How to get tested
Step-by-step guides to getting tested: where, when and how to prepare, how long to wait for the result and what it means. From a nurse home visit to specialised tests — semen analysis, HIV, HPV and H. pylori.
Ways to get tested
Testing at home: what can be done and how it works
A nurse home visit covers almost all venous blood tests and swabs. What you can really do at home and what to check when booking.
Read →Urgent tests: what is really done in 2–4 hours
Fast and slow methods, turnaround by test type, and when paying extra for speed is worth it.
Read →Paid or under OMS insurance: what you can get tested for free (Russia)
What Russia's compulsory medical insurance (OMS) covers, when it makes sense to pay, and how to combine the two.
Read →Specific tests
Semen analysis: how to give a sample and what the result shows
Abstinence, preparation, WHO reference values and next steps when results are abnormal.
Read →HIV test: how to get tested and when the result is reliable
Types of tests, the window period after exposure, free and anonymous options.
Read →Syphilis tests: what to take and how to read the result
RW, RPR, rapid tests, TPHA — why there are two classes of tests and why a single “positive” is not a diagnosis.
Read →HPV test: how to get tested and what the result means
Screening, preparation, the difference between PCR and Digene, next steps after a positive test.
Read →H. pylori: how to get tested and which test to choose
Breath test, stool antigen or antibodies — accuracy, preparation and stopping omeprazole.
Read →