Home Health Testing®

Q: What is AIDS?

A:AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a disease that limits the body's ability to fight infection. A person with AIDS has a very weak immune system, turning normally mild or rare diseases into potentially fatal conditions.

Q: What is HIV?

A:HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS.

Q: How can you tell if someone is infected with HIV?

A:Only with a blood test. A person can be HIV-infected for many years while looking and feeling healthy, with no signs at all of being sick.

Q: Who is most likely to become infected?

A:Anyone can become infected with HIV. HIV is transmitted sexually or through drug use by contaminated blood.

Q: How can I be exposed to HIV?

A:Unprotected sex with someone who is infected or sharing a needle or syringe with someone who is infected.

Q: What is unprotected sex?

A:Sex without a condom. HIV is found in semen, vaginal fluids and blood. HIV can enter the body through any type of sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal and oral sex.

Q: What about doing drugs?

A:Injecting drugs using a needle that has been used by someone else is risky because it can contain infected blood from that person.

Q: What are the ways to prevent or reduce exposure to HIV infection?

A:The best way to reduce risk is to always use a latex condom correctly for all sexual intercourse. If you are using injectable drugs, always use a sterile needle and never use somebody else's equipment.

Q: What exactly does an HIV test do?

A:Any HIV test checks your blood specimen for HIV-1 antibodies. The body creates antibodies to HIV when an individual becomes infected by the virus. By testing blood for these antibodies, a laboratory can tell if HIV is present.

Q: How soon do these antibodies show up?

A:In most infected people, the antibodies will show up in the blood within three months. In some people, it takes six months or longer. This is important because the test cannot detect recent infections. For example, if you became infected in January, you may not test positive until June.

Q: So you can test negative and still be infected?

A:Yes, there is a small window period of time when recent infections may not be detected.

Q: So what does a negative result mean?

A:It means that HIV-1 antibodies were not found by a laboratory in a particular blood sample.

Q: What does a positive result mean?

A:It means that HIV-1 antibodies were found by the laboratory in a particular blood sample and the individual providing that sample is infected. That individual is capable of passing the virus on to someone else.

Q: What does an indeterminate result mean?

A:It means a laboratory could not confirm the presence of HIV-1 antibodies in a particular blood sample. It could mean that an individual may be in the process of converting from being negative to being positive. It could also be due to other medical factors. In either case, it is recommended that the individual be re-tested.

Q: What does an insufficient result mean?

A:An insufficient result refers specifically to the Home Access® HIV Test system. It means that HIV-1 antibody testing could not be performed on the blood sample that was sent to the laboratory. This happens most often because there was not enough blood to test. If you use Home Access® HIV testing, make sure you follow all printed instructions regarding the collection of a blood sample.

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Home Health Testing® is a division of
AbDiagnostics, Inc.
914 Palmetto Ave
Melbourne FL 32901-4730
1-800-211-6636
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Last Revision Made 8/01/08