Clinics in Canberra

Which STIs can I be tested for in Canberra and the ACT?

Rates of STI’s across Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory are surging. Regional Public Health Authorities have recently issued a clinical alert due to the sharp increases in cases of infectious syphilis. Syphilis is a serious infection that will not go away on its own but one that responds well to antibiotic treatment. If it remains undetected, syphilis will cause serious harm to your body and organs but once it is diagnosed, you can be cured.

Rates of Gonorrhoea in the ACT are also up significantly. Reported cases of Gonorrhoea have climbed steadily over the past 10 years, in line with national averages that show a greater than 50% increase in Gonorrhoea diagnoses. Most people infected with gonorrhoea never show any symptoms but the infection damages both the male and female reproductive tracts. The absence of any symptoms is one of the main reasons Gonorrhoea is passed on from person to person. If you don’t know you are infected, them most people don’t worry too much about transmitting an infection they don’t know they have. This is another reason why getting an STI test is so important.

There are around 95,000 Chlamydia cases reported each year across Australia, with rates in the ACT accounting for around 2% of these. Chlamydia infections are caused by a bacterium Chlamydia Trachomatis an organism easily transmitted from person to person during sex. Like gonorrhoea, chlamydia usually shows no symptoms so the only way to know if you are infected is to get tested.

Better2Know offers many different STI tests and they can all be accessed when you book your STI test with us. We have clinics in Kingston, Barton and Deakin, Belconnen, Gungahlin and many other locations across the ACT. Take a look at the map above to find a clinic near you.

All Better2Know STI clinic tests are available either as stand-alone tests or combined into screens or panels. The benefit of ordering a screen is that the testing is more likely to pick up an infection than a single test will. As STI’s generally have no symptoms, it is almost impossible to know what specific infection to get tested for. That is whyBetter2Know and most other STI experts recommend you having a range of tests.

We test for all STIs and STDs including:

• Chlamydia

• Gonorrhoea

• Herpes Simplex Types I and II

• HIV 1 and 2 and the p24 antigen

• Syphilis

• Hepatitis A

• Hepatitis B

• Hepatitis C

• HPV

• Mycoplasma

• Trichomonas

The Better2Know Full Screen will test you for HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Hepatitis B, Ureaplasma and Mycoplasma. These seven infections are the most common STI’s and amongst the most harmful. By getting the Full Screen, you can be confident you have tested for all the most likely infections and if your results are all negative (what everyone hopes for!) then you can enjoy the peace of mind knowing you are healthy and in the clear.

You can also add testing for other of our health and wellness tests. You may want to find out your blood group or if you have a Vitamin D deficiency. Brows our full list of tests available and just add any other tests you want. These additional tests can often be run on the same samples, so you don’t even need to provide more blood for these extra tests.

Is it true that some STIs have no symptoms?

Yes, this is true. As mentioned above, most Sexually Transmitted Infections do not show any symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they can include things like itching, soreness, pain, stinging or burning when urinating or during sex, flu-like symptoms, or unusual discharge from the penis or vagina.  These can all be indicators of an STI, but you should not rely on these symptoms to diagnose any STI infection. Lots of other infections can produce these symptoms so the only way you can be certain is to get tested. Around 90% of men and 70% of women who are infected with Chlamydia will never show any symptoms.

STI infections are all around you and you can never be sure who might have one. These infections are easy to pass from person to person and the only way to know if you or your partner has one is to get tested for it. Regular testing at your local Better2Know clinic in Canberra and its suburbs will get you the sexual health care you need to keep yourself, and your sexual partners safe from symptomless STIs.

The Australian Centre for Disease Control estimates that up to 1 in 6 (16%) Australians will contract an STI in their lifetime. That’s around four and a half million Australians! When you couple this with the fact that Australia ranks second in the world for the highest average number of lifetime sexual partners (World Population Review) at 13.3 partners, it is easy to understand why STI’s are all around you.

What will happen at my Canberra STI testing appointment?

Once you have booked your STI test or screen with Better2Know at your Canberra STI testing clinic, we will send you either an email or a text message (your choice) confirming your appointment details and the tests you have ordered.

When you make your appointment booking with us, Better2Know creates for you your own private Patient Area on our secure website, where you can access all your booking details, the exact location of your STI testing clinic and lots of other useful information about STI’s.

We will send you a confirmation email or text that will include your PIN (Personal Identification Number) and a unique password giving you access to your Patient Area. This is where we will post your test results once they are ready, and it is also where you will find our Digital Partner Notification tool, which makes telling someone else important to you, that you tested positive for an STI.

This Partner Notification tool is only available if you test positive, but through it you can tell as many people as you want, that they should get tested too. You don’t need to reveal your name to them if you don’t want. You can remain anonymous if you prefer; it’s all your choice. This is a really important feature bearing in mind some of the numbers above. Letting other people in your sexual network know that you have tested positive will enable them to get tested and also let others in their networks know that they need to take positive action as well.

Arriving at your Canberra STI testing clinic should also be a calm and stress-free experience. We work hard to achieve this for you. You will be greeted by a friendly and professional doctor or nurse and shown through to our clean and modern consulting room. There, your clinician will take the samples your tests require. These are usually just a blood and a urine sample. The blood will be drawn from your arm, and you will be given a small container and shown to a toilet where you can collect your own urine sample. Just make sure that you don’t urinate for a couple of hours before your appointment, so that you can provide the needed urine sample once there.

