How painful is the STD exam for guys?

I have had urethral swabs taken twice. They are a bit uncomfortable but nothing terribly painful. I think the needle stick for the blood draw is worse.

Never had one. Docs in my area prefer to just do it via the pee-in-a-cup method. They did take a finger stick for HIV testing though. I'm free of STD's! 😃

I've been given urethral swabs on lots of occasions as part of STD screenings - 'painful' isn't quite the right word, but it's certainly extremely uncomfortable - and it means your penis is a bit sore for the rest of the day.

I think I was 19 when I first had it done - even though I knew from friends that having a swab inserted into my penis was inevitably part of the test, it was still an unpleasant surprise - the sensation of the swab going in...

I should add, as a gay man, I am usually required to get a throat swab and a rectal swab too - the throat makes you gag a bit, the rectal swab is something you can hardly feel!

I have never had one before. I had a friend who went to the clinic because of pain when passing urine and discharge from the penis. At the clinic he had swab put into his urethral and it was like fire passinthrough his urethra.

Would the pain/severe discomfort then not be partially because of an infection? And with a non-infected, healthy organ there be far less?

I've had the old fashioned exam. It's not comfortable and stings a bit but pain is subjective. What was mild to me may need anesthesia for you. I'm sure the presence of any UTI would exacerbate the discomfort, but only if the distal urethra was involved.

I have had a swab inserted for an STD check. Wasn't the best feeling in the world but almost wasn't too bad either. Was only a bit awkward when it happened because I was erect and the doctor had to hold the swab in while he held my penis too.

Thats true

Just had it done in play exams. Stings a bit, but it's a pleasant "hurts so good" kind of thing.

What do they use in play exams to make it sting? I’ve tried a tips... just feels weird! Lol

What do they use in play exams to make it sting?

The swabs doctors use for this test are thinner, longer and less 'fluffier' than 'q tips' you'd buy in a shop. When you get it done, they push the swab a few centimetres inside your urethra. I guess the stinging sensation is from the dry swab making contact with the sensitive inside of your penis.

Never had one. When I was in Vietnam with liberties there, in the Phillipines & in Japan, if we experienced "the drips" (gonorrhea), we simply went to the corpsman aboard ship for a shot of penicillin. No test needed. Bangkok (a 5 day R&R stop) was the place the most guys got it.

Had it done years ago, it's painful!!!!!

I've no need for a check now but from what told its all urine and blood, you don't even get your penis out!!

Had mine at a county free clinic rather than my regualr HMO. Mine wasn't really painful per se, but it stung like a motherfucker when the swab first went in. The funny part was when my attractive, middle-aged, blonde female examiner was casually holding my limp penis in her gloved left hand for a good minute while rummaging around in a drawer for supplies with her right.

Not arousing in the least, but that part was kinda funny.

Ive never been to an STI clinic myself but have had friends who have been. They say you just answer some questions about your sexual relationships and then urinate into a cup, and the results come back 3 days later, but if you think you may have been infected they give you a course of medication to be on the safe side and tell you not to sleep with anyone for a few days. One lad I know said the most embarrassing bit was seeing this lad he works with and doesn't really get on with sat in the waiting area but then I guess your both there for the same reason.

The only swab I’ve had was rectal. A little weird but it is what it is lol. Definitely doesn’t hurt. The blood and urine was the other tests with a bunch of questions.

It only takes a few seconds. The thing that they don’t tell you is that it will sting the first one or two times that you piss afterwards.

How deep do they insert it? Do they actually twist it around?

Procedure dictates insert on cm basically you insert so the full sample collection bud at the tip of the swab is inserted and rotate one complete circle . Given advancement in urine testing for bacterial stis swab usually isnt required unless patient is high risk and we want to check for antibiotic resistance.

Thanks for your reply, Bob! I never had this done, but I think that would be pretty scary. How do guys react? The full circle rotation doesn't sound like much fun...

I find them to be pleasant

Dont have any experience for STD exam, but i want to try that. But necessary this exam for male?

I had it done one time by my primary doctor. Even though she informed me every step of the way, I hated it.

I didn’t really find it painful just kind of embarrassing to have to stand there naked while a doctor or nurse sticks a big q tip up your urethra. The sti clinic here always has interns and nurse practitioner trainees so it’s almost always someone much younger.

The only swab I’ve had was rectal. A little weird but it is what it is lol.

In my experience, a rectal swab is routine; as soon as the doctor knows you’re gay, they want to swab your rectum. Like you say, you barely feel it (unlike the urethral swab).

Even if you haven’t been penetrated (i.e. taken another man’s penis inside you), you get asked if you’ve taken part in any kind of anal contact, like fingering or rimming. If the answer’s ‘yes’, you’re asked to take down your underpants, lie on your side, and the swab is inserted.

I didn’t really find it painful just kind of embarrassing to have to stand there naked while a doctor or nurse sticks a big q tip up your urethra. The sti clinic here always has interns and nurse practitioner trainees so it’s almost always someone much younger.

I agree on how it is kind of embarrassing. My doctor had be stand there naked too while he stuck a big q tip up my urethra and then held it in place while holding my penis for about a minute.

Hey man - this isn't quite true:

its all urine and blood, you don't even get your penis out!!

If you're even just going for a routine test, they still prefer to examine you. After the urine and blood tests, they ask if you'd be willing to be examined, which means penis out.

If you're considered high risk, or you've got even a suspicion that you may have caught something, you definitely have to take your pants down.

Unpleasant and uncomfortable. A large swab inserted into my urethra fairly deeply then a twist and rub. Yea right up there with getting a cavity filled ha! 😃

So, from a practical standpoint if someone is low risk how often should they have these done? I'm pretty positive that I'm not going to get HIV because it's a fragile virus, but there are some that are made of sterner stuff, but still incidental contact may not be enough to warrant checking.

The swab is a test for Bacterial STI's not HIV, so clamydia gonorrhoea , they are much more easily transmitted with casual contact and I have seen cases where they were transmitted when a condom was used for the penetrative part of the encounter but not the fore or post play.

The urine test is highly accurate so the main purpose of the swab is to check for antibiotic resistant strains of the bacterial STI's mentioned above. Usually the swab is only done if an individual is at higher risk of actually having an STI such as a sexual partner of theirs tested positive or they lead a high risk life style or antibiotic resistant strains of the infection are common in a community . Some clinics that specialize in STI's still do the swab on all male patients as a matter of standard practice however this is becoming more rare.