Infections · 5 min read · Updated October 2026
HIV: testing, PrEP and living well
Knowing your status is the first step. Testing is quick and confidential, treatment lets you live a full life, and PrEP can stop you getting HIV.
Clinician review pending This article is awaiting sign-off by a doctor.
HIV is a virus that weakens the immune system. With today's treatment, a person living with HIV can expect a normal life span and cannot pass the virus on once it is undetectable in the blood. The hard part is still the first step: getting tested.
Who should test
Everyone who has ever had sex should know their status, and anyone who is pregnant, has a new partner, has had a sexually transmitted infection, shares injecting equipment, or whose partner is living with HIV should test regularly. In many African countries, self-test kits are sold at pharmacies: you swab your gums and read the result in 20 minutes. A positive self-test must be confirmed at a clinic.
What a result means
A negative test is reliable about 6 weeks after a possible exposure (most modern tests detect earlier, but repeat if the exposure was recent). A positive test is not a death sentence: treatment with one tablet a day usually makes the virus undetectable within months. Starting treatment the same week you are diagnosed is now standard.
PrEP: medicine that prevents HIV
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily tablet (or, where available, a two-monthly injection) for people who are HIV-negative and at risk. Taken correctly it prevents nearly all sexual transmission. It needs a negative HIV test before starting and every three months. Condoms still matter because PrEP does not prevent other infections or pregnancy.
After a possible exposure
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is a 28-day course that can stop infection if started within 72 hours, and the sooner the better. Go to a clinic or hospital today, not tomorrow. This includes after sexual assault, when the clinic can also help with emergency contraception and support.
When to seek help
See a doctor now if you have a possible exposure in the last 72 hours (for PEP), if you test positive on a self-test, or if you are living with HIV and have fever, weight loss, a cough for more than two weeks, severe headache or new skin changes. Go to a hospital if you are confused, cannot keep medicines down, or have severe breathlessness.
How Telafia can help
A doctor can talk through testing options, prescribe PrEP after a negative test at a clinic, review your treatment, and refer you to a local HIV service. Telafia never puts HIV information in SMS or WhatsApp messages.
Emergency numbers
767 works in Lagos State; 112 is the national number. Numbers change: please check locally. If a number does not connect, go straight to the nearest hospital.
Related doctors
Questions about this? A general practice doctor can help today.