STD and STI testing and treatment online in Puerto Rico

STDs, also called STIs (sexually transmitted diseases or infections), are common and treatable. According to the CDC, they often cause no symptoms, so you can have one without knowing. That's why testing makes sense after a new partner, if a partner has an infection, or just for peace of mind.

You see Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD, a general practice physician licensed in Puerto Rico with several years of emergency-department experience. No judgment, in English or Spanish. Doctor online 24/7: video visits any hour, from a private place.

Here's how it works:

If you need a test at no cost, the CDC has a locator for free or low-cost testing, and the Puerto Rico Department of Health offers STI and HIV testing at its CPTET centers. We gathered them, with the phone number and links, in our guide to free STD testing in Puerto Rico. With us, the visit has a published price and the lab bills the tests separately; what you get is a doctor who evaluates you, picks the tests, goes over the results with you and treats you if appropriate.

Book a visit if you notice unusual discharge, burning when you pee, sores or blisters on the genitals, genital warts, genital itching or pain, irritation at the tip of the penis, pain in the testicles or pain during sex. Book one too if you have no symptoms but had a possible exposure. A fishy-smelling discharge may be bacterial vaginosis, an imbalance of the bacteria in the vagina; according to the CDC, a new partner or multiple partners raise the risk, and the doctor evaluates and treats it too.

The CDC recommends that everyone ages 13 to 64 get tested for HIV at least once, and that all sexually active women under 25 get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea every year. The doctor decides with you which tests fit: for example chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis or trichomoniasis. Some use a urine sample and others a blood draw. More on lab orders and, for HIV, our guide to HIV testing.

Treatment depends on the infection and is decided by the doctor following the CDC's STI Treatment Guidelines. Many STIs are cured with medicine; others, such as herpes or HIV, are managed with treatment.

Partners matter too. For chlamydia, for example, the CDC recommends that partners from the last 60 days be evaluated and treated, that you avoid sex until 7 days after single-dose treatment (or until a 7-day course is finished) and until your partner is treated, and that you retest about 3 months later. The doctor helps you plan how to tell them.

Hormonal birth control doesn't protect against STIs; the CDC recommends condoms for that. If you also want a method to prevent pregnancy, see birth control. If you had sex without protection or a condom broke and you are worried about pregnancy, read our guide to the morning-after pill: the sooner, the better.

If you want to prevent HIV, the doctor also evaluates whether HIV PrEP is right for you, with the lab tests the CDC calls for: an HIV test, creatinine, hepatitis B and STI tests, then follow-up every 3 months.

If you are a man who has sex with men or a transgender woman and you had syphilis, chlamydia or gonorrhea in the past 12 months, the CDC (2024) recommends doxy-PEP: one dose of doxycycline within 72 hours after sex to prevent those bacterial STIs. The doctor works out with you whether it is appropriate. Neither one replaces PEP: if you had a possible HIV exposure in the last 3 days, go to the ER.

In Puerto Rico the age of majority is 21. So if you're under 21, a parent or legal guardian signs the consent, stays on camera for the whole visit and shows photo ID. Our lawyers are reviewing the consent rules for minors in these visits; if anything changes, we'll update this page.

If you think you were exposed to HIV in the last 3 days, don't wait for an appointment: go to an emergency room or urgent care center. According to the CDC, preventive treatment (PEP) must start within 72 hours. If you were sexually assaulted, go to the emergency room or call 911.