What Doctors Think of At-Home STI Tests
In the growing — and controversial — market for direct-to-consumer medical tests, kits for sexually transmitted infections occupy a unique niche between personal and public health
Across the United States, rates of sexually transmitted infections are on the rise. Diagnoses for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have all risen dramatically over the past several years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent surveillance report.
“Not that long ago, gonorrhea rates were at historic lows, syphilis was close to elimination, and we were able to point to advances in STD prevention,” wrote Gail Bolan, the CDC director of STI prevention, in the report’s intro. “That progress has since unraveled.” Lack of health care access and weakened public health infrastructure, she wrote, have been two of the main drivers allowing these diseases, once relatively under control, to flourish.
Of course, one of the best mechanisms we have for keeping STIs under control is regular testing. But if you’ve ever had an STI test, you know how stressful the situation can be: the squirminess of discussing intimate details (and intimate body parts) with strangers, the worry that comes with waiting for your…
