Advice and guidance

STIs can be serious and often don’t have symptoms. Regular testing is part of maintaining the health of you and your partner/s.

If you had unprotected sexual intercourse in the last 5 days and think you are at risk of pregnancy, please attend your local iCaSH clinic as soon as possible where we can offer you support. To book an appointment, please call 0300 300 3030.

If you believe you may be at risk of having come into contact with an STI but have no symptoms, it may be best to wait before you test, because certain STIs don’t show up in tests for several weeks after exposure. This is a ‘window period.’ The window periods for different STIs are below:

These window periods do not apply when you have developed symptoms, in which case you need to book an appointment with us via 0300 300 3030. Symptoms could include discharge, pain while passing urine, genital lumps, genital sores or lower abdominal pain in women.

Express Test will offer testing based on your responses to questions during our triage process. All individuals eligible for the service will be offered appropriate testing based on the consultation answers (chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV & syphilis).

Some higher risk individuals may be offered wider testing that can include hepatitis B and C testing.

Kits support you to take samples from different areas of your body – urine, vaginal swab, rectal swab and pharyngeal (throat) swab (triple site test) for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, plus you may be offered a blood sample for HIV, syphilis.

If you believe you may be at risk of having come into contact with an STI, it may be best to wait before you test because certain STIs don’t show up in tests for several weeks after exposure. This is a ‘window period.’ You may order a test online once every 12 weeks. If you think you need testing more frequently, please contact your iCaSH clinic directly.

View the window periods for different STIs.

These window periods do not apply when you have developed symptoms, in which case you need to book an appointment with us via 0300 300 3030. Symptoms could include discharge, pain while passing urine, genital lumps, genital sores or lower abdominal pain in women.

If you require testing as part of your fertility treatment, please see your GP or fertility clinic as we are unable to provide certification via the online testing service.

Once you've completed your order, your self-sampling kit will arrive in the post within a few days (we send kits via 1st Class mail) to the address you have chosen. There is also a tracked freepost envelope so you can return your samples free of charge.

The kits are small and discreet - the box is sent in a white plastic bag with no identifying markings or logos and fits through a standard letterbox.

What's in the test kit?

Your kit contains everything you need to collect your sample(s) and return it to the laboratory for testing. There will also be a form that includes additional information and instructions showing how to collect and return your sample(s) to the lab for testing.

Basic kits will require either a urine or a vaginal swab sample along with a finger-prick blood sample to test for blood borne viruses (for example, HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C). Some kits may also offer you additional swabs to test for oral and rectal infections if you have indicated you are at risk of these.

If you try but are unable to collect a blood sample, we will still test your swab or urine for chlamydia and gonorrhoea (the most common infections). 

Find further advice and videos about STI self sampling home test kit 

You can order a kit online with us every 12 weeks. If an STI screen is required more frequently, this can be arranged via iCaSH directly. Please call your local clinic on 0300 300 3030.

Each person ordering an Express Test kit must register their own account via the site. This is to ensure that we have their relevant personal details and can offer them a kit which is personalised to their needs.

All of our test kits are sent first class postage (Royal Mail) and should arrive within 1 to 3 working days. However, there are sometimes delays in the postal system and during seasonal periods test kits may take longer to arrive. If your kit has not arrived within 5 days please let us know by calling 0333 344 4462 or email info@preventx.com and we will issue a replacement kit.