Asking the right questions

These are some of the questions your doctor may need to ask you to help work out what’s causing your symptoms and how to manage them. You may find it easier to give clear answers if you’ve thought about them in advance.

These questions are just designed to help you discuss your symptoms and any concerns with your sexual health. They are totally confidential (and not recorded on the website, only on your PC), so there’s no need to feel uncomfortable about answering them. The most important thing for you is that you give the doctor as much information as possible so that you can get the best treatment available.

Click here to fill in your answers, then print them out and take it to your doctor.

1. What is your reason for attending today? (e.g. pain, discomfort, concern about your sexual health or that of others)

2. What symptoms have you noticed? (things like redness, tingling, itching or dull pain)

3. When did you last experience these symptoms and how often do they tend to happen?

4. How long did they last?

5. Why are you worried about them?

6. Have you tried to treat these symptoms yourself? If so, what did you treat them with?

Here are some more specific questions. It may turn out that some of them aren’t relevant, but you may want to be prepared to answer them just in case. You don’t necessarily need to fill in all the answers – just thinking about them may help you when you visit your doctor.

7. Where exactly have you had symptoms?

In your vagina
On your penis
On your testicles
On the skin around your genitals
Around your anus
On your buttocks
On your thighs

8. Have you ever had genital symptoms previously? (Don’t worry if they don’t seem related to the current ones, or even if you think you know what caused them.)

9. Have you ever been diagnosed with an STI (sexually transmitted infection)?

10. Do you have a regular sexual partner?

11. If you do, does your partner:

have genital herpes?
get cold sores?

12. How long have you been together?

13. Does either of you have sex with other people as well?