HIV/AIDS Awareness. A father’s choice.

Archive for the ‘Resources’ Category

Confidential HIV Testing

Are you clear about the difference between “Confidential HIV testing” and “Anonymous HIV testing?”  Confidential HIV testing is not the same as anonymous HIV testing.  With confidential HIV testing, a record will be created to identify who you are.  Anonymous HIV testing prevents others from knowing you have had the test or the results.—A person is normally given a type of “secret” code or number that cannot be associated with who you are.  Regrettably, a number of insurance providers take the stance that even being tested for HIV indicates that you are at high risk, no matter what your own reality is.   As crazy as it seems, this is how many insurance companies operate.   The American government since 2006, however, has recommended all American citizens should be tested as part of their regular health care, such as an office visit.  This is true, regardless of an individual’s at-risk status.

In 2010, HIV rapid tests are available to the majority of Americans. Before the rapid ones were perfected, test results could take weeks to be returned.  HIV rapid tests can provide a result in less than twenty minutes.  If an HIV rapid test shows you test positive, then you will be tested automatically with an additional, even more precise test, to make certain you don’t have a “false positive.”  This false positive response means that in an extremely small number of cases, there has been an error in the testing, making the results show up incorrectly as positive when you do not have the virus.

All states offer confidential HIV testing, but almost 20 percent of them do not offer anonymous HIV testing as an additional option.  If you live in Idaho, Iowa, Nevada, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, or Tennessee, you might choose to use an HIV at home test.  There is only one HIV at home test approved by the  Food and Drug Administration at the present time–the Home Access HIV-1 Test System, available as an over-the-counter article at most drug stores  The FDA approval indicates the Home Access HIV-1, has a proven accuracy that cannot be provided by other home test kits that are available over the Internet.  With this at home “kit,” you will be shown how to collect a small sample of your own blood.  You will then mail the sample to a designated clinical lab.  In 72 hours, you can contact a phone number provided by the kit, to  call in for the results, using the anonymous code which keeps your identity a secret.

HIV AIDS Treatments

If you’re like a lot of people who have been diagnosed with HIV, one of your first questions was probably about HIV AIDS treatments.  You’re not alone.  Treatment for AIDS HIV has greatly advanced from the start of the HIV AIDS pandemic.  At that time, AIDS was considered an automatic death sentence.  For over a decade, people living with HIV have been provided a whole new class of drugs that have proven to be effective in keeping many healthier and productive.

Currently, treatment for HIV AIDS has a focus on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART.     Treatment for AIDS HIV is often referred to as a “drug cocktail” because it can contain three different types of medication that act in combination to be most effective. 

This type of treatment for HIV AIDS has made a major difference in People with HIV surviving and thriving since the late 1990’s.  You should also be pleased to know several new types of drugs are currently “in the works.” 

At the present time, treatment for AIDS HIV does not include a vaccine, although there have recently been some hopeful studies with a particular experimental vaccine.

It’s important you know HIV AIDS treatments can also include “Alternative Medicine” which can be helpful in addressing some of the symptoms of HIV.  These alternative HIV AIDS treatments do not “cure” the disease, but can greatly improve a person’s quality of life.  The Bastyr University AIDS Research Center has been funded by the National Institute of Health’s Office of Alternative Medicine to do long-term research on five program areas of Alternative Medicine used to treat people with HIV.  These include nutrition, traditional and ethnomedicine, energetic therapies, pharmacological and biological therapies, and bioelectronomagnetic medicine. 

image courtesy of liljohnroberts.wordpress.com

Unfortunately, a number of herbal preparations often used in some types of Alternative Medicine can have a negative interaction with specific HIV related medication.   Herbs that can cause problems when taking HIV medication include garlic and St. John’s wort. This is why it is vital to let your physician know what sort of herbs or herbal medications you are taking or are may consider taking. 

image courtesy of anniesremedies.com

image courtesy of utsa.edu

Do you know your HIV status? The medical establishment believes over one million Americans are HIV positive, but only about one in four know their status. Many, who are positive, do not ask for their outcomes, even when they are tested. A 2000 study found that almost one in three never returned to be told their test results.

Understandably, health care providers consider HIV testing to be a major concern. Medical professionals currently say being tested as soon as possible with the expectation of early intervention with medication can prevent or postpone HIV related infections.

image courtesy of cdc

1985 saw the first AIDS HIV test to be licensed. The rapid tests,  easily available in 2010, can provide you information in less than 20 minutes. These began to be used in 1992. The first home use AIDS HIV test became available in 1996. This home test needs a self-collected blood sample which will you mail to a lab. The procedure will take approximately 72 hours, and then you can call a central number  to get your results by giving the code that comes with the test.

This secret code allows an anonymous HIV test. A great number of people choose an anonymous HIV test, since they honor their privacy. A number of insurance providers, before the health reform attempts by the Obama administration, will refuse coverage for what is considered a pre-existing condition.

HIV Test Centers

Are you looking for HIV Test Centers? If you are, it s important to know nine states do not provide anonymous HIV tests. These are Idaho, Iowa, Nevada, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee. If you call one of these states home, then instead of going to your local HIV Test Centers, you may want to use a home based test, or chose to use the services of an adjoining state.