There's a lot of great info on the sexual health boards, but it can be a lot to process...
So doing a quick sharing after my first visit to DSC for other bros who are thinking of getting themselves checked.
TLDR: Spent $120 to do
- Rapid HIV test
- Urethra Swab (Gram Stain for Bacteria)
- Urine (Chlamydia, Gonorrhea)
- Blood (Hep B, syphilis)
Should be about $60+ if you only test for HIV and syphilis.
Pros:
- Price (Would have likely cost $280 and up at a private clinic)
- Speed of Tests (Got HIV and swab culture results in less than half an hour)
- Comprehensive (Polyclinics or GPs might refer you to DSC in the end anyway)
Cons:
- Privacy (However take note that even at other clinics, most lab tests will require your ID except for anonymous HIV testing)
- Timing (DSC is only open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm)
- Slot availability (usually appointment is for 1 week later, for serious symptoms better to go straight to private clinics)
Important to note before tests:
- No symptoms doesn't mean no STD.
- New generation HIV tests are conclusive only after 28 days. And will need to check again after 3 months.
- For urine tests, guys need to hold pee for 4 hours. They will swab inside your peehole to check for possible discharge, so quite important not to pee for accurate results.
Clinic Walkthrough:
1. Booking
For less back and forth, it's faster just to call in @ 62939648
For online booking, remember to fill in your preferred timing in the notes, otherwise they'll just put you in next available slot (most likely 1 week later).
https://www.dsc-clinic.sg/Patient-Ca...pointment.aspx
I was slightly uncomfortable with giving out my personal information like email and number, but the process is really just like normal hospital / polyclinic appointment (email / sms reminder). If privacy is a major concern, consider
private clinics or
anonymous testing instead.
2. Appointment
SOP like polyclinic / public hospital, basically wait for your number on screen.
Roughly goes in the order of:
- Scan IC and get number
- Registration
- Questions about reason for visit (Closed Doors)
- Blood / swab / urine / other tests
- Wait for results (20-30mins)
- See Doctor to discuss results (Closed Doors)
- See Counsellor (mainly advising you to check in with previous partners)
- Payment (cash / major card payment methods accepted)
3. Follow Up
Some test results were quite quick (HIV / Lab Culture)
But for other tests like blood and other urine tests staff will follow up when received.
E.g. Gonorrhea may require a follow up jab, the staff said will call you up if detected
Follow up appointments will also be booked there and then (i.e. 3 month HIV recheck)
OVERALL:
Staff were quite professional, some basic questions about where and when your encounter happened but nothing too invasive.
Was also in and out in less than an hour, although I did pick a pretty early morning slot. So pretty much a painless process except holding in my morning pee lol.
Hope this gives other new bros a better idea of what to expect 👍🏻