Recently had treatment for chlamydia but haven't been tested for HIV, should I be worried?

[anonbbyg]

Hi I'm new here and stressing a bit. I've recently been treated for chlamydia and after talking to my mum she asked if i had been tested for HIV. Due to sexual health clinics being closed at the moment I ordered my test kit online and it only tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. So, I was wondering if i should try and get a test kit for HIV as I know it doesn't really have any visible symptoms or should I not be too concerned?

[Hidden]

Dear anonbbyg,

The simple answer is "Yes”. It's always a good idea to get tested for STDs, including HIV, if only because many infections can be caught without symptoms developing, so you could potentially be harbouring a treatable infection as well as risking your health and the health of other sexual partners if you don't get tested.

It has to be acknowledged that chlamydia is a lot more common than HIV, so statistically you're unlikely to have been infected with HIV. However, for the reasons above it's always better to be sure than to just assume that you're alright.

If you have a London postcode, you can apply online for an STD test kit which also includes a finger-prick test for HIV- shl.uk

Adhari

[selonuk in reply to Hidden]

I completely agree with Adhari and while HIV is very much thankfully in decline it is still best to get tested for it as part of your sexual health test. You can get a HIV test outside of London and many other countries have forms of postal testing too.

The only piece of advice that I would give it to make sure that you answer the question survey honestly, for example having caught Chlamydia it is likely that you did not use a condom? and if you answer that you used condoms the they are unlikely to include a HIV test.

Also be aware that due to delays in the postal service it is currently taking longer for kits to arrive, for example my recent test took over 3 weeks from applying for the test to getting the results.

Finally have you contacted your local sexual health clinic about your results? While many are closed for appointments they are still issuing treatment, you could always discuss with them when you tell them about the chlamydia results about wanting a HIV test on which they can give advice or perhaps order one for you.

Selonuk

[anonbbyg in reply to selonuk]

I did the sh:24 in my area ans answered all the questions honestly in that survey but the HIV test kit was separate to the chlamydia and gonorrhoea one so it wasn't really an option.

I also spoke to the sexual health clinic twice and was completely honest with them too and they didn't suggest to do a HIV test either. I wasn't concerned about it before but my mum mentioned it and kinda freaked me out a bit. I haven't had any of the flu like symptoms but I guess doing a test can't hurt and I need to order another test next week to see if the chlamydia has cleared up anyway so I'll see if I can order one at the same time.

Thanks for the help!

[Galen70 in reply to anonbbyg]

Its always a good idea to have a full screen. Just because you had chlamydia doesn't necessarily put you at high risk - are you male or female ? if male, are you homo or heterosexual ?