How do you test for any AIDS virus or infection?

HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) is tested for with a blood test or a finger-prick test. It's quick, free, and confidential.

You can get an HIV test at a sexual health clinic, your GP, or by ordering a free home testing kit online. The home kits involve pricking your finger, putting a drop of blood on a testing device, and posting it back. You get your results within a few days.

At a clinic, the test is usually a small blood sample taken from your arm, or a rapid finger-prick test that can give you a result in minutes.

There's one important thing to know about HIV testing: there's a "window period." This is the time between being exposed to HIV and the test being able to detect it. For most modern tests, this is about 45 days. That means if you think you were exposed to HIV very recently, you might need to wait a few weeks before a test can give an accurate result. The clinic will advise you on this.

If you think you've been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, go to A&E or a sexual health clinic immediately. There's emergency medication called PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) that can stop the virus from taking hold if you take it in time.

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is tested for with a blood test or a finger prick test. It is quick, free, and private.

You can get tested at a sexual health clinic, your GP, or by ordering a free home testing kit online.

One thing to know is that there is a waiting period. It takes about 45 days after being exposed to HIV for most tests to pick it up. If you test too soon, you might get a wrong result.

If you think you were exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, go to A&E or a sexual health clinic straight away. There is emergency medicine called PEP that can stop the virus if taken quickly enough.