HIV testing

Hiv-testaus pikatestillä Hivpointissa

Page last reviewed 28.2.2024

HIV testing is easy, free and confidential

  • You should consider getting an HIV test if you have had vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom and you don’t know if your sexual partner has HIV.
  • You can get free HIV test at your own health center or at Hivpoint. Read more!
  • The HIV test can be done through a blood test from your arm, using an HIV rapid test, or a home HIV test.
  • You can get an HIV test earliest 3 weeks after the risk situation, but a negative test result is only reliable three months after the risk situation.

You cannot know if a person has HIV based on their looks or based on symptoms. HIV testing is the only way to know for sure. In Finland everyone has the right to be tested for HIV in public health care, where HIV testing and treatment is free. You should be able to get tested simply by asking for a test, no assessment by a doctor is needed. You can also get tested for HIV in other cities in Finland, outside your city of residence.

HIV testing anonymously in public health centers

It is possible to get an HIV test anonymously through public health centers. This is done, for example, by creating a temporary personal identity number for the client, used only for the HIV test.

Where to get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections?

  • public health care centers
  • STI clinics (venereal diseases outpatient clinics)
  • occupational health care
  • student health care
  • private providers of health care and social services, private medical centers (chargeable)
  • NGOs like Hivpoint, read more about our STI testing service and rapid HIV testing service
Video by Avert.

You should get tested if any of these apply to your situation:

  • If you have had vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom and you do not know if your partner has HIV or not.
  • If you have had oral sex and received vaginal secretions, pre-ejaculate or semen in your mouth (and you do not know if your partner has HIV or not).
  • If you have used the same drug injecting equipment with another person.

There is a risk of HIV infection in situations where blood or secretions, such as vaginal secretions or semen enter another person’s mucous membranes or bloodstream. HIV does not transmit easily and the largest risk of infection through sex is in vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom. Oral sex has a very low risk of infection for the person who receives vaginal secretions, pre-ejaculate or semen in the mouth.

A person living with HIV, who is on effective HIV medication, cannot infect another person with HIV, even during sex without a condom. HIV medication significantly reduces the transmission of HIV also in injection drug users, when using shared injection equipment.

You can get an HIV test:

  • Earliest 3 weeks after exposure to HIV.
  • Preferably 3 months or more after exposure to HIV.

You can go for an HIV test at the earliest 3 weeks after you may have been exposed to HIV. Almost all HIV infections can be detected as early as two months after exposure to HIV. A negative test result is fully reliable only three months after exposure. HIV tests look for antibodies against HIV in the blood. The human body begins to produce antibodies at its own pace after infection. Therefore, antibodies cannot be found in the test immediately after the exposure. This is why you can’t get tested for HIV right after unprotected sex.

For the most part, antibodies are visible in the test six weeks after infection. But it may take longer for the antibodies to appear. That is why a negative test result three months after the most recent risk situation is considered reliable. However, you can get tested for HIV as early as 4-6 weeks after exposure. If the result is negative, it should be confirmed with a new test, which is taken after the three months have passed. During this time, we advise to use a condom or dental dam during sex. A lot of water-soluble or silicone-based lubricant should be used together with a condom for anal intercourse.

HIV can be tested through a blood test from your arm, with a rapid HIV test or with a home HIV test. The HIV test is usually done with either a vein blood test from the arm or a drop of blood from the fingertip. The most commonly used test in Finland is HIV AgAb. This type of test recognizes both the antigen and antibodies in the serum.

The result of vein blood tests are developed within a week. The test on the blood from the fingertip can be conducted as a rapid test, which delivers the results in as little as 1 minute.

HIV can be tested through a blood test from your arm, with a rapid HIV test or with a home HIV test. The HIV test is usually done with either a vein blood test from the arm or a drop of blood from the fingertip. The most commonly used test in Finland is HIV AgAb. This type of test recognizes both the antigen and antibodies in the serum.

The result of vein blood tests are developed within a week. The test on the blood from the fingertip can be conducted as a rapid test, which delivers the results in as little as 1 minute.

Read more about HIV home testing!

A negative result means that no antibodies of the HI virus were found in the blood. In other words, if the test was done after 3 months of the risk situation, a negative result means that the tested person does not have HIV. If the risk situation was less than 3 months before the test, we suggest taking another test once 3 months have passed. This applies to all ways HIV can be tested in, whether you get tested from your fingertip, vein blood or by using a home test.

In case the rapid test from the fingertip blood is positive, a vein blood test is taken in order to confirm the result. The results of the confirmation are delivered in about a week. An HIV infection diagnosis can be made only after the confirmation test. A positive test result may cause anxiety or fear. We recommend reaching out to a reliable place for support if needed, such as Hivpoint or the health care system.

The amounts of HI virus in a human’s bodily fluids are particularly high right after transmission, at which point the infection does not yet show in tests. So, it is possible to transmit the disease without one’s knowledge at this stage. Before receiving the final results from the tests, it is important to use a condom, as well as lubricant if necessary, in all sexual contact.

Hivpoint`s testing services

Rapid HIV testing service

Checkpoint HIV testing service is anonymous and free of charge. The rapid HIV test is done by taking a small drop of blood from the fingertip. The result will be available in 60 seconds. There is an opportunity to get advice for your own situation while testing.

STI testing service

At Checkpoint STI testing service, it is possible to get tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV. Chlamydia and gonorrhea tests are taken as a urine sample or as rectal or throat swab according to what kind of sex you have had. Syphilis and HIV are tested from the blood, either with a rapid test or as a venous blood sample. The service is free of charge.