Free Gonorrhoea Test Kit by Post

Description: Get checked for gonorrhoea with a free home self-sampling test from SHL. Take your own sample at home, post it to our lab to be tested, and get your confidential results online.

Women and people with a vagina usually take a vaginal swab to get the most accurate result. Men and people with a penis give a urine sample. This takes just a few minutes and is as accurate as getting tested in a clinic.

Some people may also be asked to take a throat swab or a rectal swab
in certain circumstances.

Availability:  All registered SHL users can order up to 4 home self-sampling test kits a year. Check which SHL services are available in your London borough.

Delivery: £0.00 Free delivery to your home or another London address. Always in a plain discreet package that fits through the letterbox.

Returning your samples is free too. Put them in the prepaid box and then post in any Royal Mail postbox.

STI Kit Cost: £0.00 Free.

Results: You’ll usually get your results 2 or 3 days after your samples arrive at our lab. We’ll text or email when they’re ready. You can see them online in your SHL account. They’re completely secure and private.

Treatment: If you test positive for gonorrhoea, you’ll be offered free NHS treatment. You’ll need to get your treatment from a sexual health clinic.

Consultation: Our online consultation checks if a home self-sampling gonorrhoea test is right for you. We may also offer you other STI tests. Some tests need you to give a finger-prick blood sample.

Gonorrhoea

• Gonorrhoea is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI)
• Gonorrhoea rates in London are higher than the rest of the UK
• Many people with gonorrhoea don’t notice any symptoms – getting tested is the only way to know if you have it
• Gonorrhoea is usually easy to cure with a single antibiotic injection
• Some types of gonorrhoea can be resistant to antibiotics, so it’s important to get the right treatment from a sexual health clinic
• You may need another test a few weeks later to check the treatment worked
• If gonorrhoea is not treated early, it can cause serious or painful complications or reduced fertility in the future
• If you have gonorrhoea, recent sexual partners need to get tested too, and may need treatment

Do I need a gonorrhoea test?

Anyone sexually active can get gonorrhoea. Consider testing for gonorrhoea if you:

• Notice any gonorrhoea symptoms
• Have sex without a condom
• Have a new sexual partner
• Have multiple sexual partners
• Want to stop using condoms with your partner (in which case both of you should get tested)
• Have another STI, or a sexual partner has an STI
• Are pregnant or planning to get pregnant

It can be a good idea to test for gonorrhoea and other STIs at least once a year or after a change in partner, especially if you have sex without a condom. Some people may be advised to test more often.

You don’t usually need to get tested if:

• you have just one long-term partner and
• you both only have sex with each other and
• you’ve both tested for STIs since you’ve been together.
  
  

When’s the best time to get a gonorrhoea test?

• If you have no symptoms and you’re not worried about any recent sexual activity, you can test at any time.
• Testing because of recent sexual activity? The test will be most accurate if you take your sample 2 weeks or more after you last had sex. This is because it can take time for gonorrhoea to show up on a test. More about when to test.
• If you have gonorrhoea symptoms or a sexual partner has gonorrhoea, get tested straight away. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, we may suggest you get tested at a sexual health clinic instead of using a home self-sampling kit.
• Check if you can order a free home self-sampling kit.