HIV Do it yourself tester?

mark115

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My friend told me that he never wears protection coz he tests his partners and himself regularly with a Do It Yourself tester..is that really effective in determining if a person is HIV + or not? does it really work?
 

nikebasketball18

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HIV testing is something much too serious to be done without the profesional expertise of a medical doctor. I highly suggest that if you or any of your friends are in doubt of their status that they consult a medical doctor. Some places test for free.

I found this website about HIV testing on Google: National HIV and STD Testing Resources
 

MidwestGal

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they exist but it could take months for someone to show up positive. I use to work in a lab and had a couple of needle sticks. They would test the patient for HIV, Hep, and other things. We would get tested then, one month, three months, six months, or however long if the patient was high risk.

Truthfully, just HIV testing is not enough. Your chances of conversion to HIV from an infected partner is somewhere around 1 and 300, while Hep is closer to 1 and 30! Also there are a lot of other STD's out there that can make you very sick or you could unknowingly pass them onto your partner.
 

MarkLondon

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Unfortunately it can take up to three months for hiv antibodies to show up in a test. During this period a newly infected person can have a high viral load and be very infective.
 

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It's not quite a do-it-yourself test, but:

Home Access makes an FDA approved home blood collection device. You don't test the blood at home; you send it FedEx to a testing center who tests it for you. The process is anonymous in that you submit only a number to the testing center and not a name, then retrieve your results by calling a 1-800 number and entering the number you gave.

It's not cheap, but I've used the test before and was satisfied with the results.
 

FuzzyKen

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These "quickie" tests are really never the way to go. It is also a problem in that the gestation period before HIV becomes easily detectable is so widely variable ranging from six weeks to as much as 14 months depending on the individual. In that time the person carrying can transmit the virus without any knowledge that they even are carriers.

In current HIV testing the most common test is what is called the "Eliza" test and though it has been referred to as accurate it does have it's problems and can give both false positives and false negatives. It is currently deemed about 80% accurate or in that area.

The next up the ladder is called "The Western Blot" test and that one takes the accuracy up another rung of the ladder. The Western Blot is sometimes run as a "back-up" to the Eliza test to try and make certain.

On occasion you have an Eliza say positive and a Western Blot say negative in succession. When this happens we drag out the really expensive stuff and go for the gold which is a search for live virus in the blood stream.

A great deal has been learned about HIV in the years we have been fighting it. The one thing that never seems to change however is the people who never learn that it is within their power to eradicate new cases of HIV and totally eliminate the spread of this retrovirus.

HIV spread these days is far less dangerous than the several varieties of hepatitis that are just as deadly over time as HIV. These are drug and treatment resistant and have the ability to destroy a liver very quickly. In addition to that the transmission rate for these varieties of drug resistant strains is much higher than that of HIV.

Unprotected sex in any case is just a bad idea because it opens the door for many things.

The falsehoods and myths in the community are astounding and even more astounding are the people who pride themselves in being "bug chasers".

Personally, I would refrain from any activity beyound a handshake with any individual who lives in a world of myth and delusion.

Play it safe at all times....................................
 

mindseye

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FuzzyKen -- HomeAccess isn't a "quickie" test -- the testing isn't done at home. What they sell is a puncture device and collection swab to collect the blood at home, to send to an ordinary medical lab for testing. HomeAccess is FDA-approved, by the way (source).

It's a good way for people who want to know their status but are fearful (perhaps because of stigma within their community) of visiting a testing center. It'smore expensivethan visiting a testing center, because the cost of sending the blood sample to the lab isn't shared with other samples sent in the same courier (and in many communities the cost of testing at a public health center is subsidized to encourage people to get tested). But you gain a little extra privacy for the price and for many people that's worth it.
 

Jovial

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I believe there are tests that someone that is knowledgeable could administer and get immediate results.
HIV test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The main problem is that someone that was recently infected would show up negative, so there is still a risk. That risk is still there if the person went to a clinic and got a test that takes longer to get the results from because they could have been recently infected. Of course using a self-test is better than just trusting someone.

Nucleic_acid_based_tests will detect an HIV infection about 12 days after an infection. This is what porno actors use. But they are expensive and (I guess) can't be self-administered.
 

B_Austin Blue

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I think an instant do it yourself HIV testing kit is illegal in Canada unless it is administered by a health care professional.

Morally it is just wrong - if someone uses the kit at home and they test positive, what sort of counselling is available right after the test tells them they are positive?

How alful is that?!
 

surferboy

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yah, just to reiterate what peoples have been saying. it takes a few months for the virus to show up on a test.

we do sell kits at walgreens, but it's not an instant thing, you have to mail a sample to some lab company.

also, your friend is an idiot brah. goin around having raw sex with random people? also, the way you make it sound, it's as if he has an instant test, which, to my knowledge, doesn't exist. so he's been lying to you, and possibly the peoples he's been seeping with
 

brinzaulsschwul

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HIV takes 12 weeks to become detectable in the body from the day of infection. Therefore any HIV test administered before then will show as HIV- (unless you are already infected and its detectable) During this period people are highly infectious as the virus gets established.

There are available commercially some really effective Rapid HIV testing kits (take 1 min) that can be purchased online that are just as effective as the Blood test taken at the sexual health clinic if used correctly. Would recommend any HIV+ test result is followed up by a visit to the sexual health clinic for a confirmatory test.

The Insti kit is one such and they are used to quickly determine the HIV status of someone who might require HIVPEPSE (Post Exposure Prophylaxis Sexual Exposure) Hope you all know what that is - high dose anti-retroviral drugs that try and eliminate any HIV that someone might have been exposed to following rape or condom failure etc and must be taken with in 72 hours and the sooner the better - most effective (about 80%) if taken within the first hour.

Many sexual health clinics, don't bother with the "30 minute counseling" session anymore and just give the client a printed message to read whilst waiting to be seen. If the test result is HIV positive then some counseling will be given and a thorough explanation about treatments and lifestyles. Remember HIV is not the death sentence it once was and people are expected to live a very long time.

Many people nowadays regard being HIV+ as an inconvenience. Personally, I want to stay HIV- so I always always use condoms and water based lube to protect the condom and me. I also use a new condom every 30 mins to keep maximum protection

Spongebobsquare, you did not say if your friend was male and gay, top or bottom because the risks are all different but of course it does only take once to get infected.

If you have been exposed to another STI such as gonorrhea, syphillis or chlamydia these infections increase your risk of getting HIV, as does having genital warts and herpes. Why? because your immune system is working on those infections and is therefore weakened - oh it's a fun world out there in sexland.

So not using condoms will eventually lead to an STI including HIV unless the gods are smiling on you and we know that's not happening because of the rapidly increasing rate of sexually transmitted infections, yes that includes HIV

World AIDS Day will soon be here December 1. so why not give someone you care about a packet of condoms and water based lube? This years theme is LEADERSHIP

Some guys don't use condoms because no one has told them about the different size condoms - nothing worse than having your meat chocked by a condom that is too tight or living in fear of it slipping off because it's too loose so give a size chart too - make it fun

Something as simple as the right size condom might make all the difference to your friend or the thought of an unwanted pregnancy and child support.

All the best
Brinz