How soon after unprotected sex should I have a health screen Posted: 07-27-07 06:52am
I had unprotected sex last night, he did
not ejaculate, and I also performed oral
sex. I am worried I may have any STDs as
I am married and do not want to pass this
onto my husband. I do feel deep guilt
and shame, I am not impressed with how I
behaved and have been faithful for 10
years. The man I had sex with was an old
boyfriend, no excuse I know. He himself
has just come out of a long term
relationship and I 'presume' he is clean
however you never know. Should I have a
sexualy health screen where they test for
varius things, and how soon should I have
it. Obviously I think ASAP but should I
wait a few days or can tests show up
things pretty soon after the event?
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DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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Sexual Health - Women Answer A3197 Posted: 08-17-07 10:39am
Every infective disease including STDs
need some time to develop after the period
of possible infection. That is called the
"time of incubation". So, if you take
medical tests for STDs right after the
risky sexual behavior, the results will be
probably negative. Even if the results are
positive, it's possible that some previous
sexual encounter was the experience where
you've contracted the infection. An
incubation period can vary depending upon
the infective agent and the patient. Here
are the values of the incubation period
for some STDs:
1. Genital herpes - 2 to 7 days;
2. Genital warts – about 3 months;
3. Trichomonas vaginalis – 4 days to 3
weeks;
4. Syphilis – 10 to 90 days;
5. HIV/AIDS – 2 to 8 weeks but
asymptomatic period can reach even 5
years;
6. Gonorrhea – 3 to 10 days;
7. Chlamydia – 7 to 14 days.
If you are sure that your sexual partner
has an STD, you can visit your
gynecologist as soon as possible. If not
you, can wait at least a week.
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