The AIDS Test

No one can tell for sure if a person is infected with HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS, just by the way he/she looks, or by any symptoms that he/she has shown. The only way to determine whether a person is infected with HIV is to have an "AIDS" test. Here are a few things you should know about it :

1. It's not an "AIDS" Test

AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV. You can be infected with HIV only if infected blood, semen or vaginal secretions enter your bloodstream. After infection your body responds by producing HIV antibodies. The so-called "AIDS Test" is actually a test for these anitbodies. If you have HIV antibodies in your bloodstream you must also have HIV.

2. You have to wait three months after the time of possible infection before having the HIV antibody test.

It takes your body this long to produce HIV antibodies. So if you have a test before three months, it may show a negative result even if you are actually infected with HIV. We call this period the "Window Period". A negative result means that you were not infected with HIV up until three months before you took the test.

3. A positive result does not mean you have AIDS.

All it tells you is that you have the virus HIV, which can cause AIDS. It takes, on average, ten years after infection with HIV for a person to develop AIDS. Some people have been living with HIV for fifteen years or more and still show no sign of illness.

Although the "AIDS" test is the only way to find out whether you have contracted the virus, few things have to be considered before any decision is made. Talk to someone about it before rushing off to an AIDS test.

[Entrance] [Living Room] [Study] [Bedroom] [Kitchen] [Store Room] [Toilet] [Dark Room] [Mailbox] [Exit]

This page is woven by Spiderwoman
Last wove : Thursday, October 03, 2002

This page hosted by . Get your own Free Home Page.