While HIV may not always show symptoms, getting tested empowers you to make informed decisions about your health and the well-being of those around you.
Nurse Zanele Cekiso, a quality assurance coordinator for an HIV testing programme in Gauteng, speaks about the importance of regular HIV testing in this podcast episode. She shares how it can offer a wealth of benefits, from early detection and treatment to prevention strategies.
“In this day and age – unlike previously – when you get tested, it is important that you immediately start treatment so your immune system is prevented from deteriorating. So, the earlier you get tested, the better for your health,” Cekiso says.
Benefits of regular HIV testing
“If I do get infected, and I’m not someone who tests regularly, it means it’s going to take me a while to pick up the infection. I would have to have some sort of symptom for me to pick up the infection of HIV.
“So if you make it a routine that you get tested regularly, it means you have greater chances of picking up the infection if it’s there as soon as possible. And you also get to start your treatment earlier before your body takes a knock.”
Cekiso explains that the kind of test kits South Africa uses, look for antibodies not the actual virus in our systems or in our blood. It takes the body six weeks to develop antibodies for HIV.
“If I were to get infected today and go to test tomorrow or a day later, we might get a false negative. We might get a status that says negative because my body hasn’t developed antibodies that are fighting against HIV. So after six weeks is the only time I’m actually going to get an accurate result.”
In this episode, Cekiso also discusses:
- How stigmatisation is the biggest emotional barrier to HIV testing. She looks at the external stigma that comes from the community, and internal stigma when you think this is how the community, your family, and people around you will perceive you.
- Having conversations about HIV with family and friends.
Listen to the full interview on the Health For Mzansi podcast:
Spotify: Click here to listen on Spotify (all mobile and other devices).
Apple Podcasts: Click here to listen on any Apple device.
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