There’s no reason not to want to know if you have HIV: drug therapy has advanced so much that, for some patients, it may consist of just one medication. What’s more, scientific evidence confirms that a person living with HIV who is properly taking antiretroviral therapy and has an undetectable viral load does not sexually transmit the virus. In other words, a person with the disease can lead a normal life. Neither HIV nor AIDS is a death sentence, as long as the patient seeks and commits to treatment. By knowing your status, you can save your life and prevent spreading the virus to others.
For that reason—and for any other reasons that may come to mind—take action, go get tested. According to Dr. Iván Meléndez-Rivera, everyone should get tested for HIV “at least once in their lifetime.”
For Dr. Roberto A. Calderón Santiago, a specialist in internal medicine and an HIV-treating physician, the most important reason to get tested is, first and foremost, to find out your HIV status: negative or positive.
"Once a person knows their status—if the test comes back positive, they should begin treatment to achieve an undetectable viral load; if, on the other hand, the test comes back negative, they should continue to educate themselves on how to avoid becoming infected."
It's always better to know. The old idea of not wanting to know in order to avoid facing reality only serves to complicate matters.
"We work a lot on stigma and on reducing the fear that the disease will cause death. That is no longer the case. Given the range of treatments available, there should be no one living with HIV who is not on treatment and leading a normal life. The best way to achieve that is through knowledge—getting tested and knowing your status."
"It is important to know whether the test result is negative—in the event that the person has not engaged in risky behaviors—or positive, so that they can access treatment as soon as possible," said Meléndez-Rivera, whose primary care practice includes prevention and education about this condition.
Similarly, the family physician also emphasized that, although the numbers have improved, the infection remains a significant issue in patients' overall medical care.
"If a person has had sexual intercourse at least once in their life without taking the necessary precautions, they may have been exposed to the virus. Getting tested for HIV is a way to obtain information that benefits the patient and their health," he noted.
Regarding the undetectability of the virus, Calderón Santiago explained the relationship between “undetectable” and “untransmittable.” He noted that doctors were observing that many of their patients in committed relationships—where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative—were having unprotected sex, despite recommendations against it due to the risk of virus transmission. After numerous studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established that when the viral load is undetectable, the HIV-negative person will not become infected.
"It is important to adhere to treatment and remain undetectable so that the virus remains non-transmissible," he emphasized. In other words, as long as a patient remains undetectable, they can have unprotected sex when their viral load is within the normal range.
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