Free HIV and Hep C testing

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. It damages your immune system, making it easier for you to get sick. HIV is spread during sex, but condoms can help protect you.

HIV is carried in semen (cum), vaginal fluids, anal mucus, blood, and breast milk. The virus gets in your body through cuts or sores in your skin, and through mucous membranes (like the inside of the vagina, rectum, and opening of the penis). You can get HIV from:

• having vaginal or anal sex
• sharing needles or syringes for shooting drugs, piercings, tattoos, etc.
• getting stuck with a needle that has HIV-infected blood on it
• getting HIV-infected blood, semen (cum), or vaginal fluids into open cuts or sores on your body

HIV is usually spread through having unprotected sex. Using condomsand/or dental dams every time you have sex and not sharing needles can help protect you and your partners from HIV. If you do have HIV, treatment can lower or even stop the chances of spreading the virus to other people during sex. If you don’t have HIV, there’s also a daily medicine called PrEP that can protect you from HIV.

HIV can also be passed to babies during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. A pregnant woman with HIV can take medicine to greatly reduce the chance that her baby will get HIV.

HIV isn’t spread through saliva (spit), so you CAN’T get HIV from kissing, sharing food or drinks, or using the same fork or spoon. HIV is also not spread through hugging, holding hands, coughing, or sneezing. And you can’t get HIV from a toilet seat.

Getting tested is the only way to find out if you have HIV. HIV tests are recommended for all adults. HIV tests are quick, painless, and free at UHPP.

Rapid HIV tests give you results in about 20 minutes. Other tests take longer because they need to be sent out to a lab. HIV tests are usually painless — you just gently rub the inside of your cheek with a soft swab. Sometimes you’ll give a blood sample for testing.

Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation, sometimes leading to serious liver damage. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) spreads through contaminated blood.

Long-term infection with the hepatitis C virus is known as chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C is usually a "silent" infection for many years, until the virus damages the liver enough to cause the signs and symptoms of liver disease.

Signs and symptoms include:

• Bleeding easily
• Bruising easily
• Fatigue
• Poor appetite
• Yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
• Dark-colored urine
• Itchy skin
• Fluid buildup in your abdomen (ascites)
• Swelling in your legs
• Weight loss
• Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech (hepatic encephalopathy)
• Spiderlike blood vessels on your skin (spider angiomas)

Hepatitis C testing involves a blood test to check for hepatitis C antibodies. If the test is positive, it’s followed up with a test called an RNA test, which determines if the virus is currently active.

Hepatitis C treatment typically consists of antiviral medicine to reduce the amount of the virus in your system. There are also new treatments that may cure it. Your doctor or nurse will likely recommend that you avoid drinking alcohol and taking certain medicines that may harm your liver.

Read more about hepatitis C. If you’re worried you may be at risk, the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center can help.