HIV self-testing - know the facts and have your say
For the first time, home HIV self-test kits with the internationally recognised CE Mark are now available. These are not the “self-sampling” kits that have been around for a while (the ones when you take a sample and send it off to a laboratory for testing). They are kits you use to do your own test at home and get your own result.
See the National AIDS Trust “know the facts” leaflet for further information about home self-testing. Want to comment or raise an issue? Join the anonymous discussion.
HIV self-testing - know the facts and have your say
on 27th April 2015
Share your experiences of using the test
on 27th April 2015
This discussion and ideas exchange site has been specially set up for people to share their experiences, their ideas and their questions while keeping their privacy and anonymity.
Join the discussion now! BioSure
Work on 14th May 2015
It might be helpful to understand.......
AIDS is a condition that develops when your immune system has become very badly damaged by the HIV virus and can no longer fight off infections. Nowadays, because treatments are so good, it is very unusual for someone with HIV to go on to develop AIDS.
The only way to find out if you have HIV is to test and the earlier HIV is diagnosed and then treated, the better it is.
This is why we say 'HIV is just 3 letters, it's not a sentence' because antiretroviral drugs (ART) have made HIV a manageable long term condition.
Hope this helps
BioSURE
Work on 05th May 2015
Unfortunately there is no straight, simple answer.
The test can only detect the presence of antibodies to HIV, not how far the infection may have affected a person's underlying health. So the test cannot tell whether an infection has progressed to a stage that would be classified as AIDS.
If someone did a test and it was negative, it would be very unlikely that the person had HIV (and, therefore, very unlikely that they had developed AIDS. There is almost always a relatively long time between infection and the development of AIDS).
If the person performed a test and the result was positive, firstly, they should contact a healthcare professional for confirmation and then access the excellent care that we have for dealing with HIV in the UK, through the NHS. If detected in the early stages of infection, treatment is incredibly effective.
But in both cases if someone remained concerned our advice would be to contact a healthcare professional.
Anxious
Used on 04th May 2015
If you have already developed AIDS, will there be a positive indication?