HIV & sexual health
Testing, and treatment if you need it
Screening for the infections worth screening for, taken from every site you have sex with rather than whichever one is easiest to sample — and treatment in the same place.
What gets tested
- Chlamydia and gonorrhea
- Syphilis
- HIV
- Hepatitis B and hepatitis C
- Herpes, where testing is actually useful for your situation
- Trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis, where relevant
- Mpox assessment and referral where indicated
Chlamydia and gonorrhea are tested at each site you have sex with — throat and rectum as well as genitals. A urine sample alone misses a large share of infections, and a screen that only looks in one place is not a full screen.
Which tests make sense depends on what you have been doing and when, so the visit starts with a short, practical conversation rather than a form. It is not an interrogation and there is no version of your answer that will surprise a clinician working in sexual health.
Self-collection
For most swabs you can collect the sample yourself, in a room with the door shut. For a lot of people that is the difference between getting tested and not, particularly for throat and rectal swabs, and it is just as accurate when done properly — we will show you how.
Blood draws are done by a person, because they have to be. That happens in the building rather than at a separate lab across town.
Specimen collection happens here, so testing is part of the same visit instead of a second trip on another day.
Bloodwork in the building →Treatment, and what it costs
If something comes back positive, treatment happens here. Most bacterial sexually transmitted infections are straightforward to treat once identified, and the appointment to sort it out is billed to OHIP like any other.
Toronto Public Health treats some STIs for free
Toronto Public Health runs a program that supplies medication for several sexually transmitted infections at no cost, regardless of whether you have drug coverage or a health card. It is genuinely underused, largely because people do not know it exists.
We will tell you when it applies to you and how to use it, even though it means you filling a prescription somewhere other than the pharmacy downstairs. That is the correct advice, and correct advice is the point.
Partner notification is part of treatment and it is something we help with. There are ways to do it that do not involve your name, and if telling someone yourself is not safe or not possible, say so — that is a common situation with real options.
Confidentiality
Testing here is confidential: results are part of your medical record and are not disclosed outside your circle of care without your consent. Some infections are reportable to public health by law, which is true at every clinic in Ontario, and we will tell you plainly which ones and what that involves.
Confidential is not the same as anonymous. Anonymous HIV testing — where no name is attached to the sample at all — is only available at sites specifically designated for it under provincial legislation. If that is what you want, we will tell you where to go rather than blur the distinction.
Common questions
How often should I get tested?
It depends on what you are doing. Every three months is a common interval for people with new or multiple partners, and it lines up neatly with PrEP follow-up if you are on it. Annual is reasonable for others. We will suggest an interval rather than leaving you to guess.
Do I need symptoms?
No — and most sexually transmitted infections cause no symptoms at all, which is precisely why screening exists. Testing without symptoms is the normal reason people come in.
How long do results take?
It varies by test and by the lab’s turnaround. We will tell you what to expect for the specific tests you had, and how results reach you, before you leave.
Can I get tested without a health card?
Tell us at the desk. It changes some things about how the visit is handled, and there are routes — including public health clinics — that we can point you to. Not having a card is a reason to say so, not a reason to skip testing.
I think I was exposed to HIV very recently.
Then this is a time-critical situation and testing is not the first question. PEP has to start within 72 hours. Read the PEP page now.