WHY TEST?
Gonorrhea (GC) and Chlamydia (Chl) are the most common of all sexually transmitted infections in the genital tract. If present inside the vagina or urinary tract during an abortion (medical or surgical), these bugs can crawl up into the uterus and infect it after the abortion is done. Infected uterus/fallopian tubes/ovaries is called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) and can lead to infertility, chronic pain, hospital admission and very rarely even endanger life.
Urine testing for GC and Chl prior to an abortion is the safest way to proceed. Testing protects you from:
PID (and with that from infertility, chronic pain etc..)
exposure to unnecessary antibiotics
It is important to test if you ever have ANY unusual symptoms in the vagina or with urination:
vagina: pain/itching/unusual discharge
urination: painful/increased frequency/change in appearance or smell of urine
You should see a healthcare practitioner for assessment if you have:
unusual abdominal pain especially with fever
rash in the genital area
unusual lumps in the genital area
HOW TO TEST?
a urine test for GC/Chl can be submitted to our clinic/walk-in clinic/your family healthcare practitioner 4 or more days prior to your appointment and the results would be available at the time of your assessment
the best test is your first pee of the day, but anytime is better than no test
you collect the first 30 mL of your pee into the urine bottle
WE KEEP YOU SAFE IF YOU HAVE NOT TESTED:
If you have unknown GC/Chl status, treatment for chlamydia is the safest way to proceed:
Chl usually lives inside our bodies without any sensation/symptoms, so it is best to treat yourself prior to an abortion if you feel normal and have not tested yourself (we will offer you this in clinic)
GC is not treated because you usually know you have it (if you have any of the symptoms listed above, inform us and we will treat for both Chl and GC
the best time to treat yourself is 12 hours or more before having the procedure or starting a medical abortion pill
you can always call our clinic the day before your appointment, at we can fax a prescription to your pharmacy for this (if you can take Azithromycin safely)
TREATMENT
If you have symptoms (see above) or a positive test, treatment is very important prior to proceeding with abortion:
Chlamydia treatment = Azithromycin 1 gram swallowed all at once
Gohnorhhea treatment = Ceftriaxone 500 mg intra-muscular injection once
takes minimum of 12h to work
if you do not have symptoms this amount of time is usually adequate to protect you
if you have any symptoms, you should wait until they are gone, or until your test is back confirming that you are NEGATIVE for GC/Chl
If you have Chl or GC, get tested for all testable STIs:
blood testing is available at any walk-in, sexual health or family medicine clinic
blood STI testing, tests for Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HIV and Syphilis
Take care everyone... keep safe
