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If you’re sexually active, being knowledgeable about STDs is an important part of your sexual health.
If you’ve recently been exposed to an STD after having sex without a condom or other barrier method, you may have questions such as, how long does it take for an STD to show up on a test? Or, how long after exposure will STD symptoms begin to appear?
In this article, we’ll review the incubation periods for common STDs, the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, and recommendations for testing and retesting.
When you first contract an STD, your body needs time to recognize and produce antibodies to the disease. During this time period, known as the incubation period, you may not experience any symptoms.
If you test for an STD too early and the incubation period is not over yet, you may test negative for the disease even if you do have it.
In addition, even after the incubation period has passed, there are some STDs that can take months or years to produce symptoms.
Since most STD tests use antibodies (not symptoms) as a marker of disease status, having symptoms is not necessarily a reliable marker of infection. That’s why it’s important to test for any STDs you think you may have encountered — even if you don’t have symptoms.
Every STD has its own incubation period. For some STDs, the body begins to produce antibodies and symptoms in as little as a few days. For others, it can take weeks or months for symptoms to appear. Here are the ranges of incubation periods for some of the most common STDs.
The expanded STD incubation and testing chart below includes test type and retesting recommendations. After the incubation period has passed, most STDs can be diagnosed via antibody-specific blood tests. Some STDs are also accompanied by lesions and can be diagnosed via swab, culture, or urine tests as well.
While retesting is recommended for bacterial STDs, some STDs are lifelong viral infections. In the case of a lifelong viral infection, a blood test will always detect the STD, even after treatment has been successful. Therefore, retesting would only be necessary if you wanted to reconfirm an original diagnosis.
In some cases, an STD may be asymptomatic (not show symptoms) because it’s latent, or lying dormant in your body. Latent STDs can cause someone to remain undiagnosed until symptoms begin to appear. This may put them at risk for long-term complications.
Chlamydia, hepatitis C, HIV, HSV (herpes simplex virus), and syphilis can all have periods of latency.
The best way to ensure that dormant STDs receive the proper diagnosis and treatment is regular STD screening. The CDC recommends that all sexually active adults with new or multiple sexual partners receive at least yearly testing for most STDs, especially chlamydia and gonorrhea.
It’s also recommended that people who have sex without a condom or other barrier method receive STD testing more frequently.
If you think you may have an STD, it’s important to stop engaging in sexual activity and seek treatment. Early detection and treatment of STDs plays an important role in stopping the transmission of STDs between yourself, your sexual partners, and their sexual partners. In some cases, it can even save your life.
Some of the potential risks of untreated STDs include:
- pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women, from untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea
- cervical cancer in women, from untreated HPV
- pregnancy and birth-related risks, from untreated bacterial STDs, HIV, and hepatitis B
- organ damage, dementia, paralysis, or death, from untreated syphilis
Taking care of your sexual health is important. Not everyone will voluntarily disclose their STD status to you. You can take control of your sexual health by asking questions, screening new sexual partners, and having open and honest discussions about sexually transmitted diseases.
Early diagnosis and treatment of STDs is important for taking care of your sexual health. While it’s important not to test too early for STDs, knowing the incubation period of the most common infections can help you determine when to seek medical help.
If you test positive for an STD, whether bacterial, viral, or parasitic, receiving treatment can help to reduce the risk of long-term health complications.
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What is it?
These tests use a sample of urine or other body fluid to look for the bacteria that cause these sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The fluid sample can come from the cervix, vagina, rectum, throat, or eyes.
Why is this test done?
These tests may be done to:
- Find out if symptoms are caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia.
- Check people who are at risk for being infected with gonorrhea or chlamydia.
- Retest people after they have been treated for gonorrhea or chlamydia, as directed by their healthcare provider.
- Check for infection in a newborn whose mother had a gonorrhea or chlamydia infection at the time of delivery.
You may need more testing if you have symptoms. You should also get tests every 3 to 6 months if you have:
- a new partner
- more than 1 partner
- an anonymous partner (a partner you don't know well)
How can you prepare for the test?
- If you are going to have a urine test, do not urinate for at least 1 hour before the test.
- If you think you may have chlamydia or gonorrhea, don't have sexual intercourse until you get your test results. And you may want to have tests for other STIs, such as HIV and syphilis. Talk to your healthcare provider.
How is the test done?
- For a direct sample, a swab is used to collect body fluid from the cervix, vagina, urethra, rectum, throat, or eyes. Your healthcare provider may collect the sample. Or you may be given instructions on how to collect your own sample.
- For a urine sample, you will collect the urine that comes out when you first start to urinate. Don't wipe the genital area clean before you urinate. Follow the instructions for the amount of urine to add to the container. Having too much or too little urine in the sample may affect your test results.
How long does the test take?
The test will take a few minutes. You'll get the results in 1 to 3 days, depending how the lab tests the sample you gave.
What happens after the test?
- You will be able to go home right away.
- You can go back to your usual activities right away.
- If you do have an infection, don't have sexual intercourse for 7 days after you start treatment. And your sex partner(s) should also be tested and treated.
- If you have symptoms or may have been exposed to an STI, don't have sex until you get your test result.
Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor or nurse advice line (811 in most provinces and territories) if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to keep a list of the medicines you take. Ask your doctor when you can expect to have your test results. Learn more about STIs at Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Where can you learn more?
Go to //www.healthwise.net/patientEd
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