monthly STD testing. Prevention is critical. It is much easier to prevent sexually transmitted diseases than to treat them after the fact.

Immunization against HPV (the cervical cancer vaccine) is strongly recommended for all prior to sexual activity or as soon as possible after the start of sexual activity of any sort. Gardasil^® provides protection against HPV types 6, 11, 16 & 18. Cervarix^® protects against HPV types 16 & 18. Both are indicated for use from ages 9 to 26 years old. Many clinicians will also offer one of these vaccines to patients age 27 and older who are at high risk. Talk to your nurse practitioner. There is a patient assistance program available for Gardasil and our staff will work with eligible patients to help in the application process. Both men and women can get the HPV vaccine. Although men do not have a cervix HPV type 16 has been shown to cause cancer in other areas including the mouth and throat. HPV vaccine can be given to guys just like it is given to women. More research is needed to see if protection is provided against throat and other cancers.

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Treatment

AIDS/HIV: (treatable) Requires multiple medications on a daily basis and care by a specialty team. Listen to Ida’s story about being infected with HIV

Bacterial vaginosis: (curable) Typically a course of treatment with a specific antibiotic will cure this infection.

Chancroid: (curable) Typically a course of treatment with a specific antibiotic will cure this infection.

Chlamydia: (curable) Typically a single dose of a specific antibiotic taken once will cure this infection. A test of cure is recommended 8-12 weeks after treatment. All sexual partners you have had contact with in the past 6 months should also be treated.

Gonorrhea: (curable) Typically a single dose of a specific antibiotic taken once will cure this infection. A test of cure is recommended 8-12 weeks after treatment. All sexual partners you have had contact with in the past 6 months should also be treated. Anyone treated for gonorrhea should also be treated for chlamydia.

Granuloma inguinale: (curable) Antibiotic treatment for several weeks.

Hepatitis B: (vaccine preventable) Acute illness usually goes away without treatment. Chronic infection requires long term treatment by specialist with medication.

Hepatitis C: (treatable and possibly curable) Long term treatment by specialist with medication.

Herpes: (treatable) There are 2 types of herpes, type 1 which causes 15% of genital herpes cases and type 2 which causes 85% of genital herpes. If you have an outbreak both types of herpes can be treated. If you have frequent outbreaks there is medication for both types of herpes to prevent outbreaks. If you have type 2 herpes and your partner does not then you can take a daily antiviral medication to reduce the risk of your partner getting infected. If both of you have tested positive for herpes type 2 then there is no need to treat one partner to reduce the risk of spreading herpes. If you have herpes type 2 you are unlikely to get infected with herpes type 1, however having herpes type 1 will not protect you from becoming infected with herpes type 2.

Human papilloma virus also known as HPV, genital warts or condyloma acuminata: (treatable) While treatable this very common infection is frequently self-limiting and may resolve on its’ own within 2 years. Treatment options vary but a combination of freezing of the warts followed by treatment with a cream applied to the area is most commonly used in our practice. We apply an anesthesic cream to the infected area first to minimize the discomfort of freezing.

Lice and Scabies: (curable) Typically a short course of treatment will cure these infections.

Lymphogranuloma venereum: (curable) Antibiotic treatment for several weeks.

Molluscum contagiosum: (curable) Treated by freezing, removal or with medication.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: (curable) Typically a course of treatment with multiple antibiotics will cure this infection. Partner testing is strongly recommended as well.

Syphilis: (curable in early stages) Typically a course of treatment with a specific antibiotic will cure this infection. Partner testing is strongly recommended with a repeat test for partners 3 months after last exposure or diagnosis of partner.

Trichomoniasis: (curable) Typically a course of treatment with a specific antibiotic will cure this infection.

Yeast vaginosis: (curable) Typically a course of treatment with a specific antifungal agent will cure this infection.

The NPs at FamilyCare of Kent deliver the highest quality of care. They are board-certified family nurse practitioners with over 70 years’ combined experience and thousands of happy patients. They include nationally recognized clinicians, teachers and speakers, including those who sit on the editorial boards of professional journals and who serve on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington.

You will appreciate their caring, compassion, integrity and honesty. They will appreciate and welcome your referrals.

For more information about your STD testing or to schedule an appointment, call FamilyCare of Kent, Washington at (253) 859-CARE (2273) or use our online appointment request form.

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