HIV self-test

Since January 2019, AIDS-Hilfe Frankfurt has been selling the HIV self-test at a price of €20. It can be obtained after a personal counselling interview at the counselling and specialist centre, as well as at the MAIN test.

What is an HIV self-test?

An HIV self-test, also called an HIV home test, is an HIV test that can easily be carried out by yourself, e.g. at home. It involves taking some blood from the fingertip and putting it into a test apparatus. The HIV self-test shows the result after about a quarter of an hour. Like other common testing methods, the self-test does not detect HIV directly, but antibodies against the virus.

WARNING: The antibodies only form after some time. The test can therefore only reliably exclude the possibility of HIV transmission 12 weeks after it has occurred.

The self-tests are so sensitive that they sometimes ‘overreact’. They can, for instance, show a positive result even if there is no infection. Therefore, it must be confirmed by another laboratory test. This confirmation test can be done by a doctor at the health office, at a specialised medical practice (see dagnä link), directly at a laboratory, or at maincheck_up. A HIV infection can only be fully confirmed if a second test is also positive.

If the test result is positive, our counsellors are available by phone, in person or online.

Detailed information and answers to frequently asked questions can be found on the homepage of the Deutschen Aidshilfe (German Aids Federation).

We would like to thank the Deutsche Aidshilfe for providing the information on their website.