Living in the US, you must already know about how sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are taking a toll on the lives of many. Even though most common STDs are harmful, HIV or human immunodeficiency virus is one of the most harmful ones and is non-curable. This is one of the reasons why you need to be alert always, ensuring that you’re not harboring the virus. That being said, if you want to know where to go for same-day STD testing, you should be able to get your answers by the end of this post.
An overview of HIV
HIV is one of those STDs that lead to a life-threatening condition called AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). The way this happens is that when the virus enters your body, it reduces the body’s ability to fight against diseases and infections.
The way a person can get infected with HIV is either through sexual conduct, sharing needles, breastfeeding, or during pregnancy. When you leave this infection untreated for a long time, you might be giving way to AIDS, thereby weakening your whole immune system.
Stages Of HIV
When it comes to HIV symptoms, these occur during different stages of HIV. For instance, when you are in the acute HIV stage, you might undergo symptoms like night sweats, diarrhea, rashes, joint pains, headache, or fever, among others. These symptoms will be so mild that they’ll go unnoticed in most cases, This doesn’t mean that the virus is leaving your body. In fact, this is the stage where the virus load is at its highest peak, thereby leading to stage two or chronic HIV.
During the chronic HIV stage, the virus is very much present in your body and even in your white blood cells. Even at this stage, the symptoms or even the infections might not be as severe. You should also know that this stage can go on for many years if left untreated, leading to severe infections and other diseases, which is the third stage.
When HIV reaches the third stage of infection, called symptomatic HIV infections, the immune cells in your body will try and fight off the virus. It’s at this stage that you’ll develop symptoms like shingles, diarrhea, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, fever, or even pneumonia.
Once the infection reaches the last stage, HIV progresses to AIDS. Although there are anti-viral treatments for people with HIV that stop it from progressing to AIDS, leaving it untreated will harm you. Having said that, if you were to leave HIV untreated for about ten years, there are chances of it turning to AIDS. This will then go on to severely damage your immune system. Some of the symptoms associated with this stage include bumps or skin rashes, loss of weight and appetite, chronic diarrhoea, recurring fever, chills, sweats, and unusual lesions on the mouth or tongue.
When you have even the slightest suspicion that you may have contracted HIV or are at risk, make sure to check with your doctor as soon as you can. This way, you can relieve yourself of the stress and anxiety that’s stopping you from living your life to the fullest.
Same-Day HIV Testing
If you’re wondering whether you can get tested for HIV on the same day, the answer is a big resounding yes! The only thing you need to know is where to go for same-day HIV testing.
Nowadays, there are many STD clinics in and around the city. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a hassle to find a clinic where you can go for same-day HIV testing. However, you need to make sure that you make an appointment first and wait for the code that will be sent to your email. Once you have this code, you can head to the nearest STD clinic. Make sure that you go to the partner lab of the clinic you choose while booking the appointment online.
You could also be wondering whether you can get tested at home for HIV or not. Well, the good news is that you can, and that too with the HIV rapid test! All you need to do is order the rapid test online, which is FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved. Remember that you need to be more than 17 years old in order to perform the test.
With this rapid HIV test, all you need to do is swab your mouth on the inside. Once that’s done, you need to place this swab in a developing solution and wait for 20 minutes. The appearance of one line means that the result is negative. However, if there are two lines, it means that you are HIV positive. Make sure that you confirm your result at a lab if it’s positive.
This rapid at-home HIV test is one of the best ways in which you can quickly get yourself tested. The best part is that you don’t need to book an appointment online or visit the lab. By just sparing less than five minutes of your time, you can get yourself tested and get the result within 20 minutes. There couldn’t be a better way to perform same-day HIV testing than this.
Since HIV doesn’t show symptoms even at the early stages, you shouldn’t take it lightly. By avoiding getting yourself tested for HIV, you’d only be harming yourself and that of your partner. Therefore, make it a point that you get tested for HIV at least once a year, according to what the CDC recommends. Only then will you be able to take fast action if need be.
If you do happen to be HIV positive, know that the world’s not coming to an end! With proper attention and medication, you’ll be able to recover yourself and prevent the virus from inflicting further harm to your body. So, instead of wondering where to find same-day HIV testing, start ordering your rapid HIV test kit or book an appointment at an STD clinic this instant!