HIV test

HIV Symptoms

The symptoms are similar to that of any influenza or flu fever. The three stages of symptoms include,

• Acute Symptoms - The apparent indications include high fever, skin rashes, over sweating, dullness, muscle pain, lymph node swells, mouth ulcer and eventual dip in the body immune system.
• Clinical Latency - Some do not exhibit any symptoms at all for an extended period of years except for some general weakness.
• Severe Symptoms - Exhibit breathing difficulties, sudden fatigue, persisting diarrhoea, distorted vision and extreme weight loss. But the presence of these symptoms does not necessarily conclude the infection; HIV screening test is the only valid practice that confirms the illness.

Test to be done for HIV testing

• ELISA HIV 1
• ELISA HIV 2

How To Test for HIV?

• A blood test is the only way to know the presence of the virus in your body. HIV screening tests include HIV antibody test or ELISA test that looks for the HIV antibodies in your blood sample, if the ELISA tests result is positive then it must be succeeded by Western blot test that confirms the infection.
• Antibody/Antigen combination tests are that analyzes both antibodies and the antigen protein.
• The third test is the NAT ( Nucleic Acid Test) or RNA, an expensive test, that checks the instance of the virus itself in the blood sample. The positive test result confirms the disease and the HIV negative indicates the absence of the infection. Rapid HIV tests can give the reports in less than half an hour.
• CD4 count plays a major role in HIV testing that confirms the disease. CD4 cells are a type of white blood cells that are damaged by the HIV virus. A sudden decrease in the CD4 count below 200 indicates that the infection is about to be a chronic AIDS. 
• The window period is the duration of time between the infection and the manifestation of HIV symptoms in the body. The antibody test during the window period may give a misleading result; hence it is advisable to repeat the test after a short period of time if the symptoms persist.
• WHO insists that testing is done with the informed consent of the patient without violating human rights in an honourable manner at the subject's convenience with discreet testing and results.

FAQ's for HIV testing

What are the tests need to be taken for HIV testing?

Modern screening tests combine antibody (ELISA) and antigen (usually p24) platforms. FISH (a measurement of viral RNA) not usually used for screening.

Whether this test to be carried in the blood sample or urine sample?

Blood

What is the window period for this test to be taken?

The Window period for testing HIV is 42 days.

Is there any chance that the person will develop the disease in future if the result is negative and do they need to repeat the test again after some time?

Repeat if in window period and ongoing risk of acquiring infection

HIV Treatment

There is no cure for the disease as of now but the infection can be treated and kept under control. ART (Antiretiro Viral Therapy) is treating the person with an aggregate minimum of three antiretroviral drugs, that works by increasing the CD4 count in the blood which in turn reduces the complications caused by the HIV symptoms. With the regular ART, the affected person can lead a normal life, without any further advancement of the disease.

Prevention

The formula for preventing AIDS is as easy as ABC- Abstain, Be faithful and Condomize compulsorily Prevention practices include complete awareness about safe sex among sex workers, labours, emigrants and hostages. Using sterilized injections and safe blood transfusions protect the people from the viral infection. Male circumcision prevents AIDS. Careful treatment avoids the transmission of disease from mother to child.  

Importance of HIV tests

Sooner the identification of the virus, the greater the treatment of ART (Antiretiro Viral Therapy) works for you and you can lead a normal healthy life for long. Doctors prescribe HIV tests for pregnant mothers to prevent the infection from spreading to their infants. Talking to a Health Care Provider or taking up an HIV counselling with a regular follow up will be of greater assistance for your physical and mental well being. The HIV test cost is affordable and many HIV testing centres and HIV online tests offer the service at a reasonable price.

Why Discreet test?

More than the fear of the disease, the person affected suffers from facing social issues and family pressure. Most people lose family support once they are identified with an infection after the HIV check-up. Society totally neglects such individuals. Eventually, they become jobless and are economically weak. The after-effects of the rejection are revenge, hurting them and their body shows no improvement in the treatment. So the people who are likely to get affected hesitate to go for an HIV test. HIV testing discreet - a sincere and a humble effort by Shycart to address this hesitation issue and initiate the HIV testing at a reasonable cost with utmost confidence.

On registering with us for Instant HIV test, Shycart generates a distinct numerical code which is to be produced at the testing centre. Name and address of the person are completely confidential and are not revealed to the lab technicians. On getting tested for HIV, the test result corresponding to the registered numerical code will be mailed to Shycart. The Shycart team mails the test report to the registered user. Without any oscillation or confusion, those who are likely to take a blood test can register with us. We respect your privacy and expect to earn your trust.

HIV test cost in India

HIV test cost in India is very affordable at shycart. We offer the best market price for the entire HIV test. The HIV test online cost is Rs.1000.

Brief History of HIV

The first instance of the disease dates back to 1920 at a remote place in Congo, Africa. Till 1980, no proper statistics were available about the infected people. Data suggests that in the middle of 1970s the infection was reported across the continents.

In 1981, at Los Angeles 270 men were identified with serious immunity deficit, the reason was declared to be sexual and it was termed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome(AIDS). Following which the infections were also recorded in European countries.

Women were also diagnosed with this particular immunity deficiency in 1981. Subsequently, it was declared that sharing needles and syringes during injecting the medicines with the infected people may also relay the disease.

A blood test for HIV was devised to identify the virus in 1984. The first commercial HIV screening test, Elisa was licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985. To put an end to the transmission of disease from mother to the infant was endorsed by Public Health Service in the same year. The name HIV - Human Immuno Deficiency Virus was coined in 1986. A worldwide awareness program was put I motion in the year 1987. December 1, 1988, was declared as the First World AIDS Day. By 1990 there 8 to 10 million common people were detected to be infected by the virus. In 1999, AIDS has stated the fourth major death-causing disease in the world. The latest study in 2017 suggests that 2.1 million were affected in India. Sex workers and the men who group with them are the major victims of the illness.