Where to get a quick HIV test in BKK

[vnman]

All this talk about the bug in other threads has gotten me paranoid.

And let me give you some ammunition. I really don't wanna know. Holly cow, my life would change so much that I rather stick my head in the sand. I should talk in past tense because I really should/want to get tested.

When I was residing in Thailand, I always used a condom. Only one guy,with whom I often got high, I didn't. Let me tell you, that hunted me for a long time, before I decided to go and got tested...negative. Phew, I'm never doing that again. Until the next time I "carried the sample" and did it again :violent1:

So this idiot (by self admittance) would like to get tested while in BKK. Is there a clinic where I can get a discreet, quick test?

Is there a clinic where I can get a discreet, quick test?

Firstly good for you for deciding to go and get tested, I know only to well that feeling of "should I or shouldn't I" where "no I'll not bother today, maybe tomorrow" seems the easiest option, however when you're honest with yourself and admit the number of times you get that quiet, sharp, niggling pain in the back of your brain when you subconsciously think about it and know that you haven't been in quite a while I can assure you that it's much better just to get it over with and so on average ( by far) walk out with a quick and easy negative result, enabling you to sleep at night that little bit better and get on with your life without worrying about it.

Firstly by the sounds of it and as I think you know this you got away with perhaps the most dangerous and high risk situation ( the whole getting high and BB'ing end of things) as that again as I think you already know is where the risk can be at it's highest due to the likelihood of either of you having multiple (high) BB partners ( I accept that wasn't the situation in your case of course ) so I'm sure if you got the all clear after that and have used condoms since you'll be fine and have absolutely nothing to worry about so getting tested is a good idea just for your own peace of mind now if nothing else.

Re locations there are many places in Bkk where you can get tested, ranging from hospitals to some pharmacies to HIV prevention / help centres, personally speaking I went to the Christian hospital in Silom as I KNEW the test would be accurate as I didn't fancy leaving it to some back street Pharmacy as I'd heard reports they may not always be 100% accurate, I found the hospital great, very fast service overall, a very fast result ( one hour), no drama, no judgement, no hassles and very cheap ( well under 1000 baht I seem to recall).

Just walk in the door, tell the receptionist you'd like an HIV test ( it's Silom she's heard it a MILLION times before so she won't even blink) fill in a quick form with your name and address and passport number etc and join the seated "queue" in the out patients area, - I should add ( and I don't know why I did this but I think I'd read somewhere to perhaps maybe be careful in giving your "actual" ID and passport details perhaps if you where living / working in Thailand etc ? and me being paranoid as if my test had been positive I didn't me getting turned away at the airport or some crazy thing in the future - which of course would probably NEVER happen and I was just being paranoid , but anyway to be on the safe side I rightly or wrongly gave a dummy name, DOB , hotel address and Passport number and when the receptionist asked for my ID to photocopy it and attach it to the form I told her I'd left it in the hotel and she sort of smirked, smiled at me and said "ok" and carried on so I get the feeling that happens a lot and apart from that one moment it was never an issue again - perhaps someone else can tell me being Thailand whether this charade was a smart move and necessary or not just for the benefit of others in the future perhaps ??


So, I arrived there about 10pm at night so there was no real queue to speak of, you're taken into a private room, have a quick casual chat with the Doc just so he can make sure that they are doing the right test that you've asked for, he then ticks your form and a nurse escorts you upstairs to a very friendly technician who takes a very quick and painless blood sample and you're then asked to have seat back downstairs again and told to wait for about an hour while they complete the test. I actually told them I was nipping out for a while and went across the road to the mall and sat and had a coffee and sent some emails etc ( have to admit that was a long hour :-), so went back in, made myself known to the nurse to say I was back, was taken straight back into to see the same Doc who ticked my form and he literally opens the sealed envelope in front of you and gives you the result - which as I said I'm sure based on what you've said will all be fine :)

And on a final note - you'd mentioned that your life should you have received a positive test result that your life would change so much etc - well not to in ANY way undermine the message of sex safe being essential for our own safety etc - but after doing a LOT of work on this whole subject for my Thai friend who got his positive result and wasn't able or willing to address the issue i did on his behalf and I have to say that thankfully HIV is no longer the horrible thing that we all once thought it was, as with the advent of all the good drugs that they've now developed HIV ( and this is in the Doctors own words ) is now considered not to be a fatal disease but more just a chronic manageable condition, compared again in his own words to being no worse than you having perhaps Diabetes !.

It's also apparent now that a person with HIV will on balance and assuming they take their prescribed few tablets every day as and when that time comes ( which could be several years away after infection) that they will have basically exactly the same life expectancy as a person without HIV and that they will almost certainly die of something totally non related to "hiv/aids". Also the days of harsh drug regimes which may have made you almost ill in themselves have now gone also and it could be as simple as just normal health monitoring every six months or so and then once you require it due to your immune system lowering to a level where it's necessary you simply going on perhaps two tablets, twice a day - and that's it - so HIV ( thank god) is really not the "death sentence" that we all were taught about even five or ten years ago and it seems that the Doctors really do believe seem to believe that they are very close to finding a cure in our lifetime perhaps ( fingers crossed eh !)

