Things You'll Need:
- Physician or sexual-health professional
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Step 1
Have the test administered by a health professional. This will virtually eliminate any risk that the sample will be mishandled or spoiled.
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Step 2
Familiarize yourself with the policies of the laboratory where your results will be generated. They almost always have a policy forbidding the reporting of results by telephone or the reporting of results that are not yet deemed conclusive. Direct any questions you may have in this regard to the professional conducting the test.
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Step 3
Find out what absorbance values the lab requires in a sample before it is deemed reactive or positive. Generally, this information will be made available to you in the report generated by the testing laboratory. Any questions should be directed to your doctor, sexual-health professional or the laboratory.
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Step 4
Expect that the laboratory that's conducting the testing will, in compliance with medical-privacy laws, only release the results to the individual or organization that sent the sample. Results will either be mailed directly to you or reported to your health-care professional. In the latter case, you will have to make an appointment for a follow-up visit to have your results read to you.
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Step 5
Read your EIA oral fluid test results by comparing your absorbance values of HIV-1 antigen presence against the absorbance values the lab uses to determine reactivity. A completely non-reactive sample will not require any further testing, and it should be considered a negative result.
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Step 6
Submit to further testing, after waiting for a period of time specified by your doctor or health professional, before getting retested. This will only be necessary if the samples you provided were positive or inconclusive.
