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Sexual health screening, explained
Three screens, from AED 399 to AED 1499. Below is every infection they look for, why it is tested, and — the part usually left out — what a positive result actually means. Walk in, no appointment, no referral, and nobody asks why you are there.
HIV and hepatitis are not included in any of these panels. They are separate blood tests — ask at the same visit and they are taken alongside, so you are not making a second trip.
What each screen covers
The wider screens are a wider look at the same sample, not more swabs. What changes is how many organisms are reported — and, as the third column shows, not every organism carries the same weight.
Treated if positive. A recognised infection. A positive result leads to treatment, and usually to testing recent partners.
Read with your symptoms. Commonly present in people with no symptoms and no disease. A positive result is weighed against how you actually feel rather than treated on sight.
Shows past exposure. Tells you the virus has been encountered at some point — not that you have an active infection today.
Which infections are included in each of the three sexual health screens, and how a positive result should be read.
The most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection, and most people who have it have no symptoms at all — which is the entire reason screening exists rather than waiting for something to feel wrong.1 Left untreated in women it can spread to the womb and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease and, in some cases, infertility.
What a positive result means
A current infection that is treated with a short course of antibiotics. Recent partners need testing and treatment too, or you can be reinfected by the same person.
Gonorrhoea
Treated if positive
Why it is tested
Frequently silent, particularly in the throat and rectum, and it can cause the same spread to the pelvic organs as chlamydia. It is screened alongside chlamydia because the two often occur together and the same sample tests for both.1
What a positive result means
A current infection needing treatment, usually an injection plus tablets. Antibiotic resistance is a real and growing problem with this organism, so the regimen follows current guidance rather than whatever worked before.2
Syphilis
Treated if positive
Why it is tested
It progresses in stages and can be silent for years between them, while still being transmissible and still causing damage — to the heart and nervous system in its late stages. It is also passed to a baby in pregnancy, which is why it is tested for antenatally as standard.2
What a positive result means
Needs confirming with a second, different blood test, because the first can react for other reasons. Treated with penicillin, and the stage determines how much. Past treated infection can leave a test positive for life, so previous history matters when reading the result.
Trichomonas
Treated if positive
Also called Trichomonas vaginalis
Why it is tested
A parasite, not a bacterium or a virus. It causes discharge and irritation in women and is very often symptomless in men — who then pass it back and forth with a partner being repeatedly treated.2
What a positive result means
A current infection, treated with tablets. Partners are treated at the same time whether or not they have symptoms, precisely because of that back-and-forth.
Mycoplasma genitalium
Treated if positive
Why it is tested
A recognised cause of urethritis in men and of cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease in women. It is worth separating from the other mycoplasmas on these panels: this one is an established pathogen, and its relatives below largely are not.2
What a positive result means
Treated where there are symptoms or where a partner is affected. Resistance to the usual antibiotics is common, so treatment is guided by current recommendations and sometimes by a test of cure.
Herpes type 1 (HSV-1)
Shows past exposure
Why it is tested
The virus behind cold sores, and increasingly a cause of genital herpes through oral sex. A blood test tells you whether you have been exposed at some point — it does not tell you where, or when, or whether you will ever have symptoms.
What a positive result means
Past exposure. A very large proportion of adults worldwide carry HSV-1, most acquired in childhood and most without ever knowing. The CDC does not recommend routine herpes blood testing in people without symptoms, because a positive result frequently causes distress without changing what anyone does about it.2
Herpes type 2 (HSV-2)
Shows past exposure
Why it is tested
The type more usually associated with genital herpes. As with HSV-1, the blood test detects exposure rather than a current outbreak.
What a positive result means
Past exposure, which may never have produced a symptom. It does mean the virus can be shed and passed on, which is worth a conversation — but it is not the same as having an active infection today, and the same CDC caution about testing people without symptoms applies.2
Gardnerella
Read with your symptoms
Also called Gardnerella vaginalis
Why it is tested
Associated with bacterial vaginosis, a shift in the normal balance of vaginal bacteria rather than an infection caught from a partner. It is on the panel because it explains a very common cause of discharge and odour that women often assume is an STI.
What a positive result means
Gardnerella is found in many women with no symptoms whatsoever. Bacterial vaginosis is diagnosed from symptoms and examination, not from this organism appearing on a swab, and treating a positive result in someone with no symptoms is generally not recommended.2
Thrush (Candida)
Read with your symptoms
Why it is tested
A yeast, not a sexually transmitted infection, though it is often mistaken for one. It is included because it accounts for a large share of the itching and discharge that brings people in worried about an STI.
What a positive result means
Candida lives harmlessly in many people. It is treated when it is causing symptoms — not because it was detected.
Mycoplasma hominis
Read with your symptoms
Why it is tested
Included for completeness on the wider panels. It is commonly found in the genital tract of healthy people with no symptoms and no disease.
What a positive result means
Usually nothing that needs treating. The CDC does not recommend routine screening for it in people without symptoms, because a positive result rarely changes what should be done — and treating it unnecessarily contributes to antibiotic resistance without benefiting you.2
Ureaplasma urealyticum
Read with your symptoms
Why it is tested
As with Mycoplasma hominis, this is a common resident of the genital tract rather than a reliable cause of disease.
