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How does the home STI test kit work?

Sexual health testing at Epicentre, start to finish.

1. Order online

   Pick your kit and choose home delivery or a pickup point.

2. Receive it

   A plain box, no logo, no medical wording. 1 to 2 business days within 10km of a branch, 2 to 4 anywhere else in South Africa.

3. Take the sample

   A self-collected swab and a urine sample. The illustrated guide walks you through it in about 5 minutes. No needles.

4. WhatsApp us

   We book the courier. They bring the bag and the label, so you never package or post anything. Keep the sample in the fridge until they arrive.

5. Get your results

   Emailed to you in 5 to 7 working days.

Rather collect a kit than have it delivered? Pick one up in Cape Town (MyFamilyGP, Sea Point; Dr Wendy Dicks, 99 Kloof Street, Gardens), Stellenbosch (Stelkor on Piet Retief Street, at the Neelsie and at Simonsrust; MySexualHealth) or Durban (WITS MRU, The Atrium, Berea). Collection of your sample from home is still free.

Basically: we send it, you swab, we fetch it. You never stand in a post office queue holding a sample.

Why would I test if I have no symptoms?

Because most STIs don't cause any.

Our public clinics are free, and they're a good option if you have symptoms. But they work by syndromic management, which means treating the symptoms in front of them without a lab test. If you feel fine, there's nothing to treat, so a silent infection goes home with you. And silent doesn't mean harmless: untreated chlamydia, gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitalium can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and affect fertility, in women and in men. More in what symptom-based STI care misses in South Africa.

Which STI test kit do I need?

Every kit uses the same self-collected swab and urine sample and the same PCR laboratory. They differ in one way only: how many organisms we look for.

The two Large kits differ by swab site. The cervix version adds the BV organisms (Gardnerella, Atopobium and others) and the protective lactobacilli; the penis version adds syphilis, Haemophilus ducreyi and the organisms behind prostate and urinary infections. Anyone can order the Extra Large.

If you're after one specific answer

Strain typing matters here because HPV 35 is common in South Africa and most basic tests lump it into “other high risk”. If the exposure was oral, there are two throat panels at R1,580 and R1,925.

Basically: Medium is a good place to start, Large is what most people choose, and Extra Large is for when you need an answer after everything else has failed.

How private is it?

This is the question we're asked most, so here's exactly how it works.

We handle all personal information in line with POPIA.

What happens when symptoms don't go away?

Basically: when treatment keeps failing, it's often because nobody has checked what's actually there. A named organism means a treatment that fits.

What does a home STI test kit not cover?

We'd rather tell you this upfront than have you assume you've been checked for everything.

Basically: the kit covers the common genital infections. Add a branch visit for the blood tests, and ask for the extra swabs after oral or anal exposure.

Why not just use a pharmacy rapid test?

To be fair to rapid tests: WHO-approved HIV self-tests are very accurate. The weakness is with rapid tests for bacterial infections. More in why PCR is accurate for STI testing.

What do we find most often?

Here's what our nurses see most in the lab:

• In men: Mycoplasma genitalium and ureaplasma. Both are very common, often silent, and missing from a standard chlamydia and gonorrhoea test.
• In women: HPV and candida, with BV close behind.

The less-tested infections are common for a simple reason: fewer people test for them, so fewer people get treated, and they keep passing between partners. We also see more people testing in December and January, and more infections picked up over the summer holiday season. The good news is that most of what we find is treatable.

When should I test?

Test 1 to 2 weeks after a possible exposure for most infections in the kit. Any earlier and the infection may not have built up enough to detect.

If you're worried about a recent exposure, test now for what's detectable and retest at 6 to 12 weeks.

Should we test as a couple?

Yes, and it's one of the most encouraging things we see: more young South Africans testing together before they stop using condoms, instead of after something goes wrong.

If you're not sure how to bring it up, our nurses suggest something like: “I'd like us to both get tested so we can relax and just enjoy each other.” Keep it about the two of you. Trust doesn't need to come into it.

Testing together also matters after a result. The thing we find most frustrating is watching women come back again and again for recurring thrush or BV while their partner is never tested. He feels fine, so nobody treats him, and he passes it straight back. Then she's on another round of treatment, and the cycle carries on.

BV and thrush aren't STIs in the textbook sense, but they spread between partners, including between women, and they have a real effect on how much a woman enjoys sex. Sexual health is part of a healthy relationship. If one of you tests positive for something, talk to your doctor about treating you both at the same time.

What happens if something is detected?

Your report is written so you can read it yourself. It's colour-coded, summarises what was detected, explains each organism in plain language and suggests the treatment that should work, so your doctor has it all in one place.

We're a laboratory, so we don't prescribe. You can take your report to:

• Your own GP, a public clinic or a pharmacy clinic. Pharmacy clinics can often treat common infections the same day.
• Dr Wendy Dicks, an independent GP we work with who knows our reports. Her virtual consultation is R400, by call or WhatsApp, and she sees patients at 99 Kloof Street in Gardens. Book with Dr Wendy

Then tell recent partners so they can be tested too, avoid sex until your treatment's finished, and retest when your doctor advises, not straight away.

What does it cost, and can I claim from medical aid?

Kits cost R890 to R3,305. There's no consultation fee.

Medical aid: most schemes don't cover sexual health PCR as a routine benefit. If your doctor refers you with a diagnosis code, you may be able to claim it back: we give you a tax invoice with the codes, and you submit it to your scheme yourself. If cost rules a kit out, free public clinics are there if you have symptoms, and a clinic is always better than not testing at all.

Common questions