Radio soap raises awareness of STIs

The popular and long running radio soap, The Archers, has put sexually transmitted infections into the public eye with its latest storyline. Listeners of the show are eagerly awaiting the results of character Phoebe’s STI test following a love affair with a local fruit picker.

Amongst a range of themes running throughout the story was Phoebe’s reluctance to visit her local STI clinic. The character was embarrassed in case she saw someone that she knew and also scared to touch anything in the clinic.

Her thoughts and fears reflect how people feel about visiting NHS clinics across the country and with cuts to public health services STI clinics are unlikely to become any more pleasant. With many clinics also making it difficult to book appointments it also means that visiting can be a long and inconvenient experience.

Private STI Testing from Your Sexual Health

Luckily, Your Sexual Health offers a unique alternative in the form of private STI testing that allows you to book an appointment at a clinic that suits you. Our service is completely confidential, with the only people who need to know about your visit being you and us.

Our service allows you to get a range of private STI tests in comfortable surroundings. If you test positive for any STIs you will also be offered a free telephone consultation to ensure that you get the medication and treatment that you require.

As well as offering clinic tests we can also collect samples in the comfort of your own home using our mobile clinic and postal tests. This means that you can escape the need to visit clinics completely.

You can book your tests on our website by visiting our private STD test page. To find out more about any of our services, contact us today on 0161 660 2599 and info@yoursexualhealth.co.uk.

Your Sexual Health offers convenient alternative to NHS testing

With many STIs on the rise in the UK, it’s no wonder that a public health think tank has deemed cuts to sexual health services “reckless”. The King’s Fund expressed their concern over what cuts in frontline testing might cost the NHS in the long run and Your Sexual Health tend to agree.

“Cuts to frontline testing will inevitably lead to the need for more costly STI treatment down the line,” said Dr Rashid Bani, lead doctor at Your Sexual Health. “The NHS is already bending over backwards in trying to accommodate the many people that require testing and these cuts will not help in the slightest.”

The latest cuts come amidst an increase in syphilis cases in the UK, with records from Public Health England showing 5,920 diagnoses in 2016, up from 3001 in 2012. On top of this, the World Health Organization has recently warned of a gonorrhoea super bug that is immune to anti-biotic treatment.

Testing in a more comfortable environment

With NHS cuts to testing in cities up and down the UK many patients are leaving their STIs undiagnosed causing them to spread. Amongst the reasons for not visiting clinics are embarrassment of seeing someone that they might know and with clinic waiting times growing longer that worry will only get worse.

Luckily, there is another way. Your Sexual Health offer a completely confidential testing service in a manner that is completely convenient to you. Our private STI tests can be carried out at one of our many clinics across the UK or at an address convenient to you.

“With cuts to NHS funding, patients may struggle to find the tests that they need at a convenient time and place for them,” said Dr Bani. “Our private STI tests allow patients to gain the peace of mind that they need in a completely confidential manner.”

Find out more about the range of private STI tests on offer from Your Sexual Health and book yours today.

NeatClub concept could help singles on the dating scene stay safe

The invention of Tinder has left many of its users exposed to STDs, but it looks like there’s an app on the way to combat the issue. It’s only in the concept phase, but NeatClub will be able to pull in a user’s STD testing history and display it to their prospective sexual partners.

The apps name is derived from the way in which it functions. If a person is STD free they will show as a “neat” glass of whisky. If they have any mixture of STDs their glass will have different props in it, such as an olive for chlamydia or a slice of lemon for HIV.

Users will have to be tested every four months in order for their results to show and remain valid. If a user has treatment for an STD they will be able to update their profile when they are given the all clear.

It’s not certain at this stage how the app will be able to verify medical information or whether it will be rolled out in the UK. That said, Your Sexual Health’s Dr Rashid Bani believes the app is a great way to ensure those on the dating scene don’t catch sexually transmitted infections.

“There are a number of questions about how the app will work, but the concept is great as it will reduce the risk of STDs spreading and increase testing rates,” Dr Bani said. “Nonetheless, anyone who has multiple sexual partners should always wear protection to ensure they don’t catch STDs.”

There’s no timeline on when the app will be created, but it should change the way that people share their sexual health information for the better. In the meantime it’s important that you are tested regularly for STDs if you’ve had multiple sexual partners since your last test.

Private STD Testing from Your Sexual Health

Your Sexual Health offer a range of privates STD tests that are available anywhere in the UK. We operate in clinics or from our home visits or postal service to offer accurate laboratory tested results in a confidential and convenient manner.

You can see our full range of private STD tests and book your appointment on site today.

According to the University of Huddersfield, men are more reluctant to visit their local GUM clinic than women. The Yorkshire university conducted a survey which found that many of their male students were either too embarrassed to visit the student clinic or weren’t fully aware of the widespread threat from STIs.

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According to research carried out by New Scientist magazine it is getting harder to access sexual health services in the UK. A large number of genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics failed to meet government standards for seeing patients who were exhibiting symptoms of STDs leaving the potential for people going undiagnosed.

Government guidelines state that 98% of people should receive an appointment within 48 hours of contacting a clinic. But when researchers pretending to have symptoms attempted to book appointments, less than 91% of them were seen within the two day window. In 2014 the figure was 95%, showing that NHS STD testing is further failing to meet the needs of patients.

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The government is making sex and relationship education compulsory in all schools across England. The classes will start with lessons about safe and healthy relationships for children aged four and up before teaching about the practice of safe-sex at an older more appropriate age.

Currently academies and free schools are not bound by the same obligations of local authority schools and therefore some do not teach these vital life lessons. The new rule will mean that all schools will now have to follow the curriculum on this particular subject, however parents can still opt out.

Sex education important

The new framework will mean that all students are aware of the precautions that need to be taken to ensure safe sex. Your Sexual Health’s Dr Rashid Bani believes that these new lessons will make more people aware of the dangers of sexually transmitted infections and in the long run it will reduce prevalence.

“Educating children at a younger age will only be a good thing,” said Dr Bani. “By ensuring that every child knows about the risks of unprotected sex it will reduce the spread of STDs for generations to come.”

As well as educating about avoiding STDs, Dr Bani also believes that it is important to emphasise the importance of taking regular STD tests. He said: “Getting an STD is one thing, but it is also important for young children growing up to understand the importance of receiving regular STD tests.”

“There can sometimes be a lot of embarrassment around receiving STD tests, but by educating children in a way that removes this embarrassment schools can reduce the spread of STDs and improve testing rates for generations to come.”

Confidential private STD testing

Here at Your Sexual Health we offer a range of private STD tests that allow patients to get tested in a way that is most comfortable to them. We have a range of clinics located across the country, whilst our home visits and postal tests mean that patients can now deposit samples at a private location.

“STDs continue to be a public health issue across Britain and anything that helps educate about their dangers is a good thing,” said Dr Bani. “It’s important that whatever age, people are receiving the tests they need. Our service allows people to receive confidential private STD tests in a setting that is comfortable for them.”

Book a 100% confidential private HIV test with Your Sexual Health

Saturday marked the start of National HIV Testing Week (NHTW), an awareness drive started by sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust and HIV Prevention England. The event is aimed at promoting the need for HIV testing to gay and bisexual men, and black African men and women – a combined group of people who make up 70% of those living with HIV in the UK.

It is thought that one in six people in the UK are HIV positive and have no knowledge that they have the condition. At Your Sexual Health we regularly come into contact with patients who are too embarrassed to visit their local sexual health clinic for fear that they may see someone they know. Luckily our service offers an alternative that is 100% confidential and leaves no trace on your health record. Continue reading →