testing

hey doc,
i've made a VERY bad choice and had sex with a woman i don't know very well about a week ago. the question i had was, at what intervals should i check myself, like should i check myself in a week and then check myself in three months and then a year to make sure i won't infect anyone else?
thanx badbobo

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It isn't that bad--i.e., you don't have to wait so long.  Most of the time, any STDs you might have caught will cause symptoms--such as discharge from the penis, painful urination, or sores or bumps in the genital area--within 3 weeks.  (Genital warts are an exception; they often show up 1-3 months later.)  Unless your partner is an injection drug user or known to be HIV-positive, I wouldn't worry much about HIV.

The chance of getting an asymptomatic STD after only a single exposure is low.  If you want to be super-safe, wait about 2 weeks and have a urine test to check for gonorrhea and chlamydia; and then at about 4-6 weeks have an HIV test and a blood test for herpes.  (See several other posts in this forum about herpes for information about the right and wrong kinds of herpes blood tests.)

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[badbobo]

hey doc, what should i do for checking warts?
thanx a million badbobo/steve

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Just keep an eye out for them.  There is no other test.

HHH, MD