June 27
th was National HIV Testing Day, an annual
event meant to encourage greater dialogue and action around discovering your
HIV status. Answering the question of your HIV status can be a potentially
anxiety-filled process, yet is an important step in ensuring your future well
being and peace of mind. Our HIV&AIDS Initiative intern Eliana took the
opportunity of National Testing Day to get tested, and she documented her
experience to take the mystery out of HIV testing:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines
recommend that all people age 13-64 get tested for HIV at least once in their
lifetime as part of a routine health exam, and that those with greater risk
factors be tested more frequently. The CDC estimates that as many as 1 in 8
people living with HIV in the United States are unaware of their positive infection
status, perhaps because they have never been tested or have been infected in
the time since their last test. Being unaware of your HIV status inhibits the
ability to seek treatment and can perpetuate HIV transmission to others. However,
knowing your HIV status enables you to remain healthy and protected if you test
negative or to begin treatment and halt transmission to others if you test
positive.
In the 35 years since HIV was first reported in the United
States, amazing strides have been made in our understanding of the virus,
prevention methods, and treatment options, ensuring that a positive HIV test
result can be the first step towards care.
Buying the Test
In the spirit of following the CDC’s HIV testing
recommendations, as well as seeking to understand the emotions triggered
through the process, I decided to embark on my own HIV testing journey leading
into National HIV Testing Day.
The first step in my testing experience was the physical act
of going out to purchase the test kit. As I walked into the pharmacy section of
Wal-Mart, I silently prayed that I wouldn’t have to ask a pharmacist to grab me
a test, nor need them to point out the tests on the floor. To my delight, the
tests were readily accessible, next to other preventive test devices and sundry
medications. I just wanted to buy my test and get out, which I accomplished
easily enough.
At the check out, the cashier was prompted to ask me my age,
as the test required that the purchaser be age 17 years or older. This
seemingly arbitrary age of 17 years is because the clinical trials for the test
did not include enough people under 17 to allow researchers to confidently determine
that those younger than 17 years could receive accurate results from this
particular brand.
Taking the Test
Once I finally had my test kit in hand, I was ready to find
a comfortable, private place and take the test. I had a friend with me to help
guide me through the process and to be a sounding board as I verbalized my
various thoughts and emotions in the process. The actual testing procedure was
surprisingly simple, and clearly laid out in the instructions accompanying the
test kit. I swabbed my gums, placed the sample in the testing fluid, and then
just had to wait. During the twenty minutes required to receive an accurate
result on the oral test my friend kept me distracted and talking, and the next
thing we knew, it was time to read my results.
Learning the
Results
Again, the test kit spells out the process exceedingly well,
so there was no mistaking the meaning of my test results. Literature included
in the kit offers next steps to take, whether your test comes back positive or
negative. For me, the one test was sufficient as my results came back negative,
and I’m not engaged in activities that heighten my risk of infection.
For others, next steps may include seeing their physician to
confirm their diagnosis and start treatment, or simply waiting several months
and re-testing. The at-home oral HIV test I used detects HIV antibodies, not
the virus itself, so if testing was administered too close to possible
infection, the body may not have produced antibodies yet, and would thus show
as a negative result. For this reason, it is recommended that those engaged in
high-risk behaviors be tested more frequently so as not to miss the potential
presence of HIV antibodies in their systems.
Overall, the process of taking an at-home HIV test was
surprisingly simple and quick. It doesn’t take any special skills to go buy the
kit, gather a trusted friend to see you through the process, and follow the
easy to understand instructions and follow-up in the test kit – and you can
know your status in 20 minutes! Answering the question of your HIV status is
the first step in granting you peace of mind and equipping you to take action
to promote your health.
In home HIV tests are available at your local drugstore. If
you would like additional support in getting tested, you can contact your
healthcare provider or locate a testing site at
https://locator.aids.gov. Saddleback Church
also offers free HIV testing by appointment – for more information call
949-609-8555 or email
HIV@saddleback.com.