HIV Facts
What is HIV?
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. It is Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Usually person has the virus for months or years before any signs of illness appear. It slowly weakens the body's ability to fight of illness. People with AIDS can have series infections and cancers. These illnesses make them very sick and can eventually kill them.
What are your risks?
There are often no symptoms with HIV. So you can't tell if you have HIV by how you feel or look. But you can figure out whether you are at risks. Think about anything you are doing now or have done in the past that might have exposed you to HIV.
You are at risk if you:
· Have had sex with a man or woman who has had other partners.
· Have shared injection drug needles, or had sex with someone who has.
· Had a blood transfusion before 1985, when HIV testing began, or had sex with someone who did.
You are probably not at risk if you:
· Have had no sex, or have been monogamous, had sex with only one partner who doesn't have HIV and who only has sex with you.
· Have not shared needles to inject drugs or for any other reason, and have not had sex with anyone who has.
· Did not receive a blood transfusion or blood products before 1985.
People don't get HIV through everyday contact with people at school, work and home or anywhere else. People don't get it from clothes, phones or toilet seats. HIV isn't passed on by forks, cups or other things used by someone who has it. People don't get it from food made by an infected person. People don't get it from sweat, saliva, tears or a kiss. Bug bites don't give people HIV.
The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to have an HIV test.
The HIV Test.
The HIV test looks for HIV antibodies in your blood. If you have antibodies, your test results will be positive. This means you are infected with HIV.
If you don't have antibodies, your test will be negative. This means one of two things:
You don't have HIV.
You have been infected with HIV, but your body has made antibodies yet.
Rarely, a test result is neither negative nor positive. When this happens, the test must be done again.
The Window Period:
It can take as long as 3 to 6 months after infection for the body to make HIV antibodies. This 3 to 6 month period is called the "window period". To be sure your test is accurate, it must be taken at least 6 months after any risky behavior.
What happens in testing?
At the test center:
A trained professional, your tester, will show you what to do. Your tester will give you a special OraSure pad with a handle. Using the handle, you place the pad between your cheek and gum. Rub it gently back and forth until it is moist. Then leave it in place for two minutes. After two minutes, your tester will ask you to put the pad into a vial. The pad goes to a medical lab for testing and the results will be available to you in 7 to 10 days. You will have to bring your test number and stop back in person to obtain the test results, as they are not given over the phone.
Most test centers provide counseling when you get the results. Counseling helps you understand what the test results mean. It also helps you learn how to prevent the spread of HIV, whether your results are positive or negative.
To learn more about testing for HIV Antibodies with OraSure
After a positive test.
A positive test result means you have HIV infection and you can benefit from special medical care. New treatments can keep you healthy, even though you have HIV. See a doctor, even if you don't feel sick. A doctor can help you stay healthy and live longer. Other tests can tell you how strong your immune system is and what treatments might be best for you. Some people stay healthy for a long time with HIV. Others become ill more rapidly. Be careful not to pass HIV on to others.
If you test HIV positive, find a health care provider who knows about HIV right away. Early treatment can help you stay healthy and can help slow the progress of the disease.
Services for people with HIV include help with health care, income, food and legal services. Some AIDS service agencies have benefits counselors who can help you find out what is available.
After a negative test.
A negative result means the lab found no HIV antibodies in your sample. If you had no risks for HIV in the six months before your test, you probably don't have HIV. A risk is contact with blood, semen, or vaginal fluids from a person who may have HIV. You can stay free of HIV by following prevention guidelines. Talk to your health care provider.
If you had any risks for HIV in the six months before your test, it is possible that you have HIV. This is because can take six months after you are infected to make HIV antibodies. Get tested again in 3 to 6 months to be sure you're not infected. Practice safe sex. Ask your health care provider to help you understand what your result means for you.
Types of testing.
Ask your health care provider how they will keep your test results private. Most clinics provide either confidential or anonymous testing.
Confidential testing means the clinic keeps your record secret from everyone except health professionals. In some states they must report results to the health department.
Anonymous testing means no one asks your name. You are the only one who can tell anyone else your results. Anonymous testing is not available everywhere.
Ways to get HIV.
HIV spreads through blood, semen, and virginal secretions from infected people. People get HIV from contact with these fluids. Contact can come from unsafe sex. It can also come from used needles and syringes. Infected women can pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding. Some people who receive blood products from 1978 to 1985 got infected blood. Now blood banks test all blood for HIV before they use it.
People don't get HIV through everyday contact with people at school, work and home or anywhere else. People don't get it from clothes, phones or toilet seats. HIV isn't passed on by forks, cups or other things used by someone who has it. People don't get it from food made by an infected person. People don't get it from sweat, saliva, tears or a kiss. Bug bites don't give people HIV.
How to avoid getting infected.
Avoid unsafe sex. Many of the things that feel good are safe because no blood, semen, or vaginal secretions get into the body. This includes hugging, cuddling, kissing, fantasizing, masturbation and massage.
Use latex condoms. Reduce your risk by using a latex condom (rubber) from start to finish every time you have sex.
Use spermicides. Spermicides found in birth control foams and jellies are best along with condoms, not in place of them.
Use only water-based lubricants. Lubricants containing oil, like Vaseline petroleum jelly, can damage a condom and cause it to break.
Never share needles. If you shoot drugs seek help to stop.
Don't mix alcohol or other drugs with sex. They might cloud your judgement and lead you to unsafe sex.