Information

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the immune system, the body’s defense against illness. If left untreated, HIV can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV and AIDS can’t be cured, but the medications available today help people live normal life spans.

HIV spreads through contact with blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluid, vaginal fluids, or breast milk of an infected person. Transmission can occur from unsafe sex.

It can also result from exposure to blood through the sharing of used syringes or needles.

Women living with HIV can pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. It is also possible to become infected with HIV through a blood transfusion, although this is now very rare.

HIV cannot be passed on from one person to another through casual contact. There is no risk of infection when we share everyday items such as food, dishes, utensils, clothes, beds and toilets with a person living with HIV.

The virus is not spread from contact with sweat, tears, saliva, or a casual kiss from an infected person. People do not become infected from eating food prepared by a person living with HIV. People have not become infected with HIV through insect bites.

The test uses simple flow-through technology to detect HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies using a drop of human fingerstick blood. The test does not detect the virus itself. The test dot will only be visible if HIV antibodies are present. The INSTI^® HIV Self Test is simple to perform and very accurate, but it will only work correctly if you carefully read and follow the instructions. You may test positive with INSTI^® HIV Self Test in as little as 21-22 days after infection¹, however, it can take as long as 3 months to produce a positive result. A negative result may not be accurate until 3 months after infection.

Diagnostic sensitivity is the measure of efficiency for HIV antobodies detection. Diagnostic specificity is a measure of efficiency to detect healthy, non-HIV infected patients. In studies, the sensitivity of the INSTI was 100% and the specificity 99.5% respectively 99.8%. The results are extremely accurate and are over 99% reliable.

The INSTI^® HIV Self Test has a built-in control dot to show that the test has been performed correctly and that you have added the proper amount of fingerstick blood. If the control dot does not appear, your test has not worked. Please discard your test and retest with a new test.

If only the control dot is visible it means that your result is negative and you probably do not have HIV.

If two dots are visible your test result is positive. This means you likely have HIV. Although the results of the INSTI^® HIV Self Test are very accurate, you MUST have a positive result confirmed by a doctor as soon as possible so that treatment can be started immediately. It is essential for your health and wellbeing that you seek medical advice if your result is positive.

If your result is negative, but you have been involved in an activity in the past 3 months that puts you at risk of HIV infection, you may be in the so-called “diagnostic window”.
You are advised to have another test at a later date.

See a doctor as soon as possible and tell him or her that you have done an HIV self-test. All positive results must be confirmed by a laboratory test.