This is the most important practical difference from England. Wales does not use SH:24 or Sexual Health London (SHL). The home testing platform for Wales is Sexual Health Wales, found at shwales.online.

The model is functionally identical to England's postal testing: fill in a short online questionnaire, receive a plain-packaged kit, swab at home, post it back, and get results by text.

If you are in Wales and you order from SH:24 using an English postcode, you may be declined or sent the wrong kit. Use shwales.online — it is the correct portal for Welsh residents.

🩸 What the Kit Tests For

Shwales.online covers HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea.

If you are a man who has sex with men, the questionnaire will offer 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 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. It includes 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 frustrating and messy.

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: Shwales.online 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 LHB sexual health clinic. Gonorrhoea and syphilis require injections, and an HIV diagnosis requires venous blood draws and specialist care—none of which can be managed by post alone.

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