How often should a person get tested for HIV?

Question

I'm not having sex , in fact haven't done anything since June. I usually get tested every 3 months because I'm just a paranoid chic.. My last test was in October. So now I'm thinking maybe I should go get tested again, only because I was in the ER recently for low blood pressure and they had to draw blood, and I'm wondering whether or not they used clean needles on me. Should I be worried? Especially if i'm not doing anything and I don't use drugs or share needles..

Answer 1

Clean needles are a standard of practice in medicine and have been for many years in the USA. You should probably talking to your physician about your fears.

Try to relax and talk to someone about how your feeling. Once you've learned to overcome your fears, life might be easier.

Answer 2

You don't have to worry about the ER. They are VERY careful about using clean needles. It's recommended that, unless you're engaging in risky behavior (unprotected sex, one night stands, drug use, etc), you get tested once a year.

You can talk to a public health nurse for more info by calling your county health department.

EDIT: This is from the CDC webpage:

"Although the CDC says that everyone ages 13 to 64 should be tested at least once, yearly HIV testing is recommended only for people at high risk of infection."

Answer 3

I don't know what your hospitals/clinics are like where you are, but you shouldn't worry if you got blood drawn. Safety procedures now are very strict. If you feel it is very important to keep up on your HIV checks...I don't think you need to every three months if you don't do drugs, don't work with HIV patients with the chance of exchanging fluids, or don't have sex. An easy and productive way to get tested would be to give blood. They test blood thoroughly now for HIV and inform your family doctor if it is found. Hope this helped.

Answer 4

No you shouldn't be worried, if it was in a hospital the needles are very sterile. They usually show you that they are taking the needle out of the package it came in.

If your not doing anything you shouldn't need to go get tested, just calm down you will be fine.

Answer 5

you definately seem like you've been safe so far, so you should relax. If you were in the ER at a hospital, they defainately should have used clean needles. But for the average person not experiencing an at risk lifestyle, getting tested every 6 months is pretty standard.

Answer 6

Hospitlas use clean needles for drawing blood, it is the law in developed countries. If you live in a poor third world country then it may be a different story. If you are sexually active with many partners then HIV testing every 6 months is a good thing. If you are sexually active with one partner then one HIV test is all that is required. If you are not sexually active then one HIV test is good enough until you become sexually active.