Cervical Screening Clinic

If you are worried that you have been exposed to HIV within the last 72 hours, you may require Post-Exposure Prophylaxis following sexual exposure (PEPSE). PEPSE can be accessed at our sexual health service or at the Urgent Care Clinic. Further information on PEPSE can be found here.

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If you think you need an HIV test, you can attend a clinic one month following a possible exposure to HIV. It can take one month to detect HIV in a blood test. You may be at risk of HIV if you have had unprotected sex with someone who has HIV or if you share needles and have wounds exposed to infected blood.

After unprotected sexual contact, you can have a test to check for sexually transmitted infections or STIs. To ensure the test is accurate, you may be asked to repeat the test after a certain amount of time after the sexual contact. This time is also known as a “window period”. The window periods are different for different infections: Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea – two weeks after sexual contact. HIV – one month after sexual contact. Syphilis and Hepatitis – three months after sexual contact.

There are many different types of HPV, and some are more likely than others to lead to cervical cancer,  95% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV.  The body is pretty good at clearing the virus itself, usually within 2 years, especially in people under 30. However, sometimes it can persist and may develop into cervical cancer over time. Approximately 4 out of 5 adults will had HPV at some time in their lives. It is spread through intimate skin-to-skin contact and any sexual activity.

People with HPV usually:

·         do not have symptoms.

·         do not know they have it

·         have no problems or complications

This is why is really important to have yourself screened regularly as the test can pick up abnormal cell changes very early before they progress to cervical cancer.