To receive diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections while maintaining your privacy, visit a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic in Singapore.
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Those who suspect that they have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) are typically concerned about privacy. The clinic will ask about your sexual history, and there could be many reasons why you don’t want that to be public information. Also, you may be concerned about people finding out about a positive diagnosis, particularly if you test positive for HIV (around which there remains a perceived stigma). While most people want all of their medical information to remain private, many are particularly concerned about sexual information.
Specialized clinics that deal mainly with sexually transmitted infections are called genitourinary medicine clinics, or GUM clinics. The staff at these centers keep up-to-date on the most recent research in this area, so visiting a GUM clinic can offer you access to the latest testing methods and the most effective treatments. This, along with privacy concerns, leads many to choose a GUM clinic over their general practitioner (GP) when they suspect that they’ve been exposed to an STI.
Why Should You Visit a GUM Clinic?
One reason to visit a GUM clinic is having symptoms of an STI. This could include sores or growths on or around the genitals, unusual discharge from the vagina or penis, pain when urinating or when having sexual intercourse, or swelling or redness of the genitals.
For most of the common sexually transmitted infections, many of those who are infected have no symptoms. Therefore, if you believe that you’ve been exposed to an STI, you should visit a GUM clinic to be tested for several common infections, even if you don’t have symptoms.
You might know for sure that you’ve been exposed, because a sex partner has recently been diagnosed with an infection. However, because many people don’t have symptoms, you could have been exposed to an infection by a sex partner who didn’t even know they had the infection. This is why screening of all sexually active adults with new or multiple sex partners is recommended at least once a year; for men who have sex with men, screening more often may be beneficial (every 3 to 6 months). In Singapore, most sexually transmitted infections are becoming more and more common, so it makes sense to be tested regularly. Pregnant women are also routinely tested at their antenatal appointments, because having an STI while pregnant could lead to problems with the pregnancy or health problems for the baby.
What Happens At a GUM Clinic?
Your visit to a GUM clinic will generally include a history and physical examination, even if you’re just there for screening, because there may be symptoms that you’ve missed. The particular tests used will depend on your situation. There may be urine tests, blood tests, or even saliva tests, and there may also be tests of a swab of discharge if you have it.
Some of the test results will come back within hours, particularly for the newer rapid tests; however, a positive result may lead to the need for another test, since false positives are common. For other tests, the results may not be back for a few days. In certain cases, you may receive medication even before the results are back; in others, you’ll be able to get your prescription at the pharmacy after the doctor is certain of the diagnosis. While many STIs can be cured with medication, others can only be managed; your GUM provider will talk with you about the options for treatment.
References
Genitourinary medicine at Shim Clinic, Singapore