Get Checked

If you had at least one partner in the past three months, you should test for HIV and STIs. That includes activity regardless of how many partners, the type of sex you are having, and the kind of HIV prevention strategies you might be using, such as condoms, PrEP, or undetectable viral load. Simple!

While condoms remain highly effective at preventing HIV, you may not know when they have broken. Additionally, HIV negative people on PrEP or HIV positive people with an undetectable viral load are still susceptible to other STIs, so it is great to continue to screen for other infections like syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea.

Even if you have been practicing safe sex, we recommend that you test three to four times each year.

If you have not had sex or engaged in other at-risk behavior since your last negative test result and are confident you are HIV negative, you do not need to get a test.

How to be sure you are negative? You need to have two tests performed during the window period, three months apart, where you did not have sex in between the tests, and the result for both was negative.

However, if your habits change, you should schedule an HIV and STI test and then continue to test every three months, up to four times per year.

If you are in an entirely monogamous relationship and both you and your partner have already tested to know that you are both HIV negative, then you can test less frequently, but you should still screen for HIV and STIs at least once a year.

If you've engaged in unprotected sex where neither condoms, PrEP, nor an undetectable viral load was in the picture, or where you shared needles or syringes with a person who has or may have HIV, then you should get tested immediately and consider commencing PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis).

PEP involves medication that works by stopping the virus from replicating after recent exposure. The cells initially infected with HIV die naturally within a short period, reducing the likelihood of HIV to establish itself in the body.

PEP must commence within 72 hours (3 days) of exposure and is only available by prescription. If your doctor does not prescribe PEP, Vector Health may be able to help.