Will A Blood Test Help Identify If One Has HIV?

Posted on Wed, 1 Aug 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 1 Aug 2018 Answered on

Wed, 2 Mar 2022 Last reviewed on

Question : i want to take a blood picture test, will this tell me if i HIV or not?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
only tests specific for HIV can identify it

Detailed Answer:

Hi,

Only an HIV test can determine if a person definitely has HIV or not.

There are different types of HIV tests, some look for the virus itself or parts of the virus and others may look to antibodies to the HIV virus.

Antibodies are chemicals that form in the body as a reaction to viruses or bacteria etc. For example if a person had chicken pox or measles , when you check their blood, you would find antibodies that have formed for those specific viruses.

Taking a picture of the blood or any other blood tests that it is not an HIV test, will not tell if a person has HIV.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar