There are currently more than 1 million Americans who have already been infected with HIV. It is estimated that one-quarter of these people do not even realize that they have already been infected. These Americans can then unknowingly spread the virus to others as well as impede their own future health.
Testing is essential to be able to provide those who find out they have the HIV infection through a positive test result to then begin receiving the necessary medical care in order to help them live longer and fuller lives.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends all people between the ages of 13 and 64 should get tested for HIV.
Everyone is encouraged to get tested. You may find your local testing areas by visiting the website at www.hivtest.org or by calling 1-800-CDC-INFO.
Certain behavioral risk factors are more prevalent to increase your chances of getting HIV. Contact the website or phone the CDC for further details.
It should be noted that possible exposure to HIV infection can take differing amounts of times to show up in the body by the testing conducted.
This is commonly referred to as the "window period" and it can start as early as 2 weeks and range to 8 weeks for the most common exposures to show up on a test. The average time is 25 days.
However, it is important to realize that in very rare cases, an infection can take up to 6 months from the time of exposure to show up on an HIV test. This is why testing should be utilized before engaging in any sexual activity with a new partner, including oral sex.
In addition, just because your HIV test results are negative does not mean that you sexual partner is also negative, because HIV is not necessarily transmitted every time a sexual activity occurs.
More testing and counseling programs are needed in at-risk communities. Some are already currently being provided from places of worship to outreach community centers. Many of these locations offer, free, confidential, and/or anonymous HIV testing to the public.
