What is an STD or STI?
According to the National Academies, “sexual health” is a term used for a positive view of responsible and mutually consensual sex as a part of joy, family planning, love, and pleasure available to all humans.
However, infections transferred through sexual contact can cause pain and suffering to the partners and lead to blame, stigma, marginalization, and discrimination in society.
In 2018, 1 in 5 Americans had STI at some point, a staggering 68 million people! Moreover, 26 million of these were new infections. Unfortunately, these numbers have risen further during the pandemic, compromising the health of large number of people and pushing the limits of our healthcare system.
STIs come in different forms. There are over 25 known bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that can cause STIs. These include infections with HPV, HSV, HBV, HIV and Trichomonas. HPV is the most commonly known infection but HIV infections have resulted in the most devastating impact on society and economy.
Common STIs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, hepatitis B, and Trichomoniasis. The rate of infection for each depends on age, gender, sexual orientation, geography, and economic conditions.
STIs often do not show any clear symptoms, especially among women. This may be the reason for them to go undiagnosed, unreported, and untreated. Over time, this can cause serious health problems including infertility, miscarriage or death of newborn, chronic pain in the pelvic area, increased risk of HIV infection, genital or oral cancers, neurological and rheumatological effects.
Sexually transmitted diseases or infections can affect anyone who is sexually active, but they disproportionately impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals. Data suggest burden of infection seems to be higher for certain minority groups, e.g., African-Americans, Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Latinos mainly due to limited access to resources.
With recent advances in at-home testing during the pandemic, public health officials and researchers believe discreet and confidently testing with mail-in kits can help control the rising numbers.
What is an STD Test?
Since 1997, highly reliable STD tests have become available for many sexually transmitted infections. These NAATs (or Nucleic Acid Amplified Tests) are similar to the COVID-19 PCR tests and can accurately detect the DNA or RNA of the virus or bacteria causing the STD. They have high accuracy (i.e., sensitivity and specificity) and can be performed on samples that are easy to collect and ship at room temperature. Convenience and discretion make them very appealing for such private and intimate issues.
There are mainly two types of STD tests:
Tests that check the DNA or RNA of the pathogen: used for chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, as well as Mycoplasma genitalium, HPV, and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2); with simple urine sample.
Tests that look for antibodies against the infection: for syphilis, hepatitis, HIV, and herpes. These require a blood sample (either an at-home collected dry blood spot from finger prick or a tube of blood collected by a phlebotomist or nurse).
The report marks if the DNA or RNA and antibodies were detected in your samples.
It is generally recommended to re-test for any positive results, or clear symptoms but negative results. Since no test is perfect, this helps confirm any misses or early infections that aren't detectable yet. Also, sample collection might also impact the results.
Labs are required to report all positive results, even from at-home STD tests, to public health authorities to monitor the spread of STDs in community.
What does the test measure?
Using a urine sample, collected in a tube, and a few drops of blood, collected on a dry blood spot card, our at-home STD test checks for these common STDs:
Chlamydia: DNA of the pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis.
Gonorrhea: DNA of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Trichomoniasis: DNA of Trichomonas vaginalis.
Hepatitis C antibodies.
HIV 1/2 antigen/antibody (4th generation).
Herpes 2 IgG (HSV 2) antibodies.
Syphilis IgG antibodies.
Q: Can I purchase the test across US?
A: Except New York and New Jersey, our tests are available in all 48 states and DC. State regulations in NY, NJ, do not allow us to ship the tests to their residents.
Q: What does the STD Test kit contain and how do I use it?
A: The Advanced STD Test requires two samples: a urine tube and a dry blood card. The kit contains supplies to collect few drops of blood with finger prick, and a urine tube to collect the sample at home. It has clear instructions on how to collect the sample, and a form requesting basic information including date and time of collection. The directions are straight forward and easy to follow. You can also access them here: https://qr.rxhometest.com/.
Q: How long does it take to receive my STD Test results?
A: You will receive the kit in about 3-5 business days with a return envelope (pre-paid within US). After you ship the sample and it is received by our lab, you get the results in about 5 business days.
Q: What do I expect from my STD Test report?
A: The confidential report with your test results will be easy to understand and will provide all the necessary details. It will clearly specify whether the results were positive or negative. The report will also flag any abnormal values. It will briefly discuss what your results mean, the known limitations of testing each marker, and will suggest next steps in order to get maximum value from your STD test. Please note: as per the law, our labs are required to report positive STD test results of certain sexually transmitted infections to public health authorities and your results will provide more details about them. You can also download a sample report by clicking the Get Sample Report button above.
Q: Can I use my insurance to pay for the test?
A: You can use HSA (or FSA/MSA/HRA) accounts to pay for the tests since these are prescription tests (for further confirmation, please check the IRS publication#969). However, please ensure you are not going outside your specified max and min deductible limits. We do not have the capability to process the insurance claim. Insurance plans vary by individuals, therefore we can not guarantee your HSA payment will always be processed by your plan. Please talk to your insurance provider if you have any further concerns.
Q: How reliable are my results?
A: We have partnered with CLIA-certified labs that are used by physicians across the US and have decades of expertise in lab testing. These labs are regulated by the states, as well as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Many of the tests from these labs are FDA approved to ensure they meet the proper regulatory requirements. Additionally, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) requires inter-laboratory tests to ensure the ranges established by each lab do not drift or are not out of acceptable ranges. This is done by regularly testing reference samples between different labs. Finally, the labs test thousands of sample regularly, and have well established reference data to compare your results against the large pool of people tested over the years.
Q: Can you recommend what therapy should I take if my levels are low?
A: Unfortunately, no. As a lab test provider we can only test and report the results from your samples. We are not authorized to provide any medical recommendations. But we strongly encourage you to discuss the results with your doctor for next steps. It is recommended to carefully your review symptoms, health history, and other findings to see if you need to re-test or follow any other steps for complete diagnosis.
