If you have been tested for HIV infection, you may be told that the result is ‘reactive’. While this is sometimes described as a ‘positive’ result, it could be a false positive. The result indicates that the test has reacted to something in your blood and this should be investigated further.
It does not necessarily mean that you are HIV positive. Because false positives can happen, doctors never use a single test to give an HIV-positive diagnosis. If the result is reactive, the result is only preliminary and must be verified with a series of confirmatory tests.
These follow-up tests are best done by a healthcare professional who has access to the most accurate HIV testing technologies.
When a person does not have a medical condition but is diagnosed as having it.
Human immunodeficiency virus, the virus which causes AIDS. There are two variants: HIV-1, and HIV-2. HIV-1 is by far the most common worldwide. See ‘subtype’ for more information.
The term may be used to describe either self-testing or self-sampling.
Abbreviation of a Latin term meaning every night.
In HIV testing, when the person testing collects their own sample and performs the whole test themselves, including reading and interpreting the result.
