It is now recommended that everyone 13 years old and older should get tested for HIV at least once. If a young person is having sex without protection (e.g. not using condoms), has a new partner, has or had an STI, or has other risks for getting HIV (such as IV drug use, or is a man who has sex with men) they should get tested every 6-12 months. Ask your health care provider how often to get tested and whether you should consider taking PrEP medication to prevent HIV. Not everyone who is infected with HIV has symptoms or feels sick, so getting tested is the only way to know HIV status.
The number of new infections in young people (1 in 5 new infections are adolescents and young adults) makes it very important that everybody gets routine testing. Deciding to get tested can be the hardest part, so give yourself credit for taking the step to get tested. Testing is important for sexual health and to stay healthy.
Order a free HIV Self-test Kit
HIV self-test kits are available for free to any mailing address in Alaska. Tests are shipped directly and discreetly to you. It’s the comfort of knowing, regardless of your access to a health care facility.
What is an HIV test like?
There are many places to get an HIV test, such as a health care provider’s office or a special HIV-testing clinic. Generally, testing facilities also share information about HIV, risk factors for HIV infection, and the types of different tests available. There will be time to ask questions and talk about any concerns about getting tested. Ultimately, testing is your choice.
How does the HIV test work?
HIV is diagnosed using 2 main tests:
Blood Test (4th generation immunoassay)
This type of blood test may take 1-2 days up to about 1-2 weeks to get the results, depending on where the blood was drawn. Blood is drawn once from the arm and sent to the lab to be tested. A 4th generation test can find the HIV virus as soon as 2 weeks after infection, although if you have had risk/exposure to HIV within that window of time a retest in 2-3 months is recommended to get a definite answer. The 4th generation test, the standard test these days, looks for both antibodies and antigen (a piece of the virus). Almost all medical providers use this blood test. Although rarely, some medical providers may use an earlier version of an HIV blood test that takes longer to detect HIV after infection (a window period of about 6-8 weeks). For possible risk/exposure, talk to a health care provider or tester about which HIV blood test they offer.
Rapid Test (finger stick test or mouth swab)
This test can be done in the office and results will come back the same day. The tester will prick the fingertip to collect a droplet of blood, which the tester will mix in a solution. A test panel sits in the solution and gives results in 20-40 minutes. A rapid HIV test will be able to detect an immune response (antibodies) to HIV about 6-8 weeks after infection. If a rapid test is positive, a tester or doctor will do a standard (4th generation) blood test to confirm HIV status. It is important to know that there are three types of results that can come from a rapid test: invalid, non-reactive, and reactive.
Another option is self-testing. Some drug stores sell HIV tests that can be performed at a preferred time and place. Self-tests take a sample from either a finger stick or the mouth. If the test does show the presence of HIV, further testing is needed to confirm HIV status with a standard blood test at health care or testing facility. These tests are antibody tests and will likely not detect infection before 6-8 weeks.
Testing sites, like clinics, offer confidential testing. All the information is private. When testing at a testing center, only the testing provider can see the result and the patient or client’s approval is needed to share results with a primary care provider. In a health care setting, confidential testing does not mean it does not go in the medical record. If tested in a Tribal facility or clinic, results will go into the medical record unless special effort is made to prevent that. In most situations, a primary care provider should know about a positive HIV test to ensure effective treatment.
Types of HIV Test Results
An invalid result means that the test did not work properly and it will have to be repeated
A non-reactive result means that no HIV antibodies were detected. Antibodies are your body’s response to a virus or infection. This would find an infection which occurred 6 weeks prior to a rapid test or before that. A non-reactive test means that the person is HIV-negative. With a 4th generation test, the standard in medical facilities, a non-reactive result means no HIV antibodies or antigen (viral piece) is found. Again, this does not pick up infection that happened less than 2-4 weeks before the test.
A reactive result is considered a preliminary positive and means that HIV antibodies were found, or rarely a ‘false-positive’ test. A second test, done by your health care provider, needs to be done using a blood draw to confirm the first test’s results.
If testing too soon after HIV exposure, a “false negative” is possible. This is because it can take between 1 and 12 weeks after infection for the HIV test to become positive, depending on the type of test used and the body’s immune response to the virus. It may be recommended to repeat the test repeated after 3 months to ensure a truly negative after a risky exposure.
Where can I get tested?
Testing is available at a primary care provider’s office or a local testing center. Find a nearby local testing center on the CDC HIV testing resource site, GetTested.cdc.gov. This site has a feature a zip code feature to see the names and addresses of nearby testing locations.
