The festive season is filled with enjoyable – workplace events, heading again house for a couple of weeks, and customarily numerous drinks! It’s no shock that, usually, one factor results in one other, and you could find yourself sleeping with somebody solely to expertise signs of an STD weeks later! To stop well being issues, and spreading it additional, you will need to get examined. However, the place are you able to get an STD take a look at over the festive season?
A number of sexual well being clinics are closed on financial institution holidays, however some personal sexual well being clinics will stay open at diminished hours throughout Christmas and New Yr’s. You can additionally order an at-home STD testing package in case your native clinic is closed over the festive season.
Learn on for a breakdown of your choices for staying on prime of your sexual well being this Christmas, New Yr’s Eve, and through financial institution holidays.
The place To Get an STD Check Over Christmas/ New Yr’s Eve/Financial institution Holidays
Discovering a dependable STD testing choice may be tough with clinics working on diminished hours on the finish of the 12 months, and even visits again house over the festive season. Whether or not you want a take a look at throughout Christmas, New Yr’s, or one other financial institution vacation, it’s vital to know your choices so you may nonetheless get peace of thoughts. We discover in additional element under:
Postal Check Equipment
If you happen to can’t go to a clinic for no matter purpose – you’re staying with household, or your nearest clinic is closed, for instance – then a postal test kit will probably be essentially the most handy choice for you. We’ll ship a pattern assortment package to your door together with a pay as you go envelope to ship it again to the laboratory. So long as postal companies should not seeing an overload, you need to obtain your package in only a few working days.
At Your Sexual Well being, our devoted laboratory continues to run as ordinary over the festive season, aside from the Financial institution Holidays (which embody Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Yr’s Day), so you need to nonetheless get your leads to only a few days of us receiving your samples!
A Personal Sexual Well being Clinic
It could come as a shock, however quite a lot of private sexual health clinics stay open for the Christmas interval, with virtually all of them open for that center interval between Christmas and New Yr’s Day. Granted, some might function with barely fewer appointments or diminished opening hours, however they’re typically quieter at the moment of the 12 months, so this probably gained’t be a difficulty.
Nevertheless, in case your nearest supplier of sexual well being checks is predicated out of an aesthetic clinic, they’re more likely to be closed for everything of the festive interval.
Can You Wait? Solely If You Keep away from Sexual Contact
Most STDs gained’t hurt you if you need to wait a couple of additional days to get examined, which is especially useful over the busy Christmas interval. However, this doesn’t imply you need to wait to guide a take a look at. Most on-line companies will let you guide an appointment upfront, prepared for when clinics are again open.
Merely go to our Clinics web page, and guide the closest appointment out there at a clinic close to you. This doesn’t must be close to your everlasting house, for instance, should you’re staying with a pal or mother and father’ home – it may be any clinic that’s most handy for you!
NHS 111 / Out-Of-Hours Companies
In case you are actually battling signs (reminiscent of a concerningly excessive fever, or excessive ache in your genital area), you could possibly get assist from an NHS out-of-hours service. You are able to do this by ringing NHS’ 111, which is a free service in England that gives medical recommendation and remedy when it isn’t an emergency.
111 will be unable to present you an STD analysis, however they are going to direct you to one of the best place to get assist to your signs. This may increasingly embody:
- Visiting an out-of-hours GP clinic
- Getting a callback from a nurse
- Receiving remedy out of your nearest pharmacy
- Recommendation on deal with signs, and the following steps to take (most definitely reserving a sexual health test, which they might additionally have the ability to assist with!)
Can I Get an STD Check When Away From Residence?
Sure! You don’t must be at your ordinary deal with as a way to get examined for sexually transmitted infections. While many GP and NHS clinics gained’t settle for sufferers from totally different areas, with Your Sexual Well being, you may select from any of the 150+ clinics positioned up and down the UK to your take a look at. For an much more handy choice, you may even order an at-home STD testing package to any UK deal with that’s handy for you—whether or not you’re staying with household, associates, or travelling.
To study extra about defending your sexual well being whenever you’re away from house, learn our useful weblog: Where to Access STD Testing When Travelling
How Lengthy Ought to You Wait To Get Examined For an STD?
If you happen to’ve slept with somebody at a Christmas celebration, work do, or just rekindled a romance from again house, you won’t even must get examined for an STD right away! The truth is, testing for an STD too early may end up in false adverse outcomes. At a minimal, we’d advocate ready no less than 2 weeks (14 days) after your sexual encounter earlier than finishing an STD take a look at. For some STDs (reminiscent of HIV or syphilis), you could want to attend round a month (28 days) earlier than getting an correct outcome.
To seek out out when precisely you need to take a look at for an STD after a festive romp, learn certainly one of our useful guides: How Long After Sex Should You Test For STDs?
Get Examined at Christmas Time With Your Sexual Well being
Whether or not you’re at house, travelling, or coping with financial institution vacation clinic closures, you may nonetheless keep on prime of your sexual well being this festive season. At Your Sexual Well being, we provide versatile choices together with at-home postal testing kits and in-clinic testing, guaranteeing you may get examined promptly and extra importantly, discreetly.
Get in touch with our pleasant crew at the moment for extra info, or should you want recommendation on which take a look at is best for you.
