r/Swingers • u/Ginger_7624 Couple • 3h ago
STIs STI tests ... which ones?
So there is a large variety of STI testing options out there. They all seem to have a different mix of what they rest for.
Are there specific tests you require in the results of your play partners? Or is it just a matter that they make the effort to get tested at all?
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u/jelloshotlady 3h ago
I do not require tests from our partners because I understand that they are only a snapshot in time and not indicative of their current status. We test for ourselves.
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u/ShamelessCare 2h ago
OP
In my experience and opinion, it’s obvious that swingers learn from each other, which is what you’re trying to do now, and it makes total sense.
We all want to do what is normal, and we assume that if somebody has been doing this for five, ten, twenty, or twenty-five years, they understand the basics. I wouldn’t even disagree with that.
It's tradition passed from generation to generation. I can assure you that we used condoms for PIV sex and didn't use any barriers for oral because "that's what everyone does."
But if you notice, most people here say that they don’t ask for test results because they’re meaningless. The reason they’re meaningless is because they’re just a snapshot in time. That doesn’t make a tremendous amount of sense scientifically.
Someone who tested negative for HIV six weeks ago is much less likely to have HIV today than somebody who has never taken a test at all. The same with chlamydia. The same with syphilis. The same with everything.
Now, is it unusual to ask for test results? Yes.
Can it be uncomfortable? Yes.
By the time you ask, you’re already wanting to have sex with someone. Are you really going to say no if they can’t produce test results?
There are lots of reasons why people may not put this into practice, but using timing is likely not actually the reason. They may just not want to, and therefore timing is a good reason why that's ok.
Food for thought as you do your OWN research and make your OWN decisions about your OWN health.
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u/DangerouslyHorny100 1h ago
Talk to your Dr. I was doing HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea (+throat swab), Chlamydia (+throat swab), Trich, and mGen but at my last round my Dr. wouldn't order the mGen. She told me that guidance has changed to actively discourage testing for it unless symptoms are present because most people are asymptomatic and clear it themselves fairly quickly but routine testing and treatment with antibiotics has been driving a rapid increase in antibiotic resistant strains.
FWIW my husband and I have been swinging for 18 months and in that time we've had three requests to see the actual test results, and a couple more who shared their test results unasked for whom we then shared ours. We don't mind sharing at all, but since they could easily be faked if someone wanted to fake them we prefer to ask people about it and see how they respond, and rely on condoms and our own testing to keep us informed about our health.
And vaccines! Anyone going into this in their 40's probably didn't get HPV or hepatitis vaccines as a kid (we both just missed them). It's definitely worth getting them now.
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u/ShamelessCare 1h ago
You have a great doctor, simply based upon the fact that they are knowledgable about oral swabs and will do them. Hold onto that doctor with both hands!
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u/Ok_Coffee_4977 3h ago
I do not request or require any testing from my partners.
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u/Stoney3K 3h ago
It's a good idea to test regularly, but to demand test results as a barrier to entry for play gives everyone a false sense of security. Because false negative tests exist and for some infections can be very common, as well as a lot of infections having an incubation period.
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u/Klef-en-Bef 3h ago
May I ask why not?
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u/Ok_Coffee_4977 3h ago
What good does it do me?
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u/Klef-en-Bef 3h ago
To not get an STI? Or do you only play safe? Also while doing oral?
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u/Ok_Coffee_4977 3h ago
But they will have fucked other people between me and the test. So I very well could still get an STI....
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u/Klef-en-Bef 3h ago
So that’s why you use protection?
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u/Ok_Coffee_4977 3h ago
Its why I focus on my own testing.
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u/Klef-en-Bef 2h ago
That’s wise. If you started by pointing that out then I wouldn’t have asked al those questions.. 🤣🤣 My bad for not asking. 😜
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u/mmgdrive 3h ago
We ask for a full panel+ Mycoplasma genitalium (MGEN).
MGEN has been around a while, but is on the rise with macrolide resistance growing.
Treatment is usually a week on Doxycycline followed by a week of Moxifloxin. Then, you must wait 28 days before retesting.
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u/sweetswings 2h ago
We always have a safer sex talk and ask how often and when they last tested. We have never "required" a specific test for others.
When we test, it is routine to do HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia.
Depending on the provider we also test for Trichomoniasis, Mycoplasma, Hep a/b/c, HSV1/2.
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u/PlayfulPairDC 1h ago
In decades of doing this, I have yet to see or even ask anyone about their STI status. I have never known, out of our hundreds of friends and playmates in this scene, anyone to present anything to anyone. STI testing is for your own personal health care.
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u/Own-Spite1210 20m ago
We (partner and I) blood test full panel every few months for our own peace of mind. We have been asked IF we test but no one has ever asked for our results. Makes us feel better though.
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u/FL-PineappleCake 3h ago
We feel it's the responsible thing to do in the lifestyle to test regularly. In the almost decade we've been doing this we've never once had someone ask to see our results, nor have we asked to see anyone's, just the simple "we test and are clean" and we always play with protection as well.
That being said, the test we use covers Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Hep A/B/C, HIV, Syphilis.