It is now recommended that everyone aged 13 and over be tested for HIV as part of routine checks every year. If you are sexually active or share needles, testing every 3-6 months or with a new partner is recommended.
Not everyone who is infected with HIV has symptoms or feels sick, so getting tested and knowing your status is the only way to know for sure that you are negative. It’s also important to get tested on a regular basis because when HIV is detected early, a person can start treatment right away before the virus does too much damage.
The number of new infections in young people makes it very important that everyone gets tested and retested if they engage in risky behaviours. Deciding to get tested can be the hardest part, so give yourself credit for taking the big step to get tested.
Here’s what a test looks like
There are many places to get an HIV test, such as your primary care provider’s office or a dedicated testing site. You will first receive information about HIV, risk factors for HIV and the types of different tests. You will have time to ask questions and talk about any concerns about the exam. It is your choice to take a test.
There are three main tests for HIV:
1 – Combination/Fourth Generation:
The 4th generation test, which is a type of blood test that takes about 7-10 days to get the results. This test is sensitive enough to detect HIV in your blood 2 weeks after a possible exposure. It is offered almost everywhere.
Both tests take about 20 minutes to get the results. This test will give you results 6 to 8 weeks after exposure.
- The blood test is a finger stick. a small amount of blood is taken from the tip of the finger and mixed into a solution.
- Oral test – a small amount of saliva is taken from a person’s mouth using a swab that looks like a toothbrush.
NATs detect HIV faster by looking for HIV in the blood. It may take 7 to 28 days for NATs to detect HIV. This test is very expensive and is not routinely used for HIV screening unless the person has had a recent high-risk exposure or a potential exposure with early symptoms of HIV infection. This test is not as readily available (it is often done by a lab if the Fourth Generation test comes back reactive).
If any of the rapid tests are positive, the Fourth Generation test (a blood test) is done to confirm that the person is HIV positive.
It is important to know that there are three types of results that can come from a rapid test: non-reactive, invalid and reactive.
- A non-reactive result means no HIV antibodies were found. This would find any exposures that occurred 6 weeks before or before the test. A non-reactive test does not mean that a person is immune to HIV in the future, only that they do not have the virus in their body at the time of the test.
- An invalid result means that the test did not work properly and should be repeated.
- A reactive result is considered a preliminary positive and means that HIV antibodies were found. A second test should be done using blood drawn once from the arm to confirm the result of the first test.
The Home Access Kit®: This test is approved by the Food Drug Administration (FDA). You can buy it at most pharmacies without a prescription. This is also a “finger” blood test. You prick your finger and place a drop of blood on a card that comes with the kit. You send the card to a laboratory and then you can get the results by phone in 1-3 days.
- Regardless of which test a person chooses to take, it is very important that you always receive your results.
The third and final part of the test is to get your results and talk about what those results mean for the future. Almost all testing sites in the state of Massachusetts offer confidential testing. A “confidential test” uses your name and some other identifying information. All this information is locked. Only the test provider can see this result, and only with your approval will the tester be able to share this result with your primary care provider if you choose.
The anonymous test does not use your name. It uses code names or numbers to identify your test and results. Different testing locations as well as different states have their own rules. Find out if the test is free and who will have access to the results before you go for a test.
You can be tested at your primary care provider’s office or at a local testing center. If you live in the US, find a local testing center near you on the CDC’s HIV Testing Resource website. This website has a feature where you can type in your zip code and get the names and addresses of test locations near you. Sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Originally published 2018-07-07 11:46:16.
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