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Medical Health Services

Immediate medical attention may be necessary to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infection and possible pregnancy. Within 24 to 48 hours the most evidence can be collected at a hospital emergency room; however, some evidence can be collected for up to 72 hours. Do not bathe or shower, change clothes, douche, brush teeth, urinate, defecate, etc. Bring a set of clothes to change into after the exam. The hospital might want to keep some or all of the clothes worn during the assault for evidence. Preserving evidence is critical for criminal prosecution.  Even if you're not sure you want to prosecute, you might want to consider an evidence exam to collect and store physical evidence in case you do decide to prosecute at a later time. 

The following locations have specially trained sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) on staff. 

Within 72 hours the survivor can be treated prophylactically for certain STDs and within 120 hours for pregnancy.

After 72 hours, still encourage the survivor to seek medical attention. It is important to make sure no internal damage was done. Also important is follow-up testing for STDs such as HIV.