HOW TO DO A RAPID TEST?

Aloha….

We meet again… a motivation as introduction…

WE CAN CHOOSE TO BE ORDINARY, AT TIMES ALLAH SHOWS US PATH TO BE EXTRAORDINARY… THE PATH MAY FULL OF THORNS, PAIN, TEARS AND TRIALS… BUT HE PROMISED US THERE WILL BE RAINBOW WAITING AT THE END OF THE PATH… HIS PROMISE IS REAL… PICK A PATH AND PUT OUR HOPES IN ALLAH… 

To my dearest special souls, God shows you a path to be extra ordinary… A path to be a superhero not only to you, for your loved ones as well for others… Not everyone got a chance to be a special soul… it is a blessing in disguise… It is a first step for a better best YOU… 

Yes, it is easy for me to say all this… I am not PLHIV, you may think I don’t understand what you are feeling right now… How hard it is, how difficult it is… Only YOU can feel it… But, I am a best friend of PLHIV and from him the special soul I got the inspiration to write… To motivate others… Why?? Because I want my Hawkeye to be happy, I want a world without stigma for him… So that he and other special souls can live the dream they wanted to… So that they can live with their loved ones without stigma from the community or stigma to themselves…

Alrighty, today’s entry is about the How to do the rapid test… Specifically journey of a special soul in doing the HIV confirmation test… There are 3 major test need to be done before an individual is confirmed of having HIV+… Rapid test, ELISA test and Western Blot test… 

Anonymous HIV test is open to all individuals who feel that he/she has the possibility of being infected by HIV.

i. Those who has partners infected by HIV.

ii. Drug Addicts.

iii. Sex Workers.

iv. Homosexuals and their partners.

v. Those who had been sharing needles to inject

drugs.

vi. Those who has drug addicts as their partners.

vii. Those who have been having sexual intercourse

with sex workers.

viii. Those who had multiple sex partners.

ix. Those who had sexual intercourse with the above.

FLOW CHART OF THE “ANONYMOUS AND VOLUNTARY HIV SCREENING”

Rapid test usually will provide result in 30 minutes and the purpose of the rapid test is to find any concentration of antibody which specifically attack HIV virus. It will produce double line if it is reactive… There is 1% of false positive from rapid test result and that is the reason why the next screening need to be done (ELISA or Western Blot).

Once the rapid test is reactive, the patient will be provided with counselling… The counselling is merely on healthy life style, the importance of starting treatment and some motivational push for the patient…

ELISA and western blot will be done at the screening centre. The blood sample will be send to the screening centre and the result will be available in 2 to 4 weeks. Once the result out the clinic will give a call or they will set an appointment during the rapid test day itself.

The pressure is on when the reactive result is obtained, it is normal… It is completely normal to feel sad, depressed, angry, ashamed and helpless… But don’t be too immersed in all those feelings… There are peer support that will be supporting you… Eventhough they are complete stranger, but they do understand how it is feel to be in your shoes… They are special soul like you who committed to support other special soul to go through the hard time…

You can always share it to your family or best friend… yes, it will takes time… and space… You can always choose to not disclose, no harm doing that… Don’t put your focus on disclosing and how people going to accept you… The one matter now is YOU… Focus on your treatment and aim for undetectable status… Seems impossible?? Neh, nothing is impossible once you put your mind to it…

With HAART treatment and Allah’s willing, YOU can achieve the undetectable status… yes, the side effects of HAART do at times makes you feel enough is enough… But, the side effects is just temporary… YOU can get through it, ask for advises and tips from your peer support, they knew what best…

Alright, enough for today, we will continue on the next entry… May Allah ease your journey and we LOVE YOU!