Testing for HIV

If you are sexually active, regular testing is important to look after your own sexual health, as well as your sexual partners. You should test to know if you are HIV positive or negative.

If you are positive, the earlier you take medication the better. Taking medication to manage HIV will help you stay healthy and can prevent you passing the virus onto your partner.

When should I think about testing?

All types of unprotected sex (sex without a condom) carries a risk of contracting viruses like HIV, or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). If you have had unprotected sex or have a new partner you should consider testing for sexually transmitted infections.

If you are using condoms the risk is much lower, but nothing is 100%, so it is still a good idea to get tested from time to time. Even if you are with the same partner, it is a good idea to test yourself every 6 months.

If I test the next day after having sex, will it show up on my test?

No. After having sex with an HIV positive partner, or getting HIV another way like sharing needles, it can take up to 45 days for HIV to show up on your test. For example, if you take a test two or three weeks after you had sex, it may show up negative, because even though you have a small amount of HIV starting to multiply in your body, the test can’t find it yet.

So if you are testing within 45 days of having unprotected sex, it is worth repeating the test after the full 45 days have passed since your last unprotected sex with a partner.

Even if you don’t think you’re at risk, if you are sexually active it is a good idea to test every 6 months.

How do I test?

There are a few reliable, safe and easy ways test for HIV.

This can be either with a self-testing kit, a self sampling kit these are described below.

You can also go to a sexual health clinic or GP surgery or private doctor to have a blood test taken for you, from a vein in your arm.

Where can I test?

You can access in person testing with a UNITY professional and Common Ambition Bristol at Bristol’s only walk in services for African and Caribbean heritage communities at:

Montpelier Health Centre on the FIRST Thursday of every month from 1:30pm – 6:00pm

and Charlotte Keel Medical Practice on the LAST THURSDAY of every month from 1:30-5:00pm.

You can also access Oral Self sampling kits from the Common Ambition Bristol team from either session above or at any of our events or outreach.

You can also test for HIV

• at your local sexual health clinic (in Bristol this is Unity)
• at your GP surgery

If you don’t want to go to a clinic, read on for self testing options you can do at home.

Where can I test in Bristol?

Common Ambition Bristol has created Bristol’s ONLY walk in Sexual Health Screening services that are specifically for African and Caribbean heritage communities.

We have TWO monthly drop-in testing services:

CAB @ Charlotte Keel is on the last Thursday of every month 1.30pm-5pm at Charlotte Keel Health Centre, Seymour Road, BS5 0UA.

CAB @ Montpelier Health Centre is on the First Thursday of every month 1:30pm – 6:00pm at Montpelier Health Centre, Bath Buildings, BS6 5PT.

Both Drop in sessions offer a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL service where you can test for HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Chlamydia and Hepatitis.

You can also get free PrEP here as well as free condoms and HIV oral self-test kits.

You can have a chat with the team and test for HIV, Syphilis, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.

What is a self-test?

These tests are ones that you can do at home or in a private space without needing a trained professional to assist you.

You would have all of the equipment within the test kit to be able to carry out the test at home.

There are three types of home HIV test that we use in Bristol, these are Self-Sampling and Self-Testing blood and Self testing Oral. (For more information see below)

For other STI testing such as Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea there are also self-sampling postal kits available from UNITY.

What’s the difference?

Self-sampling tests are HIV test kits that instruct and enable you to take your own blood samples. You then send the sample to a lab by post (return free-post), the sample is looked at by a lab team and your results will be sent to you by text message.

HIV self-testing is where you can collect a sample of blood (from a small finger prick) or a swab of the inside of your mouth, and do the test yourself. You will see the result appear within a few minutes. These tests often have a results window like a pregnancy test. They are highly accurate, quick and usually painless.

Where to get HIV self-tests

Free Self-sampling kits from Unity Sexual Health.

Oral Self-testing kits are available from the Common Ambition Bristol team at our monthly clinic, at community events, at our barbershop outreach or by contacting us by email or through social media.

You can also access Oral Self testing kits in the UNITY vending machines across Bristol and the surrounding areas: https://www.unitysexualhealth.co.uk/stis-and-testing/unityvendingmachines/

You can also purchase these kits at £15 from Terrence Higgins Trust.

Self-testing kits are also available from most leading pharmacies both online and in person at around £30-£35.

See step by step guides to self testing and self sampling.