You can get tested for STIs at public health services or by your doctor, but nowadays STI tests are also increasingly available online and at drugstores/pharmacies. These tests are based on urine analysis (e.g., for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis) or blood analysis (e.g., for HIV and syphilis).
Tests must bear a CE mark to be sold in the Netherlands, indicating compliance with European Economic Area regulations. However, a CE mark does not guarantee accurate results; the quality of available STI tests can vary due to the complexity of performing and interpreting the tests.
Home or self-tests offered by drugstores/pharmacies are often unreliable. Therefore, always check the sensitivity and specificity, which indicate the test’s reliability.
Sensitivity is the percentage of correctly positive results in infected individuals, and specificity is the percentage of correctly negative results in non-infected individuals. The higher these percentages, the more reliable the test.
The STI tests from The Tester are highly reliable, with sensitivity and specificity both above 97%.
Click here to view the range of STI tests from The Tester.
