STI symptoms, and why most people have none

Most STIs are silent

The guidelines put it plainly: 85–90% of people with chlamydia have no symptoms, and gonorrhoea in the throat or anus causes none in most people. Up to half of vaginal trichomoniasis infections cause none either. HIV can go unnoticed for years: a third of people diagnosed with HIV in Australia in 2025 may have been living with it for 4 years or more.

That’s why the Australian STI Management Guidelines (opens in new tab) recommend testing people without symptoms, rather than waiting for something to feel wrong. Only 16% of Australians aged 16 to 49 have ever had STI testing.

Symptoms STIs can cause

When symptoms do appear, they can include:

• unusual discharge from the penis, vagina or anus
• burning or stinging when you pee
• sores, blisters, lumps or a rash on or around the genitals, anus or mouth
• itching around the genitals or anus
• pain in the testicles, or in the pelvis or lower belly
• bleeding between periods or after sex, or pain during sex
• anal pain, or pain when you poo.

A syphilis sore is often painless and can be hidden inside the vagina, anus or mouth, so it’s easy to miss. Some people have a flu-like illness a few weeks after getting HIV, but many don’t.

It might not be an STI

Thrush, bacterial vaginosis, a urinary tract infection and skin conditions can all cause symptoms like these. They need different treatment, which is another reason to be examined rather than guess. Burning when you pee, for example, can be a urinary tract infection or an STI such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea, and only a test can tell them apart.

If you have symptoms

See someone in person at a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab), GP clinic (opens in new tab) or urgent care clinic (opens in new tab). They can examine you, take the right samples, including a culture swab where it’s needed, and often treat you on the spot. At-home testing is for people without symptoms, so it isn’t the right path while you have them.

Don’t have sex until you’ve been checked, and tell the clinic if a partner has told you they have an STI.

If you have no symptoms

That’s when regular testing does its job. Most sexually active people should test at least once a year, and some every 3 months. A new partner is also a good time to test. See how often to get STI testing.

How at-home testing works with Prickly

Prickly is an Australian at-home STI testing service for people without symptoms. It tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV, and a doctor confirms testing suits you before anything is sent.

• Request online. Complete a five-minute online request, or book a short call with a doctor – bulk billed with Medicare. Either way, a doctor confirms that at-home STI testing is suitable for you.
• Receive your equipment. Collection equipment tailored to your exposures ships the same or next business day in an unmarked mailer box with Australia Post tracking.
• Collect at home. Follow the included STI testing self-collection guide – swabs and urine for the lab, and, if you’ve added HIV testing, a fingerprick HIV self-test you read at home in 15 minutes.
• Post to the lab. Post your lab samples back the same day using the included prepaid return label – at any Australia Post Office, red street posting box or Parcel Locker.
• Get your results. A doctor reviews every lab test result and emails you privately. Telehealth follow-up included – with help accessing treatment and telling partners, if needed.

The same steps are on the home page under How it works, and fees are under Pricing.

When at-home testing isn’t right

See someone in person at a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab), GP clinic (opens in new tab) or urgent care clinic (opens in new tab) instead if you have symptoms or if you’re under 16. And if you may have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, don’t wait for a test – visit www.getpep.info (opens in new tab) or go to a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab) or emergency department (opens in new tab) as soon as you can. If something happened without your consent, 1800RESPECT (opens in new tab) is also available 24/7 for free, confidential support.