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Sexually Transmitted Diseases

HIV Testing

HIV is a virus without any preference of sexual orientation, gender, race, or class. While certain pockets of the population may be more susceptible to getting HIV, it is important that anyone who is sexually active with more than one partner get tested. Other people who should be tested including those who: use injectable drugs; have unprotected sex with someone who uses or has used injectable drugs; have unprotected sex with a man who has had sex with another man; and those who have multiple sex partners.

Before getting tested, a “window period” or waiting period is recommended to receive an accurate HIV test result. Generally, it is a six-week to six-month period from the moment of your last unsafe sex encounter to the moment that you receive the HIV screening. This is the time your body uses to create antibodies in the blood stream, which signify exposure to HIV.

It is important when receiving an HIV test to ask what kind of test is being used. Whenever someone is screened for HIV, two types of tests are used.

A reactive test

A reactive HIV test indicates if HIV antibodies are in the blood (such as the Elisa Test). A reactive test may give a “false positive” reading to anyone with kidney or renal failure, to a woman that has had multiple pregnancies, anyone receiving the influenza vaccine, or to anyone that has received gamma globulin. When a reactive test has a negative result it means that no HIV antibodies were detected. But, in order to receive an accurate reading, the CDC recommends you wait six weeks to six months for the test. They further recommend that you either abstain from all sexual activity or practice safe sex in every sexual situation during that time, or then get a confirmatory test, such as the Western Blot Test.

A confirmatory test

A confirmatory test (such as the Western Blot) provides the HIV status of a person. A positive test result on a confirmatory test means that the person has been infected with HIV, has HIV antibodies in his or her blood, and can infect others.