[Question #449] Urine test vs swab

104 months ago

Hello. I have another question. Followed up with my OBGYN and everything looked great-which I am glad. History again mutual masterbation and use of vibrator. No genital to genital contact. Just saliva used on vibrator. Still having urgency to pee and some pelvic pain some generalized burning around vaginal area. I understand low risk. Two different tests ran 3 weeks after and again 6 weeks after. All negative for std and UTI. My question should I have the urine test done for std or is the swab sufficient/better? And should I test again for std at 12 weeks? My dr mentioned that would be a good idea. Am I missing any tests? I've just never experienced any symptoms like this before ever. I am convinced I have something but I don't know where to go from here.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

104 months ago

Welcome back to the forum. Unfortunately, I don't think we can offer much more help.

I reviewed your recent discussion with Dr. Hook and agree that no STD is likely to explain your symptoms and I cannot think of any additional STD tests that would be helpful. That your ObG think's it's a "good idea" to test yet again at 12 weeks is probably mostly in the hope that another round of negative results will further reassure you, not a belief that something will turn up. For gonorrhea and chlamydia testing, a vaginal swab is always superior to urine -- not by much, but urine tests are more likely to occasionally miss an infection.

Another possibility to think about and perhaps discuss with your doctor is whether your symptoms might primarily be the result of genitally focused anxiety. This would explain the timing, even though there is no infection -- with onset after a sexual event, perhaps one you regret or were nervous about. Whether or not that's the explanation, it seems clear that nothing serious is going on.

Best wishes-- HHH, MD

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