The concept of life has come across a colossal shift with the emergence of HIV testing in the arena of medicine. It has truly been a big challenge for the medical specialists to find a means to counter this disease. It has till date proved to the disease that has spelled death for any individual who has been affected by it. The treatment for this terminal disease has not yet been discovered. Therefore the only way to stop this death agent is to be careful enough and try and prevent the infection from spreading. The HIV testing acts like a marker that signals the imminent danger in case it has already arrived. The HIV testing does not give the individual the assurance of a fresh lease of life however it does warn the individual regarding the stage of the disease in which it has been detected.
The HIV testing is required to detect whether an individual is HIV positive or not. The different ways by which the HIV virus gets transmitted are as follows:
- The first way that an individual may be exposed to the virus is through that of unsafe physical communion.
- The second way an individual may be exposed to the virus is that of an infected syringe. This is in fact one of the primary reasons why the syringe once used is immediately disposed off.
- The third way could be the transmission from the infected mother to the baby in the womb.
- The fourth way could be that of the transfusion of infected blood. It is one of the precise reasons why any blood that has been donated for the purpose of transfusion is checked well to ensure that no such virus is existent in the sample.
The HIV testing is therefore done not only for detection but also for precautionary measures.
The various reasons as to why an individual should opt for HIV testing are as below:
- An early detection of the disease enhances the life expectancy of the individual. The modern medications help to delay the imminent end as much as is possible in case of a timely detection.
- Since the HIV virus targets the immune system of an individual, therefore an early detection can in the least slow down the pace of the virus if not eliminate the disease completely.
- Moreover if an individual is aware of the infection then he or she can at least take the adequate measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
- Moreover an early detection can with the aid of required medicine, prevent the disease from being transmitted from the mother to the unborn baby.
Therefore the HIV testing can actually stop the transmission in certain cases if the detection occurs at the right time.
The different ways of HIV testing are namely the enzyme linked immunoassay or the ELISA and the Western Blot test. Once both the HIV testing results turn out to be positive it can be said without a shadow of doubt that the individual has been affected by the virus.
The HIV testing can sometime show a negative result even if the individual has been affected by the virus. The reason of it being so is that the detection depends on the HIV antibody produced by the body. It is therefore advised that one conduct the HIV testing at regular intervals and not become complacent with just one report.