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The Stamford Health Department: HIV Prevention Services offers free confidential and anonymous HIV counseling and testing at a number of different locations throughout Stamford. Call for an appointment at (203) 977-4387.
Rapid HIV Testing Available
- The Stamford Health Department HIV Program is offering the newest and latest advancement in HIV Testing called OraQuick Advance. The OraQuick Advance test provides HIV test results in 20-30 minutes and is performed using an oral swab. Anyone taking an OraQuick Advance test must be able to wait for their result. This test is ideal for individuals who in the past have not considered an HIV test because of anxiety over a blood finger-stick/needle or for those who felt waiting at least a week for a result was too long. As is the case with all HIV testing, the OraWuick Advance test provides both a positive or nagative test result. With OraQuick Advance a positive test is considered preliminary and a confirmatory test with an OraSure swab will be done immediately for verification.
What is the HIV Antibody Test?
- The HIV antibody test tells if you have been infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The test does not tell if you have AIDS or if you will develop AIDS in the future.
- The test looks for HIV antibodies in your body. If antibodies are found, you are infected with HIV. You can pass HIV on to other people even if you look and feel healthy.
Should I Take the Test?
- You may want to be tested if you are at risk for HIV infection.
You are at risk if:
- You have ever shared needles or works to inject drugs or vitamins or for tattooing or piercing.
- You have ever had unprotected sex (vaginal, oral or anal).
- You have been a sex partner of someone with HIV or someone at risk for HIV.
- You have had many sex partners, or have had sex with someone who has had many partners.
- You have ever been sexually assaulted
- You have ever had a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
Why Should I Take the Test?
There are many good reasons to take the test:
- If you are HIV positive, you can learn how to keep your immune system strong.
- Testing can reduce your anxiety and may help you make changes to decrease your future HIV risk.
- If you are thinking about getting pregnant, testing can help you look at the risk of passing HIV to your baby.
- If you are pregnant, there are medicines you can take to reduce the baby’s risk of getting HIV.
- You will know how to protect yourself and others from HIV infection.
- You will know if it is safe to donate blood, organs, or sperm to others.
What About Counseling?
- Most test centers give you counseling before and after the test.
Counseling before the test should:
- Help you understand what the test can and can’t tell you.
- Explain if anyone else can find out your test results.
- Help you understand and reduce your risk for HIV infection.
- Help you make a plan to deal with either a positive or a negative test result.
- Give you names and phone numbers of people and agencies you can call if you have questions while waiting for your test results.
Counseling after the test should:
- Help you understand what your test result means.
- Help you prevent the spread of HIV and reduce your HIV risk
If you test positive, counseling should help you:
- cope with stress
- find ways to tell others
- find out about taking care of yourself
- refer you to medical care and emotional support
What If I’m Negative?
- A negative test means no HIV antibodies have been found in your body at this time.
This means that either:
- You are not infected with HIV; or
- You are infected, but your body has not yet made HIV antibodies. (It can take up to 6 months after infection for antibodies to show up.)
- If you had sex without a condom or shared drug needles in the 6 months before you took the test, the counselor may suggest getting tested again.
- Until the next test, you should not do anything that might put you or others at risk for HIV infection.
- A negative test result does NOT mean you can’t get HIV in the future.
What If I’m Positive?
- A positive test means HIV antibodies have been found in your blood because you are infected with HIV.
- This means you can give HIV to other people during vaginal, anal or oral sex. You can also pass the virus if you share needles and works to inject drugs or vitamins, or for any other reason. A pregnant woman may pass the virus to the fetus in her womb, or to the baby during birth or breastfeeding.
- Positive test results are confirmed by a combination of tests that are almost 100% accurate.
- If you test HIV-positive, find a doctor who knows about HIV right away. Early treatment can help you stay healthy longer and help slow the progress of the disease.
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