• Chlamydia

This month, we focus on the views from the far end of the swab. Two papers explore patient experiences of and attitudes to sampling for STIs. Richman et al1 report an innovative study in which they compared three different self-testing devices for women to use in self-sampling for human papilloma virus. Interesting results emerged, including women's dislike for multiple turns of a brush, and a sense that vaginal lavage was messy. These attitudes may vary across cultures, and here they varied even between rural and urban American women in a single state. Apoola et al address the longstanding fears of men about urethral swabs.2 Only a few years ago, Bradbeer and colleagues reported continuing eyewatering fears of ‘the umbrella’ in the Christmas BMJ.3 In a randomised …