Happy National HIV Testing Day.
Question: Have any of your ever used an oral HIV test before?
I have, so I thought I’d talk to you all about it.
Now, I am a healthy, young gay man who has his fun every now and then. No shame in that.
But with those fun risks, come fears of contracting STDs or STIs. Even the most safe sexual partner is at risk. After all, there is no full proof way of not contracting other than not having sex at all.
That said, getting tested doesn’t have to be scary and there are many ways you can do it.
You can go to your trusted doctor, you can go to a free clinic, or you can even have a test sent to you in the mail.
That’s right, oral tests like OraQuick can be sent to you in the mail. In fact, you could even buy some on sites like Amazon.
As for how I tried the test, it was a random but fortuitous situation.
I was on Reddit one day, just wasting my time, and I noticed an ad for gay men to take a survey.
Once again, I wasn’t doing anything so I decided why not help somebody, and I took the survey. It was quick, easy, and painless.
Then at the end, I was asked if I wanted to take an additional survey later on. I said, why not? Turns out, the survey included a free OraQuick sent to my home for me to take and then write up my response for a university researching gay men and HIV Testing.
The test was sent to my door within a week and I decided to try it out immediately. (Picture me in my dining room trying out the test while simultaneously boiling water to cook pasta).
And that’s really how fast the test took.
The test comes in a box that includes multiple pamphlets/mini-books. Some about safe sex, some instructions on how to take the test, and some on where to go if your results come out as positive.
I looked through how to take the test and turns out it was an easy mouth swab. After that, I just stuck the swab in a pre-prepared tube of chemicals and let it sit for 20 or so minutes.
From there, I went into the kitchen to worry about my food.
I later came back and found my result to be negative. That was it. It was just as fast and easy as getting a test at a clinic. But instead, I did it at home.
Then I put the swab and chemicals in a disposable pouch that came with the box and threw it all away. Simple and easy.
Essentially, this article is just to tell you that this a viable option for you. If you don’t want to go to your doctor, and if you don’t want to find a clinic, you can get a test sent to you in the mail.
The choice is up to you, but Drag Queen Manila Luzon and I both approve.
