The control of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in remote rural communities would be enhanced by a sensitive self-administered method for the detection of asymptomatic infection. Results of conventional methods for the detection of STDs were compared with results of tampon-collected specimens analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for 480 women. Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis were detected by routine methods in 4 (1%), 14 (3%), and 41 (9%) samples, respectively, while PCR detected these organisms from 52 (11%), 26 (5%), and 75 (16%) tampons, respectively. The detection of each organism was significantly greater by PCR in tampon-collected samples than by routine conventional methods (P < .01). Discrepant results were confirmed by separate primers in 40 of 48 specimens for N. gonorrhoeae, in 11 of 12 specimens for C. trachomatis, and in 31 of 32 specimens for T. vaginalis. Tampons tested by PCR provide an acceptable and sensitive method for detection of STDs in women living in remote areas.