Rapid HIV Test

A rapid HIV test uses a few drops of blood from a finger-prick and is run here at the clinic while you wait. It looks for the antibodies your immune system makes in response to HIV, rather than for the virus itself, which is why it takes some weeks after an exposure before it can give a dependable answer. A doctor reads the result with you and talks it through before you leave — we do not send results after the fact. A reactive result is the start of a conversation, not the end of one: it is always confirmed by a further test, and the doctor arranges that the same day.

• Anyone who wants a routine check, with no particular incident in mind
• Anyone who has had sex without a condom, or with one that failed
• Partners who would rather test together than take each other's word for it
• Anyone asked for a recent negative result before starting PrEP
• Anyone who has been putting it off and would rather simply know

1. Day 0 – 23

   Too early. Your body has not yet made enough antibodies for this test to find, so a negative result here says very little. If the exposure was in the last 72 hours, the useful thing to do today is not a test — it is to ask about PEP.

2. Day 23 – 90

   The detection window. Most people develop antibodies during this period, so a reactive result is meaningful and will be confirmed with a further test. A negative result is encouraging, but it is not yet the final answer — the doctor will suggest when to repeat it.

3. Day 90 onwards

   Conclusive. A negative rapid antibody test taken 90 days or more after your last possible exposure is treated as a definitive negative for that exposure. Anything after it is a new question, not this one.

• From about 23 days after a possible exposure, an antibody test can begin to detect an infection — but a negative before 90 days is not yet the final word.
• At 90 days after the last possible exposure, a negative rapid antibody test is considered conclusive.
• If the exposure was within the last 72 hours, ask about PEP first. It is time-critical, and testing is not a substitute for it.
• At whatever regular interval you and the doctor agree suits your circumstances.

• Nothing to bring and nothing to avoid — you can eat and drink as normal. Book under any name you would like to be called by.
• Allow more time than the test itself takes: the appointment includes the conversation on either side of it.
• If you were tested elsewhere recently and still have the result, bring it.