So, whilst OF COURSE we should all both for the sake of ourselves and our partners always practice safe sex to try and lessen the chances of contracting "anything" ( aside from HIV even) if one is unlucky and it happens it's really not the end of your world / your life in the way it perhaps once was as HIV is now a very manageable "condition" - and again to be clear I am in no way trying to lessen the significance of HIV or the people suffering from it or suggesting we should "relax a bit" about it now but am just stressing that to NOT get tested as you think it may change your life is now longer necessary and getting tested and staying safe thereafter is by FAR the better option both for our own mental health and our physical well being.

And apologies if the above sounds like some patronising lecture - it certainly wasn't intended as such either to yourself or the board in general - but just after my going through all the various stages of worry and having lots of incorrect / out of date knowledge myself about HIV, based on years of "scare stories" and bad press that we've all heard to my now gaining ultimate peace of mind in both KNOWING I'm negative and also my friend is on the whole going to be "ok" after going through what I had with him and his positive result just a few months ago I had gone out of my way to go to a few courses and talk to several medial professionals on his behalf both to educate myself and also him ( as of course he point blank refused and still refuses to see ANYONE in Bangkok because of his (misplaced) shame but that's something I'm currently working on with him as we speak, so in turn I gained a lot of new knowledge re the latest developments re HIV transmission and living with HIV and it's not the terrifying thing it once was and so if passing that info maybe helps someone / anyone else on the board in some unknown way or perhaps leads then after many years avoiding the issue to go and get a quick test done then I'm happy about that - and of course all of those who perhaps don't care or just don't want to know or read about this well then that's fine too - "up to you" of course.

So, hope that all helps in some small ay and the best of luck ( not that you'll need it I'm sure)

[anonone]

Another great post NIrish Guy.

I understand and support your "ID Fake Out" for the HIV test in Thailand. I considered getting an HIV test during one of my visits (just as a routine thing, not due to any activities or particular worry), but I do not know the ramifications of a positive test with regard to future visits, any medical privacy "laws", etc.

Just curious about something in all your recent research. What did you learn regarding possibility of HIV transmission via unprotected male oral sex?

The last 2 HIV tests I took, during the mandatory "counseling" portion, one staff indicated there is a theoretical risk but highly difficult to transmit this way. The other staff insisted if I put a cock in my mouth without a condom, I would instantly catch every disease known to man....

Some quick research on my own resulted in some disclaimer type wording (it is possible for transmission this way), but seems to indicate the risk is pretty low.

Thoughts?

[Brettjm]

Hi,

I know you weren't asking me, but I'll throw in my few cents worth. I directed a HIV behavior change project for some years in Madagascar and looked closely at the research on this subject.

The truth about the oral sex risk question, and the reason for the "disclaimer" type responses to the question, is that no one really definitively knows the answer to the question in terms of really being able to say "the risk is x or y %". It is my impression that this is because many people who give blow jobs also perform other risky behaviour, so it's hard to know exactly how seroconversion occurred. My conclusion after reading tons of research was that the good news is that receiving oral sex (getting a blow job) is very low risk. Giving a blow job with no ejaculation into the mouth is also extremely low risk. The bad news is that it's sure in theory that giving oral sex where there is ejaculation into the mouth is risky, and there are proven cases or seroconversion of people whose only activity was receptive oral sex with ejaculation, but no one really has very well quantified just how risky. There are numerous factors that increase the risk such as other STIs present in the active partner, or oral lesions in the passive partner. Disclaimer: I'm not a HIV professional I'm just a project manager who as part of the job reviewed the research.

You can read a reasonable explanation here:

http://aidsmap.com/Oral-sex/page/1044877

[vnman]

Brettjm, I'm not sure why I/we didn't ask you. It was a question to the board so your input is definitely appreciated.

I would especially like to thank NIrish Guy for the effort he has put in his post.

Just like anonone, I to understand your fake ID move completely. When I did my test I gave a fake name, too. This is also the reason I rather get tested in Thailand. No idea what will happen when tested positive in a country like Vietnam. I wasn't planning on revealing my real name in Thailand either.

I don't know if you guys know the http://thesciencenetwork.org/

http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/t ... old-to-hiv (http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/the-science-studio/viruses-the-common-cold-to-hiv)
this is the best expatiation about HIV and other viruses I've ever seen.

What my test is concerned, I'll follow your lead and visit the Christian hospital.

Tnx again and be sure to watch that program.

Thanks guys glad you found it of interest.

