Click here to find a Planned Parenthood clinic near you. Planned Parenthood clinics are also low-cost and confidential.

Find more low-cost and confidential clinics in your area, including Planned Parenthood clinics, by clicking here.

Why get tested for a possible pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease (STD)? Because knowledge is power! Once you know if you are pregnant or have an STD, you can make important decisions that will affect your health and well-being.

Think you might be pregnant? The only way to know for sure is to take a pregnancy test. You can buy a home-pregnancy test at a pharmacy or drugstore or get a blood test by a health care provider at a clinic. Teens can get pregnancy tests for free or at low-cost at clinics. 

Think you might have a sexually transmitted disease (STD)? Most STDs have no visible symptoms, and if left undetected, they can eventually cause infertility, chronic pain and even death. You can get tested for STDs at your doctor's office or at a clinic.

Now’s the time! Call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) to be connected automatically to the Planned Parenthood health center nearest you. Still have questions? Check out these Frequently Asked Questions about testing:

Will the clinic tell my parents?

No. Most clinics, like Planned Parenthood, are completely confidential, meaning your parents don’t need to give permission for you to be there, and they won’t be contacted by the clinic that you were there. In fact, even if your parents called the clinic and asked if you were there, the clinic cannot give out that information unless you explicitly ask them to do so.

But it helps to be sure, so when you call to make an appointment, ask them about their policy. You can ask: Will they call you at home?  Will they send a bill to you? Will they send other mail? Since each clinic works a little differently, this is the best way to know for sure.

Where can I go to get tested?

Most local health departments offer STD and pregnancy testing, as do many doctors’ offices, hospitals and family planning clinics. You can find one in your area by looking in your local blue pages under “Department of Health,” or in your yellow pages under “family planning” or “clinics.”

You can also call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) to be connected automatically to the Planned Parenthood health center nearest you. Just know that not all family planning clinics offer services to male clients, so if you’re a guy, be sure to ask up front. The STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) Resource Hotline, 1-800-227-8922, can also provide information on testing for guys and girls.

How much will it cost?

The cost really depends on the test and where you go to get tested. Many clinics offer low-cost or even free testing to teens. Just ask about that when you call to make your appointment.

What is the STD test like?

Well, first of all, there is no ONE test for all STDs. Some STDs can be detected in your blood. Some can be detected in your urine. Others are detected by taking cultures, which usually means having a clinician take a fluid sample from your mouth, vagina or anus with a cotton swab. No one test can test for all of these.

So when you see your doctor or health care provider, you need to find out exactly what you are being tested for, so you know whether there are any other tests you should get. For example, you are never automatically tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. You need to specifically ask for this test and give permission to have it done.

When can I get tested?

It really depends on the STD. Some (like gonorrhea and chlamydia) can be detected soon after you have been infected, even if you have no symptoms. With some, you need to wait until you have symptoms (like genital warts).

But remember, the most common symptom of an STD is NO symptom. When you go to get tested, you will need to be prepared to share personal information with the health care provider about the types of sexual behaviors you did, the number of partners you had, and when the last time was that you were sexual with someone. Don’t worry; this information will be confidential, meaning they won’t tell anyone. And they’re not there to judge you, so it’s important for you to be honest.

However, if you think you might be infected with HIV, you will need to wait up to three months after unprotected intercourse before getting tested. The standard blood test for HIV measures for something called “antibodies.” Antibodies are created when you get a particular infection. It can take three months to develop HIV antibodies, so you’d need to wait that long after your last sexual encounter to get an accurate test. Just remember, if you have unprotected oral, anal or vaginal sex again, you need to set the clock back to zero and start counting from there to get up to three months.

What if I test positive for an STD? What happens next?

Some STDs are curable, which means it will completely go away, and others are treatable, which means you can treat the symptoms but you will always have the STD itself. So if you test positive for an STD then you will either be given a prescription for medication that will cure the STD, or medication that will treat the symptoms of the STD.

Here are two examples:

• If you test positive for Chlamydia then you will be given a prescription for an antibiotic that will cure this case of Chlamydia this one time. You will still be able to get Chlamydia again. You can read about STD prevention tips here. 
• If you test positive for herpes you will always have herpes, but you can talk to your doctor about some of the very helpful medications on the market that can help treat the symptoms of herpes. You can also join support groups for people with herpes to help you cope and prevent transmission to others.

What if I test positive for an STD? How do I tell my partner?

This is never an easy conversation, but it is a very important conversation.

If you don’t fear physical or emotional harm from your partner, then make a plan to tell him or her as soon as you are ready. You could talk to someone else about it first and use the conversation to practice what to say to a partner. You could journal about what you want to say. You could practice in a mirror. You could write your partner a letter to get down what you want to say.

But eventually, you need to find a way to tell your partner, either face-to-face or in a note or e-mail. It may be really hard at first, but they deserve to know because it affects their health, too. This is also a good time to get some emotional support from a trusted friend, adult or caregiver while you go through this process.

If you fear that your partner will harm you, then consider other ways to tell him or her that can be done safely. You could send an anonymous e-mail to tell him or her to get tested (as a mysterious ex-partner, for example). You could also seek a safe way to leave the relationship, and then tell your ex over the phone to get tested, so that you aren’t in harm’s way.

You can read more about talking to a partner here.

What if I test positive for pregnancy? What do I do next?

If you’re pregnant, you have three basic options:

1. Abortion
2. Adoption
3. Parenthood

Making this very difficult decision takes a lot of soul-searching and information gathering. You have to make the choice that’s best for you, whatever that is. Don’t make a decision because you think it will please your parents, your partner or anyone else. This is your choice.

It’s a good idea to talk to a trained counselor at a family planning clinic. They can help you sort through the pros and cons of each option and explore the solutions that would work best in your life. To find a clinic with counselors who will talk to you about all three options, call Planned Parenthood at 1-800-230-PLAN, visit their Web site at www.plannedparenthood.org or check in you phone book under "family planning."