Why test? Isn’t it better not to know?

Treatment for HIV has become very good over the last ten years or so. These days if someone has HIV it’s never better not to know. Here’s why…

Your health

If you have HIV, avoiding testing doesn’t make the virus go away. But it does allow HIV to silently damage your health all the time you’re untested and untreated. Then one day, after the virus has done serious harm to your immune system, you can fall dangerously ill. The longer someone goes untested and untreated, the more chance that HIV treatment won’t work as well as it would if started sooner.

But if someone tests soon enough treatment can keep them healthy. Far fewer people die now because of HIV thanks to treatment. But those who do die are often people who didn’t test sooner. Testing puts you in control.

People you care about

Testing can save your life and protect others too. Imagine if you had HIV but didn’t realise and then infected others without knowing.

Knowing the unknown

Not knowing for sure if you have HIV can mean a lot of stress over a long time. Many people think they’ll test ‘positive’ but test ‘negative’. Why worry for nothing if you turn out to be HIV negative? Testing negative would be a big relief. It could be the fresh start you’ve been looking for, a chance to make more effort to stay safe.

And if you do have HIV? Knowing you’re ‘positive’ gives you the best chance of a long, healthy life thanks to treatment. Many people find testing ‘positive’ helps them look after themselves more. They can change things in their lives for the better.

Whatever your result, testing puts you in control and lets you know where you stand.

If you’re not a British citizen but are applying to stay in the UK, your test result will not count against you, whatever the result.

Whatever you decide we're here to support you and help you reach that decision - you can find out more about testing options here.