Your Ultimate Guide to STD Testing in Singapore

Sexually transmitted diseases, or STDS, refer to infections that are passed from one person to another via sexual contact. These diseases are transmitted when there are physical contact between the genitals of one person and the mouth, eyes, anus, and/or genitals of their partner.

The most common STDs in Singapore include gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, human papillomavirus (HPV), HIV, genital warts, and HIV. If you are looking for expert knowledge in everything related to sexual health, please feel free to visit The Health Advisory Clinic.

Although most STDs do not have specific symptoms, the typical indications of an infection include flu-like symptoms like exhaustion, body pain, fever, and swollen glands, unusual discharge in the vagina, penis, or rectum, painful sexual intercourse, burning feeling during urination, abdominal pain, and small ulcers in the skin of both male and female genitalia and in a woman’s vagina.

A lot of people do not get immediate treatment for STDs because these diseases are extremely hard to notice. Furthermore, the stigma around STDs also prevents people from getting an STD test. This is unfortunate because testing is the only way to determine if a person has an STD.

STD testing in Singapore is done in STD clinics and emergency rooms. If you have any exposure to an STD, the doctor may ask you to be tested for one or more diseases.

Talk to your doctor if are concerned about a particular symptom or infection because if you are open and honest about the status of your sexual health, you will receive a better quality of treatment.

It is important to discuss your sexual risk factors, particularly if anal sex is involved. You also need to tell your doctor about the medications that you are currently taking, the type of protection that you use, and the number of your (and your partner’s) sexual partners.

Aside from the risk factors, the type of STD test that you need, as well as the number of times that you should get them, will also depend on your sexual behaviors and age.
The doctor will conduct a physical examination to check for any bump and sore, with a focus on the genital area and anal area. If the patient is a woman, a pelvic exam will be performed, too.

A genital swab or a rectal or cervical sample will be taken and then tested in a laboratory. A preliminary diagnosis may also be made based on the physical exam. Painful sores indicate genital herpes while painless ulcers would suggest syphilis.
If the test determines that you have one STD, you will be advised to get tested for other STDs and HIV. The latter has become mandatory at this point because the chance of getting HIV increases if a person has already been infected with another STD.
STDs stay in an individual’s body depending on the type of infection
. There are some cases wherein the symptoms are gone without treatment but the patient can still pass the infection to a partner during unprotected sex.

STDs such as gonorrhea or chlamydia that are treated with antibiotics – oral antibiotics for chlamydia and antibiotic injection for gonorrhea - have a shorter duration of symptoms. On the other hand, it is not possible to cure viral infections like HIV, genital warts, and genital herpes, but they can be managed using medications.

Oral antiviral medicine for genital herpes can help, especially for those who experience severe genital herpes. Penicillin injections are administered for patients with syphilis while genital warts are treated using topical ointments or by freezing.

It is not possible to cure HIV but a drug called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can be taken every day to turn HIV – a life-threatening disease – into a treatable, albeit chronic, disease.

Having an STD that cannot be cured is not the end of the world. There are support groups and counselors that you can join or talk to if you having difficulties accepting the results of your STD testing.

When it comes to the prevention of STDs, it is important to have sex only with one uninfected individual and to always use latex condoms each time you engage in sexual activity. The second method is 100% effective but at the very least, it can help reduce the risk of STD exposure.

At The Health Advisory Clinic, we have invested in the latest research and technology to make sure that we will be able to address all of our patients’ medical needs.

Together with our professional team of healthcare providers and staff, we are fully committed to making STD testing and treatments accessible, reliable, and convenient.

If the result of your STD test is positive, one of our doctors will be in touch right away to discuss the best treatment option for your condition. We will also encourage you to inform your partner(s), both current and past because some STDs can be transmitted back and forth.