HIV Testing Week: Somerset's sexual health clinic holds testing pop-ups
SWISH aim to debunk the myths surrounding HIV, and offer free testing, in the clinic or at home
Last updated 8th Feb 2024
To mark HIV testing week, SWISH are spreading awareness about HIV testing and offering testing clinics across the county.
HIV is an infection which attacks a person’s immune system, and if it stays in an individual’s system for long enough without being detected, it can cause more serious health problems in the future.
Nurses at SWISH say there's still a negative stigma attached to the disease, which hit the headlines following a serious outbreak in the 1980s.
"I was a teenager in the '80s, when all of those awful adverts were out," said specialist nurse Paula Hill, "I think so many people still have that preconception."
"Even our patients that I feel are really au fait with their sexual health, when you talk about HIV their knowledge and understanding is not up to date."
With such negative stigma attached to HIV, SWISH hopes to help people understand you don't need to be a part of a certain group to catch the infection, anyone can get it.
Over the past decades, treatment for HIV has seen remarkable advancements.
Most of those who are living with HIV, become undetected within 6 months of taking their medication, meaning they are unable to transmit the infection.
Doctor Sathish Thomas William said: “HIV is considered as a long-term condition, and we have amazing medications which control the viral virus fully.
"There is no cure yet, but medication completely controls the virus, which means the virus becomes undetected, meaning you cannot transmit the infection”.
SWISH urge people to get tested every 3 months, and every time they have a change in sexual partners, no matter the number.
Testing does not need to be done at the clinic and can be done in the comfort of your own home, by getting a testing kit which can be ordered online.
The team at SWISH will be in Yeovil on Wednesday, Frome on Thursday and Taunton on Friday.
You can find out more on their website.