Hiv Home Test Kits

[dudeyone]

HIV Home test kits, can I buy them anywhere in BKK? If yes, how much do they cost?

[rcox81]

I'd like to get an HIV test from a pharmacy, over the counter. I went to the pharm in TESCO and the woman said they didnt sell them.

I read that they are sold for 150 to 600 baht.

Does anyone know where I can get a home HIV test kit in bangkok?

I'm near Thong Lo BTS station.

thanks

[Sheryl]

2 similiar threads merged.

HIV home test kits are not licensed for sale in Thailand.

Many countries do not allow them as they can cause a lot of problems e.g. people may misunderstand results in the absence of counseling.

For example, a positive result does NOT mean one has HIV, just that one needs to get a more accurate and complicated type of blood test done by a laboratory; most positives will prove in fact to be negative. (This is done automatically when you are testedi n a health facility and you need never even know about the initial false positive). And a negative result does not rule out HIV infection if there was possible exposure in the recent past. Etc etc. People may unnecesdsarily painic or get a false sense of assurrance if they do not understand all of this. Safe use of hoem test kits requires a pretty sophisticated level of understanding of HIV which the general population here does nto have, so I'm inclined to agree with the MOH on this.

[dudeyone]

Looks like I've got to order some over the internet.

[Sheryl]

Caveat Emptor

[tomartoh]

why dont you just go and get a check up at a hospital, doesnt take long and is cheap enough. at least you will have a proper medical test

[junkofdavid2]

Some people may want to carry it around to test casual partners before intercourse.

But as Sheryl says, results may be inaccurate if the partner was infected in the recent past. Condom use is therefore still the norm.