HIV Home Rapid Testing

[Mcv69]

For the first time ever I did a HIV home rapid test yesterday. Simply prick finger put the blood into the test kit add solution and wait 15 minutes, almost similar to the ones you take from the local sexual health clinic. For $25 Aus dollars much better than waiting at the clinic and all that jazz. It says they are 99.6 % accurate. Has anyone ever used these before and what’s your opinions on them?? 

[PigBoyDallas]

I've used them before and they're available in the US too. I've had buds use them too as they're truly anonymous and you can do it in private with no one knowing. If you do get a positive result, try not to freak out as you're more likely to get a false positive than a false negative. If you get a positive result, then go to a clinic to get tested to be sure. I had a bud who got a positive result, and he went absolutely crazy, was messaging pretty much everyone he hooked up with regularly telling them to get tested. One of the guys he played with talked him through it and got him to go get tested at a clinic and sure enough, it turned out to be a false positive. 

[Diesel]

Do any UK guys have any experience or recommendations for similar anonymous home testing kits? Would appreciate knowing where stocked, pricing etc.

[toolman1966]

On 5/31/2022 at 1:37 PM, PigBoyDallas said:

I've used them before and they're available in the US too. I've had buds use them too as they're truly anonymous and you can do it in private with no one knowing. If you do get a positive result, try not to freak out as you're more likely to get a false positive than a false negative. If you get a positive result, then go to a clinic to get tested to be sure. I had a bud who got a positive result, and he went absolutely crazy, was messaging pretty much everyone he hooked up with regularly telling them to get tested. One of the guys he played with talked him through it and got him to go get tested at a clinic and sure enough, it turned out to be a false positive. 

I gotten a false positive too.  in the middle of covid, it took 2 weeks to get a clinic test, neg test.  I had accepted being positive with HIV in my mind, and part of me wishes I was positive now.

[cman54]

27 minutes ago, toolman1966 said:

I gotten a false positive too.  in the middle of covid, it took 2 weeks to get a clinic test, neg test.  I had accepted being positive with HIV in my mind, and part of me wishes I was positive now.

I did an at home test last summer about 2 months after I got fucked twice by a poz no meds. guy.  It showed neg. I was a bit disappointed to .

[toolman1966]

56 minutes ago, cman54 said:

I did an at home test last summer about 2 months after I got fucked twice by a poz no meds. guy.  It showed neg. I was a bit disappointed to .

Over the years, I have taken loads from guys who claim to be poz too.  I can't explain it.  The toxic load has to get into your blood. I guess my skin is thick!

[Bruce999]

I've been off meds for a while now and bought a test kit from Amazon and tested negative. 

[BootmanLA]

8 hours ago, toolman1966 said:

Over the years, I have taken loads from guys who claim to be poz too.  I can't explain it.  The toxic load has to get into your blood. I guess my skin is thick!

This is a seriously dangerous oversimplification of how HIV infection works.

HIV infects cells of many, many different types, and it's not necessary for the "load" (ie semen) to enter your bloodstream.

Rather, what's needed for an infection to take place is for the VIRUS to enter a susceptible cell and begin replicating. It's perhaps *easier* for HIV to do this through the bloodstream because the circulatory system circulates cells throughout the body, thus spreading the virus particles and giving them multiple opportunities to replicate via the types of cells that can be utilized for spreading the virus. But that's not anything near the same as "the toxic load has to get into your blood" and given that the transmission almost certainly takes place inside a person's body - typically the rectum or vagina - there's no "skin" (thick or otherwise) to prevent infection.

[timfreo]

On 6/1/2022 at 4:37 AM, PigBoyDallas said:

I've used them before and they're available in the US too. I've had buds use them too as they're truly anonymous and you can do it in private with no one knowing. If you do get a positive result, try not to freak out as you're more likely to get a false positive than a false negative. If you get a positive result, then go to a clinic to get tested to be sure. I had a bud who got a positive result, and he went absolutely crazy, was messaging pretty much everyone he hooked up with regularly telling them to get tested. One of the guys he played with talked him through it and got him to go get tested at a clinic and sure enough, it turned out to be a false positive. 

Where did you get it? I didn't think home HiV test kits were available here in Oz

[Starwood]

On 7/1/2022 at 9:08 AM, Diesel said:

Do any UK guys have any experience or recommendations for similar anonymous home testing kits? Would appreciate knowing where stocked, pricing etc.

Try SH.UK. 

They do free testing,, but it is run by the NHS don't completely confidential and you send your samples away.Usually get results in a couple of days, but emailed to you.

As for the other home test kits, I hear there is a great website to find out about them, I   think it is called Google.

 

 

[Mcv69]

8 hours ago, timfreo said:

Where did you get it? I didn't think home HiV test kits were available here in Oz

I’m in Sydney, Oxford Street (gay capital of Sydney) Taylor square chemist. 

[Diesel]

On 7/6/2022 at 12:59 AM, Starwood said:

Try SH.UK. 

They do free testing,, but it is run by the NHS don't completely confidential and you send your samples away.Usually get results in a couple of days, but emailed to you.

As for the other home test kits, I hear there is a great website to find out about them, I   think it is called Google.

 

 

Anonymity was the key criteria for the type of home testing under discussion. Any testing involving sending samples to a lab would fail on this criteria.

I had hoped to stimulate some discussion on the topic from a UK perspective on the relative merits (or otherwise)  of the various tests that may be on offer. 

A search engine commercial listing, while in itself potentially helpful would be unlikely to broaden the debate.

As for Google as a choice of research, I dread to think what advertising would be following me around for the next 6 months!

[PigBoyDallas]

On 7/5/2022 at 4:59 PM, timfreo said:

Where did you get it? I didn't think home HiV test kits were available here in Oz

Off Amazon(USA). Try Amazon Australia.