Common questions about HIV testing

HIV is the name of the virus that causes an infection that damages your immune system and weakens your ability to fight infection and disease. Left untreated, HIV can cause AIDS – the most advanced stage of HIV infection. This means that you can be infected with HIV (a virus) without having AIDS (an illness). Read more about HIV and AIDs.

You can be exposed to HIV by having unprotected sex with a person living with HIV, by sharing infected needles and other injecting equipment, or from a needlestick injury. It can also be passed on from parent to child during pregnancy and delivery. 

If you think you may have been exposed to HIV, you should get a test. If this exposure was in the last 3 days you can also consider post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). You can use Burnett Foundation Aotearoa's been exposed tool(external link) to find out the likely risk from a specific event or encounter and advice on what to do next. 

There are 3 main options for HIV testing. 

• Lab testing: This requires a standard blood test, where blood is drawn from your vein into a tube and sent to a laboratory (lab). You will have to wait a few days for results. 
• Rapid test: A rapid test for HIV is offered by Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, Body Positive, Positive Women and Toitu Te Ao. The rapid test involves a finger prick, where a drop of blood is placed into the testing device. The rapid HIV tests have over 99% accuracy and you'll get your result in a few minutes. 
• Home test: Home testing kits are available from Burnett Foundation Aotearoa. For this test, you swab your gums to collect an oral fluid sample and use the materials in the kit to test your oral fluid sample. These tests are over 99% accurate. You'll be able to get a result within 20 minutes.

HIV can be detected by some tests as early as 2 weeks after exposure, but for most tests it can take up to 3 months for an accurate result. This is known as the window period – the time between exposure and a test being able to detect HIV infection. Everyone responds differently to the virus. Lab testing will pick up HIV infection faster than a rapid or home test. 

While waiting for your test results, it's best to practice safe sex by using condoms or avoiding sexual intercourse. Contact your healthcare provider if you get symptoms of acute HIV infection including tiredness, fever, sore throat, headache, rash and swollen glands.

If you have a positive test result, you need a follow-up lab test for confirmation. If your test is confirmed as positive, you will be offered treatment and counselling and support. Read more about HIV and AIDs.  

If your last HIV exposure was under 12 weeks ago:

A negative HIV test means that the test has not detected HIV, but it's important to consider the window period. A ‘window period’ is the period of time when HIV may be present in your system but not detectable by certain tests. The window period for HIV tests is up to 3 months. You may need to retest at a later date (at least 12 weeks after your possible exposure to HIV) to ensure you haven't acquired it.

If your last HIV exposure was over 12 weeks ago:

If your last potential HIV exposure was over 12 weeks before the test, a negative test means you don't have HIV. It's important you consider HIV prevention for the future (eg, condoms or PrEP). 

Informed consent means you have enough information to understand HIV testing, such as the options for testing, an understanding of how the tests are done, what the results mean and the impact of testing. This will help you make an informed decision about your health care. Read more about informed consent, and talk to your healthcare provider if you have any questions.

How often you should get tested depends on who you have sex with and what type of sex you have. Use Burnett Foundation Aotearoa's Testing frequency calculator(external link) for advice on how often you should be tested. If you are at higher risk of HIV, ask your healthcare provider whether preventative medicine is right for you. Read more about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).