HIV Testing
60What you should know about HIV Testing.
Today with all the new medicines available to treat HIV, there are somethings you should know, HIV as complicated as it may seem, is treatable. Most importantly HIV can develop into AIDS if not treated early in its stages. The first step in prevention is to get tested for the HIV antibodies. There is a test it is called,
The OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test. It checks for HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, in a person’s blood. The test detects antibodies to HIV-1 found in blood specimens obtained by fingerstick or venipuncture. As is true of all HIV screening tests, a reactive test result needs to be confirmed by an additional, more specific test.
When testing a finger stick specimen, the fingertip is cleaned with alcohol and pricked with a lancet (needle) to get a small drop of blood. The blood is collected with a specimen loop and transferred to a small plastic vial containing a premeasured volume of developing solution, into which the sample is mixed. The testing process is the same for a whole blood specimen obtained by venipuncture. The specimen loop is inserted into the tube of blood after the tube has been inverted to ensure the blood is well mixed. The loop is then inserted into the test vial. Results of the test can be read in as little as 20 minutes. Although, the OraQuick takes only 20 minutes it is important to know, during this 20 minutes it's important to ask the person administering the test any questions that you may have. There is no question to small. It is important to know the window period of infection. This is the period in time in which a person had engaged in a risk behavior. A person who had come into contact with HIV will not develop antibodies for a period of 3-6 months. This means that if you test negative after having unprotected sex, or other activities before this period you must get tested again. Let's say that John/Mary had unprotected sex with someone and wanted to get tested a month after. He/she gets tested and the test is non reactive( negative) he/she must get tested 2-6 months after to be sure he is not infected.
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Comments
This is true "not one size fits all" for every person. It is important that a person who may have been infected know, that there is some time between exposure and development of HIV antibodies, for accurate test results.
TrueCures says:
3 months ago
There is not one truth printed from science or medicine about AIDS or HIV.