HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus to give it its full title, is just a special type of virus, known as a retrovirus, which attacks your body's immune protection system via the CD4 cells which are found in the blood and would normally be properly used to fight off infection. Whilst the retrovirus moves through the human body, it stops working and then reassembles the DNA in your body's cells, so making copies of and spreading the'bad'DNA. As more and more cells are affected, and so the immune protection system becomes weaker and weaker until eventually it stops working altogether, leaving the human body vulnerable to fatal diseases and infections. Although there is no cure for HIV, there are treatments available that really help most people to call hiv screening relatively normal lives with the virus, but obviously key to receiving treatment is understanding that you have HIV in the first place and that means having a confidential HIV test.

 

How is HIV transmitted?

 

HIV is passed from person to person via bodily fluids. Although in some cases it's transmitted through the sharing of needles by intravenous drug abusers, it can be passed from mothers for their unborn children; can be contracted through accidental needlestick incidents; and can be spread via contaminated blood products. Undoubtedly the most common method for HIV to be transmitted, however, is through unprotected sexual contact, including through oral and anal sex. Both homosexuals and heterosexuals are at an increased risk from receiving the virus, which makes it needed for anybody who could potentially came into connection with a carrier to have a confidential HIV test in order to avoid spreading the virus further and so they and any other sexual partners can seek treatment.

 

What's the connection between HIV and AIDS?

 

When the human body reaches the stage where it can no longer provide any immunity against disease or infection and so the in-patient develops a life-threatening illness such as cancer, pneumonia or tuberculosis, this is known as AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Essentially, AIDS is merely the advanced or late stage of HIV. Those who have a confidential HIV test and take advantage of many new treatments for HIV that have been developed in more recent years can often decrease the spread of the virus and extend their endurance greatly. Without such treatment, HIV is likely to spread a lot more quickly and the AIDS stage is reached much sooner.

 

What does a confidential HIV test involve?

 

Typically, a confidential HIV test simply involves having a little bit of blood from the arm for testing, although in certain instances saliva or urine can be used. The test itself looks for HIV antibodies in the blood, saliva or urine and basically if they're found, this indicates the clear presence of HIV in the system. Antibodies are merely produced by the human body to try and fight against the virus, nonetheless it takes some time because of this to happen. Typically, antibodies is likely to be present within 90 days of being subjected to the virus, but it could take as long as half a year for there to be sufficient levels to exhibit up in the test. Anyone finding a negative result within 90 days of potential exposure to the virus is therefore advised to have a further confidential HIV test half a year after the final activity which might have generated infection to produce absolutely certain they are clear.