Diagnosis

It is important to watch out for possible symptoms of an STI and discuss noticeable changes with a medical specialist. However, since sexually transmitted infections do not always cause symptoms and symptoms are sometimes not noticed or are mistaken for symptoms of other diseases, people who have sex with different partners should get tested once a year and seek medical treatment if necessary. Informing, testing, and treating sexual partners is also important.

In most cases, it is advisable to consult specialists for testing and treatment. In addition, most public health departments offer anonymous and free counselling on sexually transmitted infections. In bigger cities, people can usually get tested for free and, in special cases, receive treatment as well.

In view of the great number and variety of possible symptoms, “self-diagnosis” or “diagnosis” by friends or acquaintances is strongly advised against – if an infection remains undetected or is “treated” incorrectly, it can be protracted and lead to later complications.

In people with HIV, there are special factors to be considered in the diagnosis – it should be reserved for specialists with particular experience in this field. In the event of a poor immune status, for example, a syphilis test may show a negative result despite the presence of distinct symptoms (false negative result), or hepatitis B may become active again after having resolved.