HIV testing involves examining a sample of blood to see if it is infected with HIV (Human Immune Infiltration Virus) HIV is a reproductive that destroys certain cells of the immune system. These cells protect the body from diseases caused by bacteria, microbes, fungi, and other germs. When you lose so many immune cells, your body has difficulty fighting infections and other diseases.
HIV is spread through contact with blood or other body fluids from someone who has HIV. This usually happens during sex or by sharing needles or other objects used to inject drugs.
HIV is the seed that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS is considered the last and most serious stage of HIV infection. Without healing, HIV gradually degrades the immune system, leading to AIDS. With AIDS, your body has difficulty fighting bacterial infections that normally cause no problems in healthy people. These infections are called opportunistic infections and can be unsafe to live with. AIDS increases your risk of acquiring certain cancers.
Most people with HIV do not have AIDS; if you have HIV and take your HIV medications as prescribed, you will never get AIDS.HIV testing helps detect reproduction early. This helps initiate healing, maintain good health, and prevent the spread of HIV.
If you think you have been exposed to HIV, talk to your caregiver immediately about urgent treatment called PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) PEP can prevent HIV transmission if it occurs within 3 days of exposure. The sooner you start, the better; you should be tested for HIV after and after taking PEP.
There are three main HIV tests. They are all fairly accurate, but none of them can find HIV in your body immediately after infection. This is because it may take several weeks for the symptoms of HIV in your body to increase enough to show up on the test. The time between infection and when the test can find HIV depends on your body’s response to HIV and the testing pattern you have.
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HIV bone stade bone test looks for antibodies to HIV in blood, saliva (Coelom), or urine (PEE) HIV antibodies are disease-loving proteins produced by the immune system when HIV is present. Some people produce antibodies more often than others. An antibody test can find HIV antibodies 23 days after infection, but it can take up to 90 days before the body produces enough antibodies to show this test.
- The clinical test uses a blood sample drawn from a vein. In general, clinical tests find antibodies before infection more than other tests for HIV antibodies. Test results are usually available several days after the blood sample is drawn.
- Fast tests use blood from fingers, saliva, or urine. They give results in about 30 minutes.
- HomeTests includes a fast self-test kit with everything needed to collect and test saliva still offline; Postordertests takes a drop of blood from a finger and sends it to the lab for testing.
- Laboratory tests that use blood samples from a vein can show HIV infection 18 to 45 days after infection.
- The rapid test uses a drop of blood from a finger. This test can detect HIV infection 18 to 90 days after infection.
- With the home or mail-in test, you can take blood from your finger at home and send it to a laboratory for testing. As with rapid tests, these tests have a good chance of detecting HIV 18 to 90 days after infection.
- It is possible to be exposed to HIV and have the following symptoms
- Symptoms that look like the flu, such as fever, shaking, aches, and pains
- Extreme fatigue.
- Swollen lymph nodes (neck, groin, or underarm)
- Rash
- Soreness in the mouth
Other names: HIV/antigen antibody test, HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies and RH factor, HIV test, human immunodeficiency microbiome test, HIV-1 antidrug, HIV-P24.
What is it used for?
An HIV screening This test is used to determine if a person is infected with HIV. It can be set up as a simple test or used as a possible later influence to find out if you are infected with HIV.
If HIV is found in its early stages, medications can be taken to protect your health and prevent you from getting AIDS. And the medications can help prevent your HIV from being passed on to others.
Why do I need an HIV test?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone between 13 and 64 be tested for HIV at least once as part of their regular medical care.
If the risk of infection is high, you may need to test more than once. If your last HIV test was more than a year ago, you should be tested as soon as possible if you have HIV.
- Has vaginal or anal sex with someone who has HIV (HIV positive) or whose HIV status is not known.
- Has shared needles, sprays or other drugs with other drugs shared with drugs.
- Has traded sex for money or drugs
- Had a sexually transmitted disease (STD) such as syphilis
- Had sex with someone who did any of the above
If you do any of the above things regularly, you should be tested for HIV at least once a year Some people, including men who have sex with men (MSM), can benefit from being tested more often, depending on their risk. Ask your caregiver how often you should be tested.
If you are pregnant, your doctor can request an HIV test. It is possible to pass HIV to the baby through breast milk during pregnancy and delivery; there are medications that can be taken during pregnancy and delivery that are important to reduce the risk of HIV being spread to the baby.
What happens during an HIV test?
There are many places where you can be tested for HIV, including your doctor’s office, a clinic, or a testing program in your area or home. If you go somewhere to be tested, the employee or counselor will explain what samples are being taken and how they are being taken. If you are testing at home, you will need to follow all the instructions in the test kit.
- For blood from a vein, the health care professional will take care of the blood sample from the vein in your hand by bringing in a small needle. After the needle is inserted, a small amount of blood is collected in a test tube or vial. As the needle goes in and out, things get a little busier. This usually takes less than 5 minutes.
- For finger blood, the healthcare professional uses a special instrument (lancet) to stick out the finger and collect the blood sample. Follow the instructions that accompany the decrease set when collecting an individual’s blood sample and sending it to the laboratory.
- For saliva samples, the caregiver will clean along the gums with a special cotton swab. If doing a home test, follow the instructions to do this offline.
Need to prepare for the test?
No special training is required to perform HIV testing. When tested in a hospital or social program, the consultant can talk about the risk of HIV infection. Therefore, all questions can be written down in advance.
Was there any risk in the test?
There is a fairly small risk of HIV screening Testing. If blood is drawn from a vein, you may have a small sore or bruise where the needle is inserted, but most signs disappear quickly.
What do the results mean?
A negative test result means that virtually no symptoms of HIV infection have been found in the blood sample. However, this does not always mean that you do not have HIV; you may have HIV, but the test is still at a very early stage and you will need to be tested again later. Your care provider or HIV consultant can show you the results of the test and tell you themselves if testing is necessary.
Generally, if you have a negative result from a fast or home test and have possibly been exposed to HIV:
- 90 days ago or earlier, you can be sure that you do not have HIV.
- 90 days ago, you will probably need to be tested again later for HIV.
A positive test result means that the sample shows symptoms of HIV infection; unless tested by WET, further testing will be required to prove the HIV diagnosis.
- If you have been home tested, contact your own physician for further testing.
- If you were tested in the context of a clinic or social program, the testing site will arrange further testing for you.
If your further test is still positive, it means that you have HIV. Even if you are still healthy, it is important to start immediately with drug antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART cannot cure HIV, but it can reduce the number of microorganisms in your blood so that tests cannot detect them. if you are living with HIV, it is important to visit your doctor regularly for research and to test the effectiveness of the treatment.
Is there anything else I should know? HIV screening ?
HIV testing can be anonymous. This means that you do not have to give up your name when you do an HIV test. Instead, you will get a number. To get your test results, give a number instead of a name.
With permission of MedlinePlus from the National Library of Medicine.
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