Re your question about the risks of unprotected oral etc Anonone, Brettjm has covered that fairly much perfectly and there's probably not much more I would add other than to say when I asked exactly the same question to the GUM clinic Doctor during my last check up he took the time to look up the answer from the latest info available to medics from a doctors online HIV reference library and it was as Brettjm has already said a very low risk - something like 1% or 2 % risk if I recall correctly. And as also alredy mentioned the reason that the health professionals as so sketchy about the answer is that they admit that they just don't know yet as they believe even when people state "oh but I only done oral" that that may not be the exact truth perhaps and as mentioned other STI's can also skew the figures, but it's certainly a low risk figure and speaking personally not one that I worry about too much ( but up to you of course) - actually if anything I would think and worry about all the other STI's that are floating about once you get down to those low risk figures rather than HIV perhaps but I guess if we were all to go life worrying about every "what if's" we'd never leave the house !

[anonone]

thanks to all...and yes, Brettjm, I am glad you answered as well.

Goes along with what i surmised...fairly difficult to catch this way, but CYA wording just in case.

The one "counselor" that used such strong cautions regarding oral sex...well, I think he had some kind of agenda or axe to grind.
Just wanted to make sure I wasn't totally off base...at least in this regard :bounce:

[vnman]

http://www.orasure.com/products-infecti ... aquick.asp (http://www.orasure.com/products-infectious/products-infectious-oraquick.asp)

Seems like a good investment to me.

OSUR on the NASDAQ

I'm guessing your post was in response to the news a day or so ago that FDA in the US has now agreed / passed home self testing by people for HIV and this company is the one ( or one of the ones no doubt) who makes a cheap home testing machine.

Aside from the business aspect of this ( and I make no comment there either way as I know nothing about the company concerned or how much competition there is in the market or whether they will be an over night success or not etc so "Caveat emptor" is the best phrase to use there I think, but aside from all that what do we think about "home" testing rather than having to go to a clinic ?

The reasons for this I believe were always two fold in that they wanted to ensure an accurate test result was given and also that when someone DID get a positive result that they had the instant support and backup to help them get over the shock and get the correct treatment in the future - and I'm also guessing they wanted to keep some sort of handle on the levels and numbers of infections going on in the Country !

So, now that will all be wiped out by home testing, so will people now simply do a home test every week and either a) if negative take it as a weekly permission to go out and fuck bareback all round them ( and maybe if everyone was gdoing that is that perhaps ok ? - I'm saying not here by the way as due to the 3 month "window" that it can take for HIV antibodies to develop in your body getting a negative result on a day does NOT mean you don't have HIV it just means you definitely didn't have it 3 months ago and your test result could change over the next few months) but I guess it's a valid question // or b) will they get a positive result and either just totally ignore it an still go out and fuck all around them as normal OR perhaps ignore the result somewhat but do start to engage in safe (or no) sex but ignore their own health and not go on meds when needed etc until such times as they have actually damaged their immune system perhaps beyond repair! ?

I guess the one piece of good news from this is that even the FDA realise that HIV is not the killer it once was etc and are now playing down the significance of the previous necessity for strict health professional only screening and are now happy to leave it up to the individual in the hope that we all now take responsibility for our own HIV status in a responsible manner - but I just have a horrible feeling we're going to see guys with these machines sitting in hotels in Sunee etc asking their Thai guys to "blow into the bag" so to speak thinking that covers them and it SO doesn't ! - so, are they right about this or generally speaking worldwide is this more likely to be a bad law that may lead to more and not less cases of HIV infection perhaps ??

[anonone]

I can see some ignorant folks going down the paths that NIrish has suggested, but on the whole, I think it is a good thing. I have had mixed experiences with the "trained professionals" when getting the HIV test. A couple were very good, some mediocre, and one that was about the last person I would want "counseling" me in the case of a positive result.

If these were reasonably priced, I would like to have this option. No trips to clinics and no time wasted in waiting rooms. The probably use the same type of test in the clinical environment, so if directions are followed I would be the results are just as accurate. Out of curiosity, I tried to look for how much these things cost at the provided link, but you need to set up some kind of account and I just gave up.

While the idiots tend to get the most notice, I would think the majority of people that take responsibility for knowing their status would be pretty levelheaded and react appropriately at test results.

[vnman]

Some good points.

I've spoken to a couple guys that actually use those ya-pop home kits to test boys. I can see many doing the same with this new tool.

[Impulse]

It would be interesting to see who is positive...and if they are try to get them some help if they need it.

I'm sure I've been with some who were positive. One I was with I found out from someone else that he was positive with hepc. I really thought I had HIV after that for about 4 months until I was tested negative. I had what I thought was a nasty conversion episode and was really sick for a couple weeks.

I was rather ignorant back them as i thought you could become positive thru oral. Now realising how low the risks are for that mode.

[Brettjm]

They range in price from around $20 (I think that was a subsidized price) to around $50. About $45 online in Australia at the moment.

We've used them a lot at work, very easy, no stabbing or blood (just saliva) and a quick response.

[vnman]

brett, they are already sold in Australia?

[Brettjm]

$47.95 available here: http://www.hivtestaustralia.com/16-oraq ... -test.html (http://www.hivtestaustralia.com/16-oraquick-advance-rapid-hiv-1-2-antibody-test.html)

But I think they actually ship from Hong Kong.