How long will my results take?

STI test results in Canberra generally take between one and three days to be ready. The exact time will depend on the tests that you have done. One of our expert advisors who is available on the number above can help you with detailed information. Alternatively, just read through the test or screen details on our website where we indicate the turnaround times clearly. Click on "Select" next to your Canberra clinic of choice to see a complete list of all the STI tests and screens available.

When your results are ready at the lab, an STI expert will review them and then upload your results to your Patient Area. You can access your secure patient area from a desk top computer or from the convenience of your smart phone. If you are negative, then there is nothing more to worry about. If however, you test positive, then we will contact you and arrange a private consultation with our Doctor to discuss your results and agree on any treatment or appropriate next steps.

How can Better2Know help me?

Testing with Better2Know gets you all the expert information that you need either published on our website or explained to you by one of our expert advisors who is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We will listen to what happened and to your concerns and worries. We will suggest which tests are appropriate for you, and we will get you a fast appointment at the Canberra STI testing clinic of your choice.

Our medical professionals will collect your samples and send them to our fully accredited Australia laboratory for accurate analysis. Just a few days later, you will have all your test results ready, and any treatment required will be arranged for you. Book your STI test now in Canberra and the ACT for your sexual health testing and peace of mind.

STI and an STD: What is the difference?

An STI is a Sexually Transmitted Infection, and STD is a Sexually Transmitted Disease. There is no real difference between them. They both include HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Herpes and any one of many other infections that can be spread from person to person when they are intimate with each other. Doctors, nurses and other sexual health experts agree that people generally prefer talking about infections rather than diseases, so referring to these infections as STI’s has become the generally accepted language to use.

Technically, having a Sexually Transmitted Infection can describe the state of being infected, whilst having a Disease can refer to a state of displaying the harmful effects of having that infection. Either way, it is always Better2Know's aim to get you tested and diagnosed early, before any infection can do you any harm. So, take care of your health and get tested in Canberra now.

Can I still have sex if I have an STI?

Testing positive for any infection is going to cause you some level of stress and anxiety. This is only natural. The good news is, that when testing with Better2Know in Canberra and the ACT you are in safe hands. Better2Know has been testing people for STI’s for almost 20 years. We have seen and heard it all before and we will know exactly what to do to help you through this difficult time.

The first thing you need to do is to stop all sexual activity until you have spoken with our doctor and fully understood the infection we have diagnosed. If it is something that can be treated with antibiotics, then you should hold off any sexual activity until you have completed your full course of treatment.

Infections including Chlamydia (one of the most common infections in Canberra) Gonorrhoea and Syphilis are incredibly easy to pass on to your sexual partners. On the plus side, they can all be cured with the right antibiotics but only if you take the medicine as prescribed.

If you test positive for a viral infection, then the advice of our doctor is doubly important. Infections like Herpes Simplex cannot be cured but can be managed with medicines and by understanding the infection and when you are most likely to pass it on to someone else. Other infections including HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C will require additional testing and longer-term care. In the case of HIV this will mean taking medicine for the rest of your life. Thankfully, by taking the right medicines when indicated will reduce the amount of HIV virus in your blood to a point where you will no longer be able to pass the infection on to others. Undetectable = Untransmittable.  This means that someone diagnosed with HIV, is taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) and maintains an undetectable viral load has zero risk of sexually transmitting the virus to their partners.

Better2Know’s sexual health testing experts in Canberra and the ACT will answer all your questions regarding your positive result, offering 24/7 advice and guidance alongside consultations with your Better2Know doctor. All you need to do is book your appointment at your local Canberra STI clinic now.

How often should I get tested for an STI?

You should get a comprehensive STI test every time you have sex with a new partner or if you become aware that your existing partner is having sex outside of your relationship. It can be all too easy to assume your new partner is clear and let life in Canberra take over. No one wants to think that their new lover has given them an infection but that’s exactly why you need to take responsibility and get tested. It is important to reflect on the numbers of sexual partners presented above. When you have sex with one person, you are exposing yourself to the sexual histories of hundreds and sometimes even thousands of other people.

Make testing a part of building all your new relationships. If your sex is more casual, one-off encounters, then put your health first and look after yourself. Book a test and make sure you protect your health for your own sake.

STI Testing in Canberra is easy with Better2Know. We have over 50 clinics in the area so we will have a clinic near you. We’ve got flexible appointment times, plenty of availability and all the help you need to get the right tests for you. Arm yourself with all the right knowledge, get your appointment booked quickly and receive your test results from a fully accredited Australian lab just a day or two later. Better2Know makes the whole process as smooth and stress free as possible, helping you to move on in better health than now.

What should I do next?

If you are sexually active, are worried about your sexual health and want to know if you are carrying any infections, then book your STI tests in Canberra and the ACT with Better2Know now.

Just click on “Select” next to the Canberra clinic of your choice on the list next to the map above or call us on the number at the top of the page and speak to a helpful advisor now. We are ready to take your call 24 hours a day, every day of the week.

Remember: STI’s don’t usually show any symptoms so the only way to know if you are infected is to get tested.