HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus to give it its full title, is a special type of virus, known as a retrovirus, which attacks the body’s immune system via the CD4 cells which are found in the blood and would normally be used to fight off infection As the retrovirus moves through the body, it breaks down and then reassembles the DNA in the body’s cells, so making copies of and spreading the ‘bad’ DNA

If you’ve ever been in the situation where you’ve needed to take a confidential HIV test you’re likely to be concerned with how you may have caught the virus and where your strain originated from Scientists have been trying to work out where the virus originated from since it was discovered in the 1980s, but even now that the exact origin of AIDS and HIV is clear, there are still some ridiculous rumours and conspiracy theories about where AIDS came from

There are many reasons why a confidential HIV test may be something to think about Sex We may as well get directly to the point

Have you recently taken a confidential HIV test With any luck, you’ve breathed a huge sigh of relief as your results came back negative, but not everyone will be so fortunate

Even in these enlightened days, it’s not considered polite dinner conversation to chat openly about the STD testing you may or may not be having Even though it makes sense and every responsible, sexually active adult should be undergoing regular STD testing, it’s something that should perhaps only be shared with your nearest and dearest – and even then, perhaps only the nearest and dearest you’re having sex with

What is it about the City of Angels The place is literally crawling with scandal and secret, it’s enough to make you hope that STD testing, Los Angeles is a thorough affair as everyone seems to be at it, from senators and stars to mayors and madams

Need to tell someone you've got an STD Here are five times when you really shouldn't

Ok, you know you’ve got something; it started off with an annoying little itch here, a faint little rash there, and sometimes things just don’t look quite right, you know, down there It can be a very worrying time wondering if it’s serious, if it’s curable or, if indeed it’s anything to be concerned about at all

There are some families you just don’t want moving into your suburb aren’t there You know the type; messy, unsightly, dirty, smelly and a downright menace to polite society

It’s well documented that there are no medically verified cures for HIV and AIDS While researchers continue to make progress towards getting a cure, there are always going to be a number of discredited treatments and conmen trying to make some money off the backs of people’s desperation

While Hepatitis A is largely only a risk in underdeveloped countries, there are a combined 525 million people in America living with Hepatitis B and C

People are very funny about sexually transmitted diseases Despite our society’s increased openness about sexuality in general, STDs are still a huge taboo: people find it embarrassing to admit that they’ve even been tested (even though it’s a mature decision to make) let alone if they ever had treatment for a disease

Quite a lot of times I have heard anecdotes of people avoiding STD tests because they’re scared of knowing for sure that they have a sexually transmitted disease They’d prefer to stay in the dark, but while there may have been a twisted logic to this some years ago when little could be done about sexually transmitted diseases, nowadays it makes no sense at all