The Importance of AIDS Testing
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Acute HIV
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Acute HIV-disease, the period directly following infection, sometimes causes a flu-like illness (swollen lymph nodes, fever, aches and pains, nausea and loss appetite, skin rash) in some people. These symptoms, however, even if you go to a doctor, will not trigger an HIV diagnosis on their own.
Latency
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After acute infection, HIV enters latency, a period lasting on average about ten years during which time an HIV-positive person experiences no symptoms. Most people who contract HIV, contract it from someone who had no symptoms at the time.
Symptomatic HIV
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Many people only realize they are HIV-positive once symptomatic HIV, the stage after latency, occurs. By the time the first symptoms of HIV appear, severe damage has already been done to the immune system and the individual may have unknowingly exposed many people to the virus.
Testing
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HIVTest.org identifies the tests which are used to check for HIV; these tests, for the most part, screen for the presence of antibodies to the virus. Because of this, HIV tests only return a true positive if the individual has developed a detectable level of antibodies, which normally happens within the first month after infection but may take up to six months.
Treatment
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Knowing your HIV status is the only way to know if you should seek treatment for HIV. Knowing your status early means that you can control the virus more effectively with possible drug therapies and make lifestyle changes (smoking, diet, exercise) that can extend your health.
Prevention
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Knowing your status means that you can protect your partners from infection by consistently and correctly using condoms. In many places, it is illegal to sleep with someone without disclosing your HIV status if you know you are positive.
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