Sexually transmitted diseases can be very dangerous for the infected person and also for people with who they are sexually involved. It is essential to observe all the necessary precautions to avoid getting infected with HIV. However, what if someone gets infected? If one has an active sex life with multiple sexual partners it is a good idea to get an HIV test kit to get tested. There are many reasons for the perks of these home test kits for HIV.
Get a Self-Diagnosis
Often people feel intimidated walking into a clinic for an HIV test. The stigma is apparent and it makes people avoid taking the test at all. The availability of home test kits brings the chance of testing anonymously at home. The test kits are pretty simple to use by following a set of guidelines mentioned in the instructions. This increases the accessibility of HIV tests for people in different regions of the world.
What to Expect From the Results?
There are different types of HIV test kits available on the internet and in drug or medical stores. Every test has an accuracy rate for true negatives and true positives. Most of these kits have a true negative accuracy of 99.9%. Therefore, if one’s home test results reflect a negative they can rest assured that they are not infected. On the other hand, if the test results a positive it is necessary to get in touch with a health advisor or doctor. The patient might be required to take another STD test at the clinic.
When to Get Tested For HIV?
Although sexually transmitted diseases are hard to track, there are some obvious symptoms that one can look for. Some of the symptoms that people might observe in the early stages of HIV infection include the following:
- Muscle aches and fatigue
- Fever and chills
- Experiencing sore throat
- Night sweats
- Swollen gland and mouth sores
