STDs are infections that you can get by having sex. Some STDs are included in the Infection Protection Act and you must test if you suspect you have any of them.
Go and test yourself if you have had unprotected sex and think you may have had a STD. It is better to test yourself once too much than once too little.
Symptoms of STDs
It is common for it to sting when you are kissing or to have floats if you have an STD. You can also get altered movements.
You can read more about the symptoms of various STDs by clicking on the links.
- Gonorrhea
- Hepatitis B
- Herpes in the genital area
- HIV and AIDS
- HPV – human papilloma virus that produces condyloma
- chlamydia
- Mycoplasm of the abdomen
- Syphilis
How can I reduce the risk of STDs?
Condom and femidom protect against STDs. Use a condom or femidom if you have vaginal or anal intercourse with someone else. It is important that the condom or femidome is intact and that it is on or in throughout the intercourse. You can also use a condom or lick if you have oral sex. A licking patch is a thin rubber cloth that is placed over the genital or rectum opening.
Remember to also use a condom, femidom, or lick if you share sex toys like a dildo or a vibrator with someone else.
When and where should I seek care?
If you think you have a venereal disease and want to test yourself, contact a health care center , gynecological clinic or youth clinic.
You can also contact a skin and sex reception. They specialize in sexually transmitted infections. The receptions may have different names at different locations in the country. They can be called any of the following:
- Reception for sex and cohabitation
- Sesame
- gender reception
- venereologmottagning
- infection reception
Survey and sampling
The most common way to test for STD is with a urine sample . Depending on what symptoms you have, samples can be taken from different places on the body with swab tests. These samples can be taken even if you have menses.
Sometimes you have to have a blood test .
In some cases, the doctor or nurse examines you by looking at your genitals.
How much does the survey cost?
Some STDs are included in the Infection Protection Act . That means you have to test yourself if you think you have any of them.
You never have to pay to test yourself for STDs contained in the Infection Protection Act.
Testing for other venereal diseases may cost differently depending on the reception you go to.
You can test yourself for several diseases at once. Then it is enough that one of them is in the Infection Protection Act, so that you do not have to pay.
Treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
The treatment you are offered depends on your STD.
All treatments for diseases included in the Infection Protection Act are free of charge, the others you have to pay for.
All STDs can be cured except for HIV, herpes and chronic hepatitis B. There are brake medications, but you are still the carrier of the disease.
How is STD transmitted?
The risk of having a STD is greatest if you have vaginal or anal intercourse with a penis. You can also get some STDs through oral sex, fingers or sex toys.
STDs are transmitted above all by the mucous membranes of the genitals, rectum or mouth coming into contact with each other when you have sex with someone else. Some STDs can be transmitted with semen or vagina secretions. Some STDs can be transmitted via blood.
STDs are not transmitted by taking someone in hand or using the same towel or toilet as someone who has STD.
Some STDs are included in the Infection Protection Act
Some diseases are important to track so that they are not passed on to someone else. These diseases are included in the Infection Protection Act . This means that by law you must test yourself if you know or suspect you have such a disease.
The STDs included in the Infection Protection Act are
- gonorrhea
- hepatitis B
- HIV
- chlamydia
- syphilis.
You do not have to pay anything for examination, sampling or any treatment of these diseases.
There are also other diseases in the Infection Protection Act that can be sexually transmitted, such as hepatitis A , hepatitis C and infection with HTLV I or II.
Contact tracing
If you have any or some of the STDs that are included in the Infection Protection Act, a so-called infection tracking is done. This means that you have to tell who or who you have had sex with over the past year, whether you have used any type of protection or not. For syphilis and HIV you need to tell who you have had sex with even further back.
Sometimes you may not know so much about the person you have had sex with. For example, you may not know what the person is in last name. Then it is important that you still tell what you know in order for the staff to find the person.
The staff will contact the person or persons with whom you have had sex
The reception staff then contacts that person (s) and tells them that they must also test themselves.
It is very important to find all people who have the disease so that they can be offered treatment, partly to reduce the risk of complications and partly to prevent the infection from being transmitted to several people.
You are always anonymous
What you say to the infection tracker is secret. The people you tell won’t find out who you are. They will only be told that they have to test themselves.