FollowingShadow

Don't suppose anyone would know this but...

What happens when you go to get tested for AIDS? Is it a bloodwork thing? Do they need urine, too?

KyleColorado

I wouldn't know.. but I'm assuming it is a blood test only.

Urine can't tell anything that a blood test can't (other than a urinary tract infection).

And H.I.V. is a blood-virus, so all the signs point to blood test. Have you tried your friendly Google?

Also, I do recall hearing that H.I.V. is difficult to detect in early stages.

Dresdor

None of this is medical fact, merely logical speculation:

HIV and AIDS are caused by a virus, and virii are extremely small and difficult to see with microscopes of about the power most hospitals have and use for bloodwork. (Then again if it's an HIV test, they may send it off to a lab with a powerful enough microscope if one even exists).

Most likely, the detection for HIV/AIDS is by a count of white blood cells and T-cells, the cells HIV/AIDS infects and destroys. If WBC are up, then you have an infection or other ailment, if they are about average, you are healthy, or a problem hasn't developed yet, and if they're low you have a disorder or disease that preys on WBC. Again, HIV/AIDS does take some time to effects the body to the point where WBC are low.

Leukemia I believe can cause low blood cell counts as well.


Again, speculation here, so go and google it for more info, I'm sure there are professional medical websites that have all the information you are seeking.

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Zaccone

I've been to an HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa and what they used for testing their were two simple blood tests. They pricked the patient's finger, put it on two different testing sheets and had their answer in about 10 minutes. However, I'm sure the testing processes differ between a non-profit HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa and a hospital in North America.

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mammamaia

i had one done years ago [a lover was shall we say, a bit less than faithful?... and since i'd no way to tell if the object of his perfidy was std-free, i figured i'd better take the safer than sorry route] and it's a blood test only... a small amount of blood is drawn and sent off to a lab... tv shows aside, it still takes a week or more for a reliable result, as far as i know...

a split-second google for 'hiv tests' would be much quicker and much more reliable than asking here, btw...

a bit ot, but i'm floored by seeing it turned up 22 million hits [in .22 seconds]!... an all-time high for things i've googled to date, i think...

hugs, m

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Rico

Well, HIV antibodies don't show up right away, they take from a few weeks to up to 6 months to develop, so if you were to take the test right away, it would most likely be inconclusive. That's not always the case, but its the best way to get the most conclusive result. Before 3 months, there might not be enough HIV antibodies for anything to show up, so you might get a false reading.

From what I remember (bear in mind that this was in the early 90's, only about a decade after it had shown up, so things most likely have improved since) it was a blood sample taken from my arm and sent off to the lab. It was far more stigmatized then that it is now. it took a couple weeks for the results, but I imagine that that, too, is faster.

And the important thing to remember is that HIV does not always = AIDS. People can go their entire lives HIV+ without it developing into AIDS. It can take years or decades for it to become severe enough to be considered AIDS.

And if you're wondering, because this is a topic I know plenty about, here's the guidelines. It's based on CD4+ cells, which are a type of t-cell that the virus attaches to.

A normal, healthy person has between 600-1200 CD4+ cells per microliter of blood.

Below 350 per microliter, you start getting treated for HIV with antiviral therapies and the like, depending on your wealth and what you want to do.

Below 200 per microliter, you're defined as having AIDS, and that's when the nastier, heavier drugs start.

If you need any more info about this, I know firsthand about most of it, so feel free to PM