Importance of Counseling for STDs

Alternatively, you can go to a sex health institute. Are you worried about the doctor’s payment or do you want to keep your doctor’s visit secret from your parents? Instead, visit a public sex health institute. In the United States, the most famous sex health institute is Planned Parenthood. Many of these institutes offer secret STD tests like STD Clinic Singapore.

Not sure where the nearest sex health institute is? Search for it on the internet. This site offers an easy-to-use location search. You can even anonymously request further information regarding the test procedure.

What is informed consent?

Anyone getting tested for HIV must give informed consent. In order to be able to give informed consent, the person must be able to:

1. understand the advantages and disadvantages of the HIV test
2. interpret the meaning of the test result
3. understand the ways in which HIV is transmitted

A pre-test discussion should take place to ensure that the person being tested is able to give informed consent. The   Public Health Agency of Canada’s Guide to Testing for and Diagnosing HIV Infection states that verbal informed consent is sufficient, as with other medical tests.

What information does a person receive when they are tested for HIV?

Before and after the test, the health care professional should provide the person with appropriate written or verbal information, or counseling about HIV and the modes of transmission.

Pre-test counselling

Before HIV testing takes place, people should receive appropriate information and/or counseling through a pretest discussion.

During pretest counselling, the person is asked about their knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention, as well as possible sexual and/or drug use behaviours that could have put them at risk for HIV infection. The worker may also explain the screening process again, especially if a point-of-care test is used and a confirmatory test is required. Pre-test counselling could also include a discussion about testing for other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and hepatitis C. A conversation about the person’s post-test support needs could also take place (such as harm reduction services, counselling, etc.).

Because people who get tested for HIV come from many different backgrounds and have different experiences, testing histories and risk profiles, the providers who offer the test often tailor the pre-test information or counselling to meet their needs. For example, in some situations, the provider chooses to offer comprehensive pretest counselling, especially if the person has never been tested for HIV before. In other situations, the worker may choose to give documentation on HIV testing and prevention, especially to people who have already been tested. In all cases, the worker must ensure that the person being tested is able to give informed consent.

There are no cures for sexually transmitted venereal diseases caused by viruses. In some cases, you’ll have to wait for your body to defeat the virus on its own. In other cases, the virus stays in your body forever, although medication can make the symptoms go away and make the virus difficult to spread.