Medtrix

Almost every week during my rural posting, I met couples that came for premarital testing.

For this particular couple, the lady was in her thirties and the guy in his forties. The guy was just a hyperactive person. I gave them the cost of the premarital tests the doctor requested for and he flared up. He started asking me the reasons for all those tests, that money was not the problem but he didn’t understand why we would write all those tests for them.

The lady he came with just kept quiet, she didn’t try to calm him down…it’s like she already knew him well. I was the one trying to calm him down. I told him that every test the doctor wrote there was important and they had to do all of it.

He pointed to a test “HBsAg” and asked what it was for. I explained to him the best way I could. After much talk, he paid for the tests and I took their samples.

Fast forward to the next day when they came to take their results, the guy was positive to HBsAg (Hepatitis B). He was just quiet, it was as if the result humbled him. The same test he pointed to, asking the significance, was the same he tested positive to. The lady was quiet too, I guess she was already thinking “Am I sure I can marry him with this?”

I told them to ensure they got back to the doctor so that he could counsel them and tell them the next step to take.

I’ve had couples who come for premarital testing a week or few days to their wedding, some end up not even collecting their results because they are busy with wedding preparations. Others say things like “We already know our blood group and genotype, we are just doing this because the church asked for it”.

What if as you’ve prepared for wedding and invited guests, you come for late premarital testing and find out your significant other is HIV positive or that the genotype is different from what you’ve always thought? Would you have time to make the right decisions?

Blood group and genotype are not the only tests required for marriage. Basic tests in this part of the world are:
•Blood group
•Genotype
•HIV
•Hepatitis B
•Hepatitis C
•Syphilis

You can decide to run tests for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), others go further to do semen analysis for the male and transvaginal ultrasound for the female, and also run male and female hormonal tests.

The importance of premarital testing cannot be over emphasized. If your church requests for it or not, go to a good hospital with your to-be spouse and let the doctor know what you came for. Run all the tests given to you, and get back to the doctor with the tests results.

In our case study, the lady has to get a Hepatitis B vaccine, if she hadn’t, and the guy placed on drugs. Hepatitis B vaccine is available at government health facilities.

Next week, we would look at genotype in premarital testing and its importance.Hope you enjoyed your read.

Stay blessed!

Maureen