Your result
Making sense of your result
Getting a result can bring up a lot of feelings. Whatever it says, there is a clear next step — and a clear end. Most people are through this in a couple of weeks.
If your result is negative
A negative result usually means nothing was found. Two things to keep in mind:
- Timing matters. If you tested soon after a possible exposure, it may be within the window period — the gap before a test can detect an infection. You may be asked to test again (see "I want to get tested" for the timing).
- Staying negative. If you'd like to keep it that way, see "I want to prevent this" — condoms, vaccines, PrEP, and regular testing.
If your result is positive — the whole path, start to finish
A positive result is manageable, and it ends. Here is the entire journey, so nothing is a surprise:
What it means. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, and syphilis are curable — the infection is cleared with treatment. HIV and herpes are very treatable and managed long-term. You did the right thing by testing.
Treatment. Usually straightforward — often one course of antibiotics, and for some infections a single dose or one injection. The clinic explains your medicine and when it's safe to have sex again (commonly 7 days after treatment for chlamydia/gonorrhea, and until partners are treated).
Telling partners. Recent partners should be tested and treated so it isn't passed back and forth. You are in control of how this happens — you can tell them yourself, use a ready-made message we can give you (a letter/email or a text, with no name needed), or, for some infections, have it done anonymously without your name through the health unit. Telling partners protects them and stops the cycle; it doesn't expose you.
Public-health follow-up (for some infections). See the box below — this is confidential health support, not something to fear.
A repeat test later. For chlamydia and gonorrhea, testing again in 3–6 months is recommended, because catching it again is common. Gonorrhea and syphilis are also re-checked after treatment to confirm they're gone.
Cleared. Once treatment is done (and, where needed, the re-check confirms it), you're through it. For the treatable long-term ones, you settle into a simple routine that keeps you healthy — and with HIV, once the virus is undetectable it can't be passed to partners (this is U = U).
What "reported to public health" really means
Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV are reportable — the clinic shares the result with the local public-health unit (Durham Region Health Department). This surprises people, so here's what it actually is:
- It is confidential health information, handled by public-health nurses. It is not shared with the police, immigration, or your employer, and no one is in trouble.
- Its purpose is to help stop spread and support you — including offering to notify partners without using your name.
- You may get a call from a public-health nurse offering help. It's routine, kind, and on your side.
(Herpes and HPV are not reportable; a couple of others depend on the province.)
Treatment and support are here, and there is a clear finish line.
How to arrange this at AHC: you can book an appointment with your Ajax Harwood Clinic provider, or come to our after-hours clinic. AHC is a family practice with after-hours care — we are not a walk-in clinic for people who are not AHC patients, and we do not take outside referrals for STI care.