# Why aren't quick home STD tests easily available? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2017, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058 "2017-08-08T03:49:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058/21 "2017-08-10T08:06:22Z")
It’s encouraging to hear that the NIH funding was offered for potential STD tests that give quick results. Antibiotic resistant strains will probably continue to increase. Living with permanent STD’s could be a major concern for the up coming generation. Condom use needs to improve. > **[The Big Sex Mistake 65% Of Americans Are Still Making](https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a19544103/most-americans-have-unprotected-sex/?amp=)** > > Don’t miss this crucial step before you do the deed > [@](#): > > The most recent National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior found that less than half of men ages 18 to 24 used a condom with their last sexual partner. And the disregard for protection seems to get even worse the older you get: Only about 30 percent of men 25 to 34 used a rubber with their last partner. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058/22 "2017-08-10T09:42:35Z")
The most likely reason for lower condom use, is the change of how HIV is perceived. In the 80s it was considered a death sentence, now it is a chronic condition. Not to mention the very low chance of infection (in all but anal sex). I think you’re being alarmist with the whole bacterial resistance thing. It is happening very slowly (not just with stds), but it is not like you are likely to actually contract one of these forms. I admit I’m not sure about the US, but here in the Netherlands the authorities very clearly state that the clap is “easily treatable”, while mentioning that there are some instances of resistent bacteria abroad… but nothing in the Netherlands yet. Just to point out: for many people the reality/view of stds is exactly the one you had in the 70s. You get a single shot or a single pill and a week later the std is history. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058/23 "2017-08-10T14:59:10Z")
> [@](#): > > The most recent National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior found that less than half of men ages 18 to 24 used a condom with their last sexual partner. And the disregard for protection seems to get even worse the older you get: Only about 30 percent of men 25 to 34 used a rubber with their last partner. I admit I didn’t read the link really carefully, but as far as I could tell, that would include people in sexually monogamous relationships. So for instance a big part of the reason that fewer men age 25 to 34 use a condom may be that more of them are married (and many of those are trying to have kids). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058/24 "2017-08-10T15:04:30Z")
The CDC and WHO reports scared the hell out of me. I guess that’s what they intended. Sigh… I’m not worried for myself. I’m in a monogamous relationship. Condoms aren’t needed since menopause paid a visit. I got two unmarried daughters in college. It’s their futures and any grandkids that come later that keeps me awake nights. STD’s are just one of many things in today’s world that causes concern. It seemed like modern research would win the day in the 90’s by eliminating some STD’s. Instead we’re encountering tougher and tougher strains. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058/25 "2017-08-10T16:09:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Why isn’t more effort being put into developing effective home test kits? That will provide an indication that you may have one. It doesn’t need to be 100% accurate. Just an indication that you may have one and should avoid sexual contact until getting checked at a clinic. Who would pay money for a wildly inaccurate test that tells you something you already know? If you’ve been having sex then there’s always some chance you might have a testable STD (and almost certain to have some strain of HPV). Paying money for a kit that tells you ‘well, possibly you have this, but maybe not, we can’t tell you in a sure enough fashion that you either need to worry or not so no matter what this test says go to a doctor before relying on the information’ doesn’t make a lot of sense; people who actually care about their sexual health get STD tests at some regular interval, people who don’t care aren’t going to spend money on a test that doesn’t work reliably. > [@aceplace57](#): > > It seemed like modern research would win the day in the 90’s by eliminating some STD’s. Instead we’re encountering tougher and tougher strains. Research has actually created some STDs. Herpes wasn’t considered an STD for a long time, it was treated as an annoyance like cold sores and didn’t even come up in medical literature as a condition to worry about. When drug companies developed antiviral drugs that could treat it in the mid-70s, they created a market for the drug by running advertising campaigns stigmatizing it, and that’s why herpes is considered a Big Deal today. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058/26 "2017-08-10T18:31:43Z")
If I had a dog, and was single, I’d train it to sniff out STDs. No idea where I’d get samples, though; pretty sure the local CVS doesn’t have that stuff, even behind the counter. Not in a bottle, at least. 😃 Gross. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058/27 "2017-08-11T05:45:13Z")
The “killer clap” BS has been around at least since the war in Vietnam. In fact, the gonococcus is a frail bug that can be wiped out in hours by a single dose of any of a wide variety of antimicrobials. The problem is that it is good at becoming less susceptible over time to specific antimicrobials. I am unaware of any reports of gonorrhea being resistant to all antimicrobials. It is just that antimicrobial susceptibility testing might be required to find out what will work in each case. (Antimicrobial susceptibility testing is routine for many infections caused by other bacterial but it has never been routine for gonorrhea.) In practice, to control gonorrhea, you want an antimicrobial regimen that is safe, cheap, well tolerated and will cure every infection 100% of the time so that you can be confident that your patient is non-infectious within hours after leaving the clinic. In the 1990s, there were quite a few single-dose regimens to choose from. Now, the choice is down to pretty much just one drug. What this means is not that gonorrhea is becoming untreatable, what it means is that efficient treatment of gonorrhea will require antimicrobial susceptibility testing or the initial use of more than one drug, or both. Nevertheless, I advise condom use in relationships that might not be monogamous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-quick-home-std-tests-easily-available/793058.md?page=1)