What a positive result means
A positive result in somebody with no symptoms usually means the organism is present, not that it is causing a problem. It is weighed against your symptoms rather than treated on sight.2
Ureaplasma parvum
Read with your symptoms
Why it is tested
The most commonly carried of this group, and the one least associated with disease.
What a positive result means
Very often a normal finding. It is read alongside everything else rather than acted on by itself.2
Chancroid
Treated if positive
Also called Haemophilus ducreyi
Why it is tested
Causes painful genital ulcers. It is uncommon in this region but is included on the wider panels because a genital ulcer has several possible causes and telling them apart changes the treatment entirely.
What a positive result means
A treatable bacterial infection, managed with antibiotics.
Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)
Treated if positive
Why it is tested
A more invasive form of chlamydia that affects the lymph nodes and, commonly, the rectum. It needs a longer antibiotic course than ordinary chlamydia, which is the practical reason for distinguishing it.2
What a positive result means
A current infection requiring an extended course of treatment rather than the standard short one.
Group B Streptococcus
Read with your symptoms
Why it is tested
Not a sexually transmitted infection. It is carried harmlessly in the vagina or bowel by a substantial share of healthy women, and it matters almost entirely in pregnancy, where it can be passed to the baby during birth.
What a positive result means
Outside pregnancy, usually nothing. In pregnancy it means antibiotics are given during labour to protect the baby — which is why it is screened for late in pregnancy rather than as part of a sexual health check.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
Shows past exposure
Why it is tested
A very common virus most people acquire at some point, usually without noticing. It matters chiefly in pregnancy and in people whose immune system is suppressed.
What a positive result means
Generally past exposure rather than active infection. It is worth knowing before or during pregnancy; outside that context it rarely changes anything.
Varicella zoster (chickenpox and shingles virus)
Shows past exposure
Why it is tested
The chickenpox virus, which stays in the body afterwards and can reappear as shingles. It is not sexually transmitted; it appears on the widest panel as part of a general viral screen.
What a positive result means
Usually that you have had chickenpox and are immune. That is useful to know before pregnancy, since chickenpox in pregnancy carries risks for people who are not immune.
How to lower the risk
None of this is about how anyone should conduct their life. Each point below is something that measurably reduces risk, with the evidence behind it.
Condoms, used consistently
The single most effective thing available for most sexually transmitted infections. A systematic review of condom effectiveness found meaningful protection against HIV and other STIs.3Consistently is the operative word — protection comes from using one every time rather than most of the time, and infections spread by skin contact rather than fluids (herpes, HPV, syphilis sores) are only partly covered, because a condom does not cover every area of contact.
Testing between partners, not just when worried
Most chlamydia and gonorrhoea causes no symptoms at all, so waiting to feel unwell means most infections are simply never found.1 A screen after a partner changes — and before a new relationship becomes sexual — catches what symptoms never would.
HPV vaccination
Vaccination against human papillomavirus is one of the clearest preventive successes in this area. A meta-analysis of national programmes found substantial falls in HPV infection and genital warts at population level after vaccination was introduced.4 It works best given before any exposure, though it is still offered to older age groups in many countries. HPV is not on any of the panels here — it is a separate matter, and worth asking about.
Treating partners, not just yourself
If you are treated and a recent partner is not, you are very likely to be reinfected by the same person — this is the commonest reason an infection appears to come back. Current guidance is explicit that partner management is part of treating you, not an optional courtesy to them.2
Finishing treatment, and waiting before sex again
Antibiotics need the full course, and there is a waiting period afterwards before sex is safe — usually seven days from a single-dose treatment, or until the course is finished and symptoms have gone. Resuming early is how partners get reinfected in both directions.2
Not treating what does not need treating
This is the preventive point people never hear. Several organisms these panels detect — Ureaplasma, Mycoplasma hominis, Gardnerella, Candida — live harmlessly in many people, and taking antibiotics for a positive result with no symptoms drives resistance without helping you.2 A good result conversation sometimes ends in no prescription at all, and that is the correct outcome rather than a disappointing one.
Questions people ask
No. Walk in and ask for a sexual health screen — you will not be asked why, and you do not need a referral or an appointment. Most chlamydia and gonorrhoea causes no symptoms at all, so a screen with nothing wrong is the normal reason people come.
The 7 Screen covers the common bacterial causes of symptoms. The 14 adds gonorrhoea, syphilis and herpes antibodies, which is what most people mean by a full sexual health check. The 28 is the widest and adds several organisms that are frequently found in healthy people — worth understanding before you choose it, which is what the table on this page is for.
No. HIV and hepatitis are separate blood tests and are not part of any of the three panels. Ask at the same visit and they are taken alongside, so you are not making a second trip. If you are testing after a specific incident, mention it — timing affects which test is meaningful.
A doctor goes through the results with you privately. Most bacterial infections are treated with a short course of tablets, often started the same day. We will also talk about telling recent partners — not as a formality, but because being reinfected by an untreated partner is the commonest reason an infection appears to come back.
No, and this surprises people. Several organisms these panels detect live harmlessly in many of us. If you have no symptoms and the finding is one of those, the right answer is often no antibiotics at all — taking them anyway drives resistance without helping you. A results conversation that ends in no prescription is a correct outcome, not a wasted visit.
Yes. Nothing is discussed at reception, you are taken to a private room, and results go to nobody but you.
Sources are listed for the specific statements they support. They are published research and guidance, not a substitute for a consultation — what applies to you is decided by a doctor who has assessed you.
