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(see links to other
sites with information on sexual health, especially
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/sti/)
Click on a question to view its answer.
Ask the Staff is moderated by
Edward Lifshitz, M.D., Director of Busch-Livingston Health Center
I'm a gay twenty-year-old and I have a partner who is 21. we have been seeing each other for two years. I was thinking about getting tested for STIs. Could you put my mind at rest and explain what they during such tests? I get scared easily at doctors!
Where can a man get tested for the same STDs that women get tested for? How much does it cost and how reliable are the tests? How much time should partners allow for testing before they know it is safe to have sex?
I was wondering if there is any way for me and my girlfriend to be tested for STDs. We have both been sexually active in the past but feel like we should be tested for ourselves and one another.
I am currently taking injections for contraception as well as using a diaphragm. My boyfriend wears a condom when we have sex, but we have a monogamous relationship and I would like to have sex without a condom. I want him to get tested for STDs, but he freaks out if you touch the inside of his elbow where blood is typically drawn. Would getting blood from another area be just as efficient, or would the clinic not be able to get enough blood? I've heard there's a saliva test for HIV. Is this as effective as a blood test? I've also heard that HIV can incubate for up to ten years. If it is incubating, would it show up in a blood test?
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