4th gen or 5th gen HIV test?

[Strawberry]

To be honest, when I first started out I didn't care if i had bareback sex with a sp to start with. But as I grew older I became more wiser and knew more about the risk that I decided to not have bareback sex with a sp again. 

Education is the answer when punters are barebacking. Most of them are naive and some of them think that they are somehow immune to sexual transmitted infections. 

The scariest thing and the most dreadiest thing to have to catch is HIV. I rather have protected sex for all the rest of my days then catch that.
Prevention is better than cure. Not to mention that HIV can never be cured anyway. 

There are some interesting developments on the HIV vaccine front, but I would still rather avoid exposure to the virus.

[puntingking]

There are some interesting developments on the HIV vaccine front, but I would still rather avoid exposure to the virus.

I agree 

[Arripotter1971]

I don’t know if you guys are paying for your tests, but we get it done free here in Wales via the NHS. You also get as many free good quality condoms as you like for free.

[jaj909]

I don’t know if you guys are paying for your tests, but we get it done free here in Wales via the NHS. You also get as many free good quality condoms as you like for free.

I use shl.uk - free postal tests sent in discreet packaging. Highly recommend them. You can also order free PREP through them, if thats your thing.

[puntingking]

I use shl.uk - free postal tests sent in discreet packaging. Highly recommend them.

+1

[richardlbym]

Why do SHL/Fettle require so much blood?  I really hated filling that tube.  I now go to a Terence Higgins clinic and they only want one drop of blood for HIV and syphilis tests and they give you the results there and then.  They then send off the urine same using the NHS system where you get your chlamydia and gonorrhoea results by text within 2 weeks.  All free of charge of course.

They say lots of other people go there because they don't like filling the tube full of blood. 

[RandomGuy99]

Why do SHL/Fettle require so much blood?  I really hated filling that tube.  I now go to a Terence Higgins clinic and they only want one drop of blood for HIV and syphilis tests and they give you the results there and then.  They then send off the urine same using the NHS system where you get your chlamydia and gonorrhoea results by text within 2 weeks.  All free of charge of course.

They say lots of other people go there because they don't like filling the tube full of blood.

Because they have to take blood from the tube to do multiple tests. I think I have now mastered how to fill the tube. I now need to master how to do it without the table being covered in blood.

[southcoastpunter]

I use shl.uk - free postal tests sent in discreet packaging. Highly recommend them. You can also order free PREP through them, if thats your thing.

I use SH24 which I think is the same organisation but outside London- (it covers most but not all of England) and is a free NHS test and is good!

[Strawberry]

Why do SHL/Fettle require so much blood?  I really hated filling that tube.  I now go to a Terence Higgins clinic and they only want one drop of blood for HIV and syphilis tests and they give you the results there and then.  They then send off the urine same using the NHS system where you get your chlamydia and gonorrhoea results by text within 2 weeks.  All free of charge of course.

They say lots of other people go there because they don't like filling the tube full of blood.

Sounds like TH could be using the rapid results tests, the ones I tried/trialled do use just 1 drop of blood.

[Strawberry]

I use SH24 which I think is the same organisation but outside London- (it covers most but not all of England) and is a free NHS test and is good!

As I've posted previously doesn't cover my location, hence paying when I need additional testing or have trouble accessing NHS services (although I have been told I should always be able to obtain an appointment regardless of the system).

[puntingking]

Why do SHL/Fettle require so much blood?

Cause they are not just testing your blood for one sti, they are testing your blood for multiple stis.
It is still not alot though.
If you have a blood test at the hospital they would take more blood than shl have asked for

[Strawberry]

Cause they are not just testing your blood for one sti, they are testing your blood for multiple stis.
It is still not alot though.
If you have a blood test at the hospital they would take more blood than shl have asked for

They do, sometimes take 2 phials. I remember a kit sent to me during the pandemic by an outreach contractor required 2 phials! I managed one, but could not fill the second. They carried out some tests but not all. Sounded like they send one phial to one lab, the other to another.

Sometimes I really think the contractors do not think about the actual feasbility of some of the requirements.

The best I have ever used was blood spot sampling, prick finger, press finger onto 3 targets on a piece of blotting paper, leave to dry, place in supplied packaging to post. Zero coagulation issues.

[richardlbym]

Sounds like TH could be using the rapid results tests, the ones I tried/trialled do use just 1 drop of blood.

Is there a downside to doing rapid tests?  Couldn't SHL/Fettle do rapid tests instead, so they could use any amount of blood?

[Strawberry]

Is there a downside to doing rapid tests?  Couldn't SHL/Fettle do rapid tests instead, so they could use any amount of blood?

I don't know if the rapid tests can be carried out with transported blood, they are designed to be done immediately - you can buy these yourself.

Syphilis, hep b, hep b immunity, tests are also run using blood, the tests could also be being run in duplicate and or to cover droppages, test procedure gone wrong - I have never worked in a blood testing laboratory so only guessing. If you only have enough, you only have enough and to recall the patient or resend the test kit costs time and money.

I have now been to the Terence Higgins Trust website, if you read this page you will see their opinion on rapid-self-tests . They say the self-tests are only accurate to 90 days ago, in-person blood sample laboratory tests are accurate to 45 days ago;

External Link/Members Only

[RandomGuy99]

I don't know if the rapid tests can be carried out with transported blood, they are designed to be done immediately - you can buy these yourself.

Syphilis, hep b, hep b immunity, tests are also run using blood, the tests could also be being run in duplicate and or to cover droppages, test procedure gone wrong - I have never worked in a blood testing laboratory so only guessing. If you only have enough, you only have enough and to recall the patient or resend the test kit costs time and money.

They run all the tests in parallel with each machine requiring a sample of blood, so they need a decent amount of blood to feed all the machines with.

External Link/Members Only

[puntingking]

They do, sometimes take 2 phials. I remember a kit sent to me during the pandemic by an outreach contractor required 2 phials! I managed one, but could not fill the second. They carried out some tests but not all. Sounded like they send one phial to one lab, the other to another.

Sometimes I really think the contractors do not think about the actual feasbility of some of the requirements.

The best I have ever used was blood spot sampling, prick finger, press finger onto 3 targets on a piece of blotting paper, leave to dry, place in supplied packaging to post. Zero coagulation issues.