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Why
you might want to have an HIV Test
There are a number of reasons for considering
having an HIV test.
1. Engaging in behaviour that puts you at risk of HIV infection
Having unprotected anal sex (i.e. fucking or getting fucked
without a condom), unprotected vaginal sex, or sharing injecting
equipment are all activities that can put you at risk of HIV
infection by allowing bodily fluids (blood, semen, or vaginal
fluid) to enter your body, and possibly your bloodstream. If
the bodily fluid contains HIV, this can lead to HIV infection.
2. If you’ve never tested for HIV before
Not knowing your HIV status is your choice, but knowing that
you are HIV positive or HIV negative can provide you with options
for taking care of yourself and others. If you are in fact HIV
positive, then early diagnosis and treatment can help you stay
healthy. Knowing your HIV status is part of being in control
of your health and will probably cause less anxiety than not
knowing.
3. Signs and symptoms
Some people who are in the process of becoming HIV infected
— the process is referred to as seroconversion — have
a collection of signs and symptoms known as a "seroconversion
illness". A seroconversion illness may include a rash,
fever, aching body, fatigue or a simple persistent flu-like
illness. Many of these signs and symptoms of a seroconversion
illness are easy to overlook, are often vague and can be similar
to the symptoms of other illnesses.
4. Your last test was some time ago
How often you get tested is up to you. If you were tested some
time ago and have been practising safe sex since, it is still
recommended that gay men should test again every 12 months,
as condoms are not always 100% effective, and you may not always
know whether a condom has broken during a sexual encounter.
5. Regular relationships
If you are in a relationship and you and your partner are considering
having sex without using a condom, you both need to go through
a process of having a number of HIV tests and continuing to
use condoms until you can both be certain that neither of you
has HIV.
It is also important that if you and your partner have agreements
about sex outside the relationship that you stick to them. If
the agreements are broken, then you need to discuss them in
an honest way with each other and you may need to return to
using condoms until you go through another round of HIV testing.
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