There are plenty of Sexually transmitted diseases or as the abbreviation goes: STD's.
However, among them the most lethal is the HIV Virus as it weakens the entire immune system and leaves a person susceptible to all kinds of infections and diseases which could ultimately lead to death.
However, there are some important facts pertaining to the HIV test that you should know about, as your health care provider may not tell you about them - unless you ask them of course.
Facts about HIV tests These aren't medical facts that we're going to be looking into; but, some real life facts as to what the doctors do when you go for your yearly or bi annual blood tests.
Generalization is horrible -We all go for our occasional health check-ups and they usually include blood tests as well.
Usually it's just diabetes and other common illnesses that the doctors look into.
They rarely check for STD's unless you ask them to.
Moreover, if at all you stay in a locality wherein HIV is not a common sight they immediately rule out the fact - this is a big mistake that most doctors make and that's the reason you need to stress on the fact that you need the test done.
Incubation Period - Another important fact that you need to know about the HIV virus is that it's got an incubation period.
This time varies from person to person and it usually is around 6 months.
Therefore, even if you suspect that you've been infected for whatever the reason; if you immediately go in for a check-up it would never show on your tests.
Which test should you take? The ELISA test is the most common test for HIV and it's probably one of the best ways to detect the virus in an individual.
It basically checks for antibodies in your bloods serum that are related to the HIV virus.
However, as mentioned earlier there's a window period (Incubation period) during which there won't be any kind of antibodies in your body as your body still hasn't detected the infection.
Therefore, the test needs to be taken at least once a year if you feel you were at risk of catching the virus.
The RNA test Another common test that's also really costly is the RNA test; this test is really accurate and directly checks for the RNA of the virus.
You would be able to tell if the virus was inside your body within 6 days after infection.