STI testing has always been a sensitive topic, but talking about it is vital. Too high a level of infections suggests that these sexually transmitted infections are one of the main and most important problems of modern medicine, which in recent years has become quite actively investigated. In our time, scientists have discovered about 30 such diseases. And some of them can lead to serious consequences.
STI screening has now reached an extraordinary heyday. The main examination method is laboratory diagnosis. However, when passing tests for STIs, the patient should remember that there is no one examination method suitable for all people or it has not yet been found. Each method gives a two-faced result. Not every positive result is indeed such, and vice versa. Therefore, not only the analyzes themselves are necessary, but also consultations with a dermatovenerologist. Only an experienced doctor, a true specialist in his field, can compare all the data and make the correct diagnosis.
Therefore, a doctor’s consultation is an integral part of an STI test, since only a specialist:
- pre-evaluates complaints and symptoms. Then he makes an assumption (just an assumption) about the nature of your ailment;
- directs to pass tests for STIs.
Further in the laboratory, his colleagues take up the matter. They:
- directly collect the test material;
- check it for the presence of an STI.
And again, the tests get to the attending physician. He already reports on the results of laboratory research, thereby closing this chain.
There is also a DNA diagnostic method that allows testing for STIs. It identifies the DNA of the pathogen in the test material. This diagnosis is carried out in two ways - LCR (Ligase Chain Reaction) and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). Please note that this method is in no way associated with the study of human DNA for various purposes. The only thing that connects them is the subject itself, with which they have to work.
During PCR and LCR, some actions are carried out during which the infection itself is detected (if, of course, it was in the test material), and it, in turn, is “multiplied” many times. High-precision equipment will find it, no matter how much it is in this material. The accuracy of this method exceeds 95%, which is an excellent result in our time.
Screening for STIs is now possible by determining the presence of antibodies in the human body. A blood test is taken for this study. It determines the presence of certain antibodies. Sometimes this method is used to control during treatment.
A “smear test” is also widely used. It can be carried out at any time, but the most accurate result this study gives only if the infection has recently been “picked up” or has become quite obvious.
Remember: in order to get reliable information about the presence of STIs in the body, you need to go through several different examinations.