The Florey Unit Centre for Sexual Health

Description

At the Florey unit we have a team of health advisers who have experience in dealing with a wide range of sexual health problems The doctor may offer you the opportunity of seeing the health adviser whilst you are waiting for your initial result The health advisers can discuss any of the following


Additional information about STIs
How to tell your partner about STIs
Relationship matters
Safer sex advice and condom use
HIV information
The health advisers wont tell you what to do but they will help you work thorough the choices you can make Like the rest of the clinic service anything said to the health advisers is in confidence

You do not need to have been seen in clinic to contact the health advisers they operate a helpline on 0118 987 7216 You can also arrange to see a health adviser in person by ringing the same number

You will be given some initial results on the day of your visit However you will need to phone the unit after 10 days to get the results of your culture tests from the laboratory

Certain STIs will need to be tested for after 3 months for example HIV and syphilis These can be tested for by having a blood test This can be arranged by contacting the Health Advisers on 0118 987 7216 or by attending the Dropin HIV testing service

Even after 3 months it is wise to keep a look out for any abnormalities particularly warts as they may take a long time to develop

We will tell you if we think your partners should be checked It is very unlikely that their GP would be able to carry out the necessary tests so they do need to attend a GUM clinic if this is advised

If you are concerned for a regular partner when you have had sex outside the relationship there is no easy answer to the question of what you should do It certainly makes sense to avoid sexual contact with them at least until you have been told that the results of all your tests are clear

Letting your partner know of the risk gives them the opportunity to protect their own health by taking action on symptoms which they might otherwise ignore and by having a checkup themselves It can be difficult to tell your partner that you have had contact with someone else However it may be even worse if your partner finds out by getting symptoms themselves and then realises that you continued to have sex with them despite knowing that you were putting them at risk of infection

Condoms greatly reduce the chance of passing on infections but if you do not usually use them in your regular relationship you will need to explain why you have suddenly started to do so and you will also need to decide for how long to continue using them