HIV Testing HIV Antibody Test

You can typically have HIV testing as early as ten days after infection. The test for HIV is known as The HIV Antibody test. It is easier and cheaper to detect the antibodies for HIV than it is to search for the virus itself. Antibodies are the body’s response to the virus developed to attack the virus that is damaging the body.

HIV testing detects the virus (Human Immunodeficiency virus) that causes AIDS, it does not detect or confirm the presence of AIDS which may or may not develop at a later time. To test for AIDS you will need to have a CD4 test that shows a count of less than 200 CD4 per micro liter of blood. It is a separate test and having a HIV positive test does not mean that you have AIDS.

A person with HIV can typically live for 10 years without displaying any symptoms in that time period. This is however, dependant on diagnosis and subsequent treatment of the HIV. Without treatment, HIV attacks the body’s immune system rapidly and AIDS may develop in as little as a year after infection and usually within 10 years at the most.

This makes it even more important to get yourself tested for HIV if you suspect that you may have been in a situation that could infect you with HIV. It is better to be safe than sorry and if you are HIV positive than antiretroviral drugs are available to significantly slow down the HIV virus and potentially extend your life for approximately 20 years.