Northern Ireland uses a robust postal home testing service. The official portal is sexualhealthni.info, which directs users to SH:24, the commissioned provider for the region.

The model is highly efficient: complete an online questionnaire, receive a plain-packaged kit by post, swab at home, post back, and get results by text message.

Home kits are for asymptomatic screening only. Symptoms — such as discharge, pain, or rashes — require a physical clinic appointment. Contact your local GUM clinic immediately if you are symptomatic.

🩸 What the Kit Tests For

SH:24 covers HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea.

When ordering, ensure you identify as a man who has sex with men. The questionnaire should automatically offer you a three-site gonorrhoea and chlamydia panel:

  1. Throat swab
  2. Rectal swab
  3. Urine sample

Take all three swabs. A urine test alone misses most gonorrhoea and chlamydia infections in gay and bisexual men, who frequently carry asymptomatic infections in the throat or rectum.

📦 How to Use the Kit

You will receive a discreet white box in the mail including instructions and return postage.

The blood collection (for HIV and syphilis) uses a finger-prick lancet. Squeezing thick drops of blood into a tiny tube can be difficult for some.

How to succeed at the finger-prick test:

  1. Hydrate: Drink two massive glasses of water 30 minutes before you start. Thick blood won't flow.
  2. Heat: Do 20 jumping jacks to get your heart rate up, then wash your hands in hot water for 3 minutes. Your veins need to be warm and dilated.
  3. Gravity: Stand up to do the test. Keep your hand pointing down, below your heart level.
  4. The Pierce: Use the side of your ring finger, not the sensitive center pad. Press the lancet firmly into the skin before clicking the release button.

📲 Results and Treatment

If your results are all clear, you will receive a text message within a few days.

If you test positive:

  • Chlamydia: SH:24 will assist with prescribing antibiotics, which can often be collected at a local community pharmacy.
  • Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, or HIV: You will be contacted directly and fast-tracked to your local HSC Trust GUM clinic. Gonorrhoea and syphilis require injections, and an HIV diagnosis requires venous blood draws—these cannot be managed by post.

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