Sexual Health
Sexual Health and You
Sexual health is an important part of general health and well-being. You can get an STI through any form of sexual activity including anal, vaginal, oral sex, sharing toys and close sexual contact. It’s always a good idea to have a regular sexual health check, at least once a year. Just like doing your tax, its something that we don’t love to do, but it’s always better once it’s done.
There are many different STIs and not all of them have obvious symptoms, so there is a chance that you could have an STI without knowing it. Most STIs are curable and all are treatable. But if left untreated, some STIs can have long term effects on your body.
There are a number of ways you can reduce your risk of getting an STI. Using condoms and/or dental dams, even for oral sex is a good start. PrEP is also an excellent way to prevent HIV, but it doesn’t prevent other infections. Talking to your doctor or clinician about ways to keep yourself healthy, and how often you might need to test, is important for everyone.
How to get a sexual health check
You have many options for sexual health testing in Queensland. Any doctor can refer you for a set of laboratory tests usually including a blood and urine sample.
In south-east Queensland, sexual health specialist GP clinics are available, and many are friendly to LGBTIQ+ people and sex workers. All around Queensland, you can also access Queensland Health sexual health clinics for free testing and other care too.
QPP offers free, judgement free walk-in testing at our RAPID clinic in Fortitude Valley. We can test for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis, as well as HIV. Our tests use just a drop of blood from your fingertip to test for HIV and syphilis. If you test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, we will ask you to collect a urine sample and swabs.
Useful Resources
RAPID
RAPID offers free HIV and other STI testing from their clinic in Fortitude Valley and outreach locations, as well as a free HIV self test kit mail out program.
Young Deadly Free
A one-stop shop for resources about STIs and BBVs affecting young people in regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Emen8
Australia’s biggest and boldest online sexual health and wellbeing initiative for gay, bisexual, and other men (cis and trans) who have sex with men.
Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a very common bacterial STI, and often people do not realise they have it. It can affect women and men of all ages, but most frequently occurs in young people who regularly change sexual partners. It can usually be easily treated.
Gonorrhoea
Gonorrhoea is a common bacterial STI, and doesn’t always have symptoms. It can affect anyone, regardless of gender, who has any kind of unprotected sex (without condoms) with someone who has the infection. It can be treated with antibiotics.
Syphilis
Syphilis is a bacterial infection that can affect both men and women. Syphilis is transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact and is highly contagious when the syphilis sore (chancre) or rash is present.
Mpox
Mpox (also known as Monkeypox, MPX or MPXV) is a viral infection that transmits through close contact and can affect anyone. The virus can make you feel unwell, and develop painful rashes, lesions or sores.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a bloodborne virus that causes inflammation of the liver. This virus is present in the blood of a person living with hepatitis C and can be spread through blood-to-blood contact. The current treatment can cure hepatitis C in more than 90% of people.
HPV & Related Cancers
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, but research indicates that types 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancers and over 80% of anal cancers worldwide.
Our trained team is here to help you should you have any questions or need support. You can call for free from a Queensland land-line on 1800 636 241 or call (07) 3013 5555 (national). You can also email us or use the contact form or the chat function in the corner of our website.
