Why should you get tested?
Many people merely want to have peace of mind and therefore want a check up, often called a sexual health MOT.
Others are coming out of relationships where cheating has occurred or suspected. Many people therefore do not have symptoms.
So many women have a vaginal irritation or discharge and assume that their symptoms are caused by Thrush; they may be right in this assumption, but equally it could be one or more or a number of conditions, more serious and requiring investigation before the correct treatment can be given.
Some women suffer recurrent episodes of conditions that require persistent treatment courses to ease their symptoms.
If in doubt, be tested.
If treatment is not correct and infections are permitted to linger, misery and pain may lurk in the future as complications arise. These may result in infertility and pelvic pain of PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) in women and prostatitis or epididymo-orchitis (testicular infection) in men.
High on everyone's list of priorities is a desire not to infect other new partners and even if not symptomatic on coming out of a relationship, be tested before having unprotected sex in another.