The Concord Feminist Health Center offers nonjudgmental  and confidential (name kept private) STI (sexually transmitted disease) testing. In New Hampshire, teens can consent to HIV and STI testing and treatment without a parent’s permission.

Sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) are a part of life. They do not discriminate – EVERYONE that is sexually active is fair game for an STI. They affect all age groups. And, if you are younger than 35, you have the highest risk of catching and/or passing an STI along.  Given that at least 40% of people that have sexually transmitted infections don’t have symptoms, the only sure way to know if you have something going on “down there” is to get tested. 

At the Center we are able to test for sexually transmitted infections.  If you are uninsured you may have the standard STI series of tests (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV rapid test) for a set fee and for additional fees other tests are available as well.  If you have health insurance we can check to see if the tests you want are a covered service. Click here to learn what to expect at your STI testing and treatment appointment.

Of Particular Concern to Women

Most STIs (60%-70% of gonococcal and chlamydial infections) are asymptomatic in women, meaning there have no symptoms. The consequences of STIs are very serious in women and may include cervical cancer, ectopic pregnancy, and sepsis. Because of the stigma attached to STIs for women, and sometimes for financial reasons, they tend not to seek treatment. Women are biologically, culturally, and socio-economically more likely to contract or suffer serious consequences from STIs.

Specific information about each STI is listed below.

Chlamydia

• Symptoms: Women may have vaginal discharge, irregular bleeding, irritation in the urethra, and symptoms of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Two thirds of those infected have no symptoms
• Incubation: seven to 21 days.
• Cause: Chlamydiatrachomatis bacteria.
• Transmission: Vaginal or anal intercourse.
• Testing/diagnosis: Urine or a cervical sample.
• Treatment: Oral antibiotics. Partners must also be treated. It is recommended that people be retested in 3-6months because of the possibility of reinfection.

Gonorrhea

• Symptoms: Women may have vaginal discharge, irregular bleeding, and symptoms of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. 25% to 50% have no symptoms. Men may experience penile or anal discharge, burning and itching. 5% to 10% have no symptoms.
• Incubation: 2 to 7 days.
• Cause: Neisseria gonorrhea bacteria
• Testing/diagnosis: urine test or a specimen from the infected area.
• Treatment: Oral antibiotics. Partners must also be treated, and condoms used until you test negative for the infection.

Herpes

• Symptoms: Before an outbreak, there may be itching, tingling, and sensitivity in the affected area, as well as flu-like symptoms. An outbreak can occur on the mouth, penis, labia, vagina, cervix, anus and buttocks. The outbreak itself consists of blister-type sores, which break open to leave a raw, painful area; these will scab over. Sores can make urination very painful.
• Incubation: 5 to 21 days
• Cause: Herpes simplex virus I and II.
• Transmission: The virus may be passed during vaginal or anal intercourse, oral-oral contact, oral-genital-anal contact.
• Testing/diagnosis: Blood tests or cultures taken from a sore or lesion.
• Treatment: There is no known cure. Oral anti-virals can shorten outbreaks and, to a certain extent, suppress the virus and reduce viral shedding.

Syphilis

• Symptoms: This disease has three stages. Stage 1: A painful, crater-like sore or chancre with smooth rounded edges. Stage 2: Skin rash on back, stomach, hands, feet. Flat, warty growths. Hair loss and general ill health. Stage 3: Severe damage to tissue, brain, and nervous system.
• Incubation: 10 to 90 days, with an average of 20 to 25 days.
• Cause: Treponema pallidum bacteria.
• Transmission: Vaginal or anal intercourse or contact with the chancre.
• Testing/diagnosis: Blood test.
• Treatment: Penicillin injection.

Genital HPV  (genital human papillomavirus)

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the USA. At least 50% of sexually active individuals will get an HPV infection at some point in their lives. It is very difficult to trace the origin of most HPV infections because after exposure to HPV, the presence of infection can take anywhere from weeks to years. This can make it very hard to know who you got it from.

Our bodies are well designed to fight off the majority of these infections: 90% of all genital HPV infections will be cleared by the body’s own natural immune system with two to three years, without any medical intervention. The healthier a person is the better their body’s immune system is at fighting off HPV. Things that reduce the body’s natural defense system are poor health, a weakened immune system and cigarette smoking.

There are two different types of genital HPV. 

1. One type causes genital warts, which can usually be diagnosed by a visual exam. They can be treated with prescription cream/ointment applied directly to the area. Warts can also be treated by a medical provider with other types of topical treatments. Sometimes the warts go away and that’s that. In other cases, the warts may come back and need more treatment. In either case, these warts do not cause any serious health problems. They are more of a nuisance than anything else. Using condoms can help reduce transmission but not entirely as sometimes the warts are in the groin area not covered by a condom.
2. The second type of HPV causes cervical infections which is associated with cervical cancer.  Pap tests are the best screening tool for testing for cervical cancer. There is also an HPV DNA test which is recommended after age 30. The new screening guidelines for pap testing recommend that all women over age 21 have a pap test (usually yearly) There are also vaccines available for both females and males which can prevent as many as 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts (for CDC information on these two vaccines please go to http://www.cdc.gov/hpv/vaccine.html)  

If HPV shows up on a pap test, 90% of the time the HPV will clear on it’s own. For the other 10% medical treatment is necessary to stop the progression of the infection from turning into cervical cancer.