Discreetly Test for HIV

HIV can infect anyone, regardless of age, race, or sexual orientation, so it’s important to get tested at least once in your lifetime (the CDC recommends more frequent screening for people at a greater risk of getting an HIV infection).

Pregnant women infected with HIV can pass the virus to their child during pregnancy. On average, nearly 40,000 individuals are diagnosed annually in the USA with HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that just over 1 million people are living with HIV in the United States, but up to 14% don’t know they’re infected.

Who is at increased risk for becoming infected with HIV?

People who engage in high-risk behavior like having unprotected (no latex condom use) vaginal or anal sex, people who have another sexually transmitted infection, people with multiple sexual partners, people who use or share intravenous needles to inject drugs, uncircumcised men, or people who have sexual contact with a known HIV- positive partner are the most at risk for HIV.

By testing for HIV, you can learn your HIV status, which can help you seek treatment as soon as possible (if necessary) and prevent the virus from infecting others.

The HIV test checks whether or not you test positive for HIV.

In the event that your HIV test results are abnormal, an associate from our physician network will contact you directly to discuss your particular case as well as provide information on how to take the next steps to get treatment. We take customer privacy very seriously and will never share your information with a third-party with the exception of the lab we use to test your sample and our physician network. As is the case with all STD testing - whether through EverlyWell or your doctor – we may be required by law to report positive test results to certain state health departments. This is only done to track infection prevalence. In rare cases you may not receive a definitive result because of early infection or inadequate sampling and repeat testing is suggested. Don’t take a chance on your sexual health. Know where you stand with our HIV test.

Antibody tests for HIV

HIV antibody-based tests check a sample of blood or saliva for antibodies that react with specific compounds (antigens) that belong to HIV. (Antibodies—special molecules made by the immune system—attach themselves to invading viruses and microbes, marking them for destruction by the immune system’s defender cells.)

ELISA tests

ELISA—or “Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay”—is a type of antibody-based test that’s widely used to screen for HIV. This is a very accurate, sensitive test: it can correctly identify people with HIV more than 99% of the time. The EverlyWell at-home HIV test kit uses the ELISA technique.

Rapid HIV tests

Another kind of antibody-based test is the rapid HIV test. This type of test can give results in just 15–30 minutes. But there’s a downside to rapid testing methods: they’re less sensitive than other types of tests, which means they’re more likely to generate false negatives.

How does HIV testing at home work?

You can use the EverlyWell at-home HIV test to screen for HIV from the privacy of your home. Here’s how it works:

(1) Order the at-home HIV test (simply click the green “Order” button you see on your screen). The kit will then be shipped to your address (in discreet packaging).

(2) Register your kit online using the unique ID, then follow the instructions in the kit to collect your sample. (This test requires a few drops of blood from your fingertip.)

(3) Place your sample in the biohazard bag, slip the bag into the envelope that’s included with the kit, and apply the prepaid shipping label (also included within the kit). This allows you to easily ship your sample to the lab for testing.

(4) After the lab analyzes your sample, you’ll be notified that your test results are ready—and you’ll be able to view your results on our secure, online platform.

At-home HIV test accuracy: how accurate are home HIV test kits?

The EverlyWell test is more than 99% accurate for HIV screening. However, a positive result should be followed up with additional testing by your healthcare provider to confirm the positive result.

• HIV/AIDS Overview
• HIV U.S. Statistics
• Bloodborne Infectious Diseases