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Preparing for your appointment

By Mayo Clinic staff

Not many people feel comfortable sharing the details of their sexual experiences, but the doctor's office is one place where you must. So take a deep breath, relax and answer your doctor's questions completely and honestly.

Here are some of the things you may be asked:

  • Do you think you might have a sexually transmitted disease? If so, why?
  • Are you sexually active with men, women or both?
  • Do you currently have one sex partner, or more than one?
  • How long have you been with your current partner or partners?
  • Have you ever injected yourself with drugs?
  • Have you ever had sex with a gay or bisexual man or someone who has injected drugs?
  • Do you have vaginal sex?
  • Do you have oral sex?
  • Do you have anal sex?
  • Do you use sex toys, such as vibrators, when you have sex?
  • What do you do to protect yourself from STDs? If female, have you received HPV immunization?
  • Do you ever use drugs or drink alcohol before having sex?
  • Has a doctor or nurse ever told you that you have chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis or HIV?
  • Have you ever been treated for a genital discharge, genital sores, painful urination or an infection of your sex organs?
  • How many sex partners have you had in the past year?
  • How many people have you had sex with in the past two months?
  • When was your most recent sexual encounter?
  • When did you last have sex with someone other than your most recent partner?

Questions to ask your doctor

  • What's the medical name of the infection or infections I have?
  • How, exactly, is it transmitted?
  • Will it keep me from having children?
  • If I get pregnant, could I give it to my baby?
  • Is it possible to catch this again?
  • Could I have caught this from someone I had sex with only once?
  • Could I give this to someone by having sex with that person just once?
  • How long have I had it?
  • Does my partner have to go to a doctor to be treated?
Tests and diagnosis Complications
References
  1. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 31st ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders; 2007.
  2. Swygard H. Screening for sexually transmitted diseases. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  3. Holmes KK. Sexually transmitted infections: Overview and clinical approach. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.:  McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008.  http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2893718. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
  4. Global strategy for the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections: 2006-2015. Breaking the chain of transmission. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/stisstrategy/index.html. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
  5. Basic information: HIV. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  6. CDC fact sheet: Genital herpes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Herpes/herpes-Fact-Sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  7. CDC fact sheet: Genital HPV infection. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Hpv/hpv-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  8. CDC fact sheet: Syphilis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Syphilis/syphilis-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  9. CDC fact sheet. Chlamydia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Chlamydia/chlamydia-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  10. CDC fact sheet. Gonorrhea. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Gonorrhea /gonorrhea-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  11. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2006;55:2. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5511a1.htm. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  12. CDC fact sheet: Bacterial vaginosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/bv/BV-Fact-Sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  13. CDC fact sheet. PID (pelvic inflammatory disease). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/PID/pid-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 20009.
  14. CDC fact sheet. Trichomoniasis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Trichomoniasis/trichomoniasis-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Shigella flexneri serotype 3 infections among men who have sex with men - Chicago, Illinois, 2003-2004. MMWR. 2005;54:820. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5433a2.htm. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  16. Quick answers: Sexually transmitted diseases. McGraw Hill's Access Medicine. http://www.accessmedicine.com/popup.aspx?aID=3271836. Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
  17. Klausner JD. Screening guidelines for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. In: Klausner JD, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3025000. Accessed Jan. 19, 2009.
  18. Swygard H, et al. Gonorrhea. In: Klausner JD, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3025486. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  19. Ward H. Prevention strategies for sexually transmitted infections: Importance of sexual network and epidemic phase. Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2007;83:i43. http://sti.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/83/suppl_1/i43. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  20. Trends in reportable sexually transmitted diseases in the United States, 2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats07/trends.htm. Accessed Jan. 28, 2009.
  21. Arrington-Sanders R, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases in adolescents. In: Klausner JD, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3026189. Accessed Jan. 28, 2009.
  22. Wong W. Sexually transmitted diseases in men who have sex with men. In: Klausner JD, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3026252. Accessed Jan. 19, 2009.
  23. Peterman TA. Partner notification and management. In: Klausner JD, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/popup.aspx?aid=3026470. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  24. Klausner JD. The sexual history. In: Klausner JD, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/popup.aspx?aid=3026901. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  25. Safer sex ("Safe sex"). Planned Parenthood. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/stds-hiv-safer-sex/safer-sex-4263.htm. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  26. Reitmeijer CA. Principles of risk reduction counseling. In: Klausner JD, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/popup.aspx?aid=3026470. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  27. Viral hepatitis: A through E and beyond. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/viralhepatitis/index.htm. Accessed Jan. 20, 2009.
  28. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Antiretroviral postexposure prophylaxis after sexual, injection-drug use, or other nonoccupational exposure to HIV in the United States. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2005;54:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5402a1.htm. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  29. Kung HC, et al. Deaths: Final data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2008;56:10. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_10.pdf. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
  30. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Revised recommendations for HIV testing of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women in health-care settings. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2006;55:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5514a1.htm?s_cid=rr5514a1_e. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
  31. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Recommendations for partner services Programs for HIV infection, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydial infection. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2008;57:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5709a1.htm. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.

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Feb. 25, 2009

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