Private Chlamydia & Gonorrhea Testing Near You

Why the two are tested together

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are the two most commonly reported STDs in the United States – the CDC counts more than 1.6 million chlamydia and roughly 600,000 gonorrhea cases a year – and they travel together so often that a person who tests positive for one is routinely tested for the other. They spread the same way, through vaginal, anal and oral sex, they cause the same kinds of symptoms when they cause any at all, and both are usually silent: the majority of people who have either infection feel completely fine.

That is why this is the test most people start with. If you have a new partner, a partner who has tested positive, burning when you urinate, unusual discharge, or simply want to know, one urine sample answers the two most likely questions at once.

Why it is worth finding early

Untreated, either infection can move into the reproductive tract. In women that means pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pelvic pain and a higher risk of infertility and ectopic pregnancy; in men, epididymitis. Both make it easier to catch or pass on HIV, and both keep spreading to new partners for as long as they go untreated. Prompt treatment reduces the risk of complications, and both infections are cured with antibiotics.

The CDC recommends yearly screening for both infections for sexually active women under 25, for older women with risk factors such as a new partner or more than one partner, and for men at higher risk, plus a test any time a partner tests positive.

How the test works

This is a combined nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), the most accurate type available for both infections, run on a single urine sample. No swab, no exam. You sign in at the kiosk with your name and date of birth, give the sample in a private restroom, and you are done in about five minutes. Each infection is reported separately in your results.

A urine test checks for urogenital infection. It does not rule out chlamydia or gonorrhea in the throat or rectum, so tell your care advisor about any oral or anal exposure and they will explain whether additional testing or a different provider is appropriate.

Before you go: The only preparation: don’t urinate for about an hour before you go in. The test uses the first part of the stream, and a gap of an hour or more gives it the most to work with. Nothing else to do – no fasting, no swab, no undressing. Every test we offer is FDA-cleared and run in a CLIA-certified laboratory, the same tests a hospital or doctor’s office would order.

When to test

If you have symptoms, test now. If you had an exposure and feel fine, the timing for these and every other test is on our When to Get Tested page. Or call (866) 872-1888, tell a care advisor what happened and when, and they will tell you which day to go in.

After a positive result: treatment and partners

Both infections are curable, and for most people the next step is simply treatment. A member of our care team calls you, explains the result, and arranges a consultation with a physician. Chlamydia is treated with a course of antibiotic tablets, usually seven days and sometimes a single dose, sent to the pharmacy you choose. Gonorrhea is treated with a single antibiotic injection because of antibiotic resistance, which has to be given in person; the physician tells you where. If you have severe pelvic or testicular pain, a fever, or you are pregnant, get prompt medical care rather than waiting.

Avoid sex until you have completed a seven-day course – or seven days have passed after single-dose treatment – and any symptoms have resolved. Partners must also have been treated. A throat infection with gonorrhea needs a test of cure one to two weeks after treatment; otherwise the CDC recommends testing again about three months after treatment, because re-infection from an untreated partner is common. When it is time, call and we will set it up.

Getting tested privately

We do not bill your insurance. Your testing information is handled confidentially by the physicians and laboratories providing your care. Your lab visit does not announce why you are there: our partner labs collect samples for many different kinds of testing, and to other people in the waiting room you are simply another person having a routine lab visit. The charge on your card shows as RSC Health, and your result goes only to your private online account. Order online, or call (866) 872-1888 and a care advisor will place the order with you and find a lab near you.