The objective: A sexual health check-up

Why you haven't done it before? Embarrassment, concerns about confidentiality and current relationships, an aversion to bad news. Or perhaps you've heard the enduring myth about someone shoving an inverted umbrella up your penis.

Why you should do it now? It's painless and reassuring, it safeguards your health, there are legal dictates on confidentiality, it's inexpensive and infections like chlamydia are at close to epidemic levels.

"Left alone, STIs [sexually transmitted infections] can absolutely affect your fertility," warns Dr Chris Bourne, Director of Clinical Services at Sydney Hospital's Sexual-Health Centre.

And that's before you even go into the ugly consequences of gonorrhoea, syphilis, herpes, hepatitis and HIV for you and your partners.

How to go about it? Visit a doctor, a sexual-health clinic, a family-planning clinic or a youth-health centre.

The check-up involves nothing more than answering questions about your health, sexual history and practices, before providing urine and blood samples and, in some instances, a swab.

If you test positive for anything, you will be expected to inform your recent partners. Men with multiple partners should be tested annually.