Can you take an STI test when you have your period?

I was lying under a blanket, enjoying a chill Friday evening when my phone buzzed. "Hey, you might wanna get tested," the text read.

I sat bolt upright. The message was from the guy I'd been sleeping with. And the test did not refer to a COVID lateral flow. "What do you mean?" I said, my heart pounding in my chest. "I've just...