Getting checked for HIV and hepatitis C
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What are HIV and hepatitis C?
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that affects your immune system, the part of your body that fights infection. It can make you more likely to get other infections, and more likely to get sicker from them. Hepatitis C is a virus that affects your liver. It can lead to serious problems like cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and liver cancer.
Hepatitis C spreads mainly through blood, and HIV can spread through blood and other body fluids. Sharing needles or other injection supplies is one way both can spread.
Why get tested?
Knowing your status is one of the best things you can do for your health. If you use drugs by injecting or inhaling them, or you have in the past, it’s worth finding out about both HIV and hepatitis C. Either one can be in your body without any symptoms, and both are very treatable. All it takes is a blood or saliva test.
- HIV: Treatment can bring the virus down to a level tests can’t detect, and keep it there.
- Hepatitis C: Treatment can cure it completely.
How can I get tested or treated?
You can do some testing at home. You order a kit, take your sample, and get your result either right away or after you mail the sample back, depending on the test.
If you want follow-up testing or would rather be seen in person, these are good places to start, and they can connect you to treatment if you need it:
- Your primary care provider
- A community health center
- Your city or county health department
State-specific resources
Multiple states
- Take Me Home: free at-home HIV and hepatitis C testing
- Find a Hep C Healthcare Professional and Prepare for Your Visit: a tool for finding hepatitis C treatment
Alaska
- I Know Mine: free at-home HIV testing
Colorado
- Test Yourself Colorado: free at-home HIV testing
Michigan
- NEXT Distro: free at-home HIV test kits by mail through the Grand Rapids Red Project
- Red Project: HIV care and resources in Kent and Muskegon counties
- Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: hepatitis C: information about hepatitis C
- We Treat Hep C (Michigan): hepatitis C treatment resources
New Mexico
- NM HIV Guide: find HIV and hepatitis C testing and treatment in your area
- Be Tested NM: free at-home HIV testing
North Carolina
- Mecklenburg County free testing kit: free at-home HIV testing for people who live in Mecklenburg County
Ohio
- Hep C My Way: at-home hepatitis C testing and treatment
- Ohio HIV free test kit: free at-home HIV testing
- Central Outreach Cleveland Heights: free, confidential HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment in Cleveland Heights and Columbus
- Ohio hepatitis C resource guide: a guide to hepatitis C resources in Ohio (PDF)
Oregon
- HIV Alliance: free in-person hepatitis C testing in several counties
Washington
- CAPNW: at-home hepatitis C testing for southwest Washington