A service provided by the BC Centre for Disease Control
In the years since SmartSexResource launched, we have developed a library of questions asked by you, and answered by our expert sexual health nurses.
Our answered questions library cover a broad range of sexual health topics and common questions we hear at our clinics.
Hi there, thank you for your question
As long as you finish all 14 pills and do your best to take a pill twice a day for the remaining duration of treatment you should be fine. There will be no need to re-treat. If you are concerned, you can return to the clinic for a “test of cure” 4 weeks after you started the treatment, to make sure the infection is gone.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questionsor concerns.
Health Nurse
Hello and thank you for your question.
For most STI tests there is not a preferred time of day to do the testing. That said, when submitting a urine sample you need to have not urinated for at least 2 hours prior to giving the sample for an STI screen.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hello, and thank you for your question.
HIV is transmitted through blood and body fluids, and cannot be passed through casual contact, skin to skin contact, or through clothing.
For more information on a variety of sexually transmitted infections please visit STIs at a Glance or for info about transmission risk check out Know your Chances.
Please let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi and thank you for your questions.
Herpes is not part of the routine testing offered through Get Checked Online (GCO).
As stated on the Get Checked Online website in the “What can I test for?” section only Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis C tests are offered. If you would like to get tested for other kinds of STIs, you will need to visit a clinic or see your doctor. If you are having any symptoms that are concerning you I would recommend that you to get them checked by a care provider such as a doctor or nurse at a walk-in clinic
Have a look at our Clinic Finder to locate a sexual health clinic in your area.
Please let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
While it’s not possible to diagnose what is going on over the internet it sounds very much like you may have something called Bacterial Vaginosis (BV).
BV is not a sexually transmitted infection (STI) but rather an imbalance of the healthy bacteria that normally lives in the vagina. When these bacteria get out of balance, symptoms can occur. These symptoms are commonly described as a fishy odor and an increased amount of watery, thin vaginal discharge (You didn’t specify in your question, but I am assuming that you are a person with a vagina. If I have gotten that wrong, please forgive the assumption).
BV can be very easily treated with a 1-week course of an antibiotic called metronidazole. You can visit any walk-in clinic or sexual health clinic for assessment, diagnosis and treatment. I would recommend a full STI screen for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea as well as testing for BV as sometimes STIs can also cause these symptoms.
Have a look at our page on Bacterial Vaginosis for more information. To help locate a sexual health clinic in your area, you can use our Clinic Finder.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi there, thanks for your question
Here are links for four reputable abortion providers in Vancouver/Lower Mainland:
BC Women’s Hospital CARE Program
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thank you for your question
It would be pretty unusual to develop symptoms of an STI that quickly after possibly being exposed. A very likely culprit of the soreness you felt might have been due to friction and not enough lubrication during insertive sex. Sometimes adding some extra lubricant can really help with comfort and with preventing damage to the skin such as small tears.
I don’t know what the discharge might have been, but it can be common to have some irritation to the urethra after having sex. During intercourse there are lots of microbes (non-harmful, normal healthy bacteria) that can be passed between partners. While these microbes don’t necessarily cause an infection they can get up into the urethra and cause some irritation. Staying well hydrated, urinating frequently (especially right after sex) and drinking cranberry juice or taking some cranberry supplements can help with this discomfort.
Finally, yes some STIs could be passed from your finger’s to a male partner’s genitals, if your fingers had been touching your own genitals first and there is an infection already present. The most common things would be infections passed through skin to skin contact such as HPV, herpes or even syphilis. So for example, if a person has an active herpes outbreak on their genitals and touches the sores, then immediately touches their partner’s genitals, it would be possible to pass that infection to the partner.
You might find our STIs at a Glance chart helpful as it gives a quick overview of how different infections are passed.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, thanks for your question
Yes, you can have sex today! BUT if the person that you’re going to have sex with was a partner from before you got treatment, make sure they took the treatment and waited for 7 days before sex as well!
If you have sex with an ongoing partner that has not been treated for the infection, you will likely get it back again.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
Actually the herpes virus, whether it is HSV-1 or HSV-2, is very easily spread by skin-to-skin contact. So yes, if someone gets a herpes infection on the genitals from oral sex, it is absolutely possible to then pass that infection to another partner during sexual contact.
Keep in mind, however, that while herpes is easily spread (which is why it’s so very common!) it is only being passed when the virus is active. Typically this means that it’s only spreading when the symptoms of blisters or lesions are present on the skin. When the blisters heal, the virus goes to “sleep” on the nerve pathway and is not being passed until it wakes up again. The frequency of when the virus “wakes up” and spreads from person to person varies. Some people only ever get one outbreak in their lifetime, while other people might have 2 or 3 outbreaks per year.
If you’re interested in reading more about herpes and the virus that causes it, have a look at our Herpes: Patient’s Guide.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
The simple answer is yes, you can! As with any condom use it’s recommended to check the packing for the expiration date, to ensure it’s not damaged and to make sure it provides protection against sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
Check out our Flavoured Condoms page on Smart Sex Resource for more details.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse