Free Hepatitis C Test Kit by Post

Description: Get checked for hepatitis C with a free home self-sampling test from SHL. Take your own blood sample at home, post it to our lab to be tested, and get your confidential results online.

You prick your finger with a special needle called a lancet. Then collect some drops of blood in the sample tube. We have lots of tips to help you collect your blood sample. It’s a very small amount of blood and most people can manage it.

Availability: This depends on whether you’re using SHL for the first time and whether your consultation suggests you need hepatitis C testing.

All registered SHL users can order up to 4 home self-sampling test kits a year. Check which SHL services are available in your London borough.

Delivery: £0.00 Free delivery to your home or another London address. Always in a plain discreet package that fits through the letterbox.

Returning your samples is free too. Put them in the prepaid box and then post in any Royal Mail postbox.

STI Kit Cost: £0.00 Free.

Results: You’ll usually get your results 2 or 3 days after your samples arrive at our lab. We’ll text or email when they’re ready. You can see them online in your SHL account. They’re completely secure and private.

Hepatitis C test results are usually either negative or reactive.

• A negative result means hepatitis C was not detected.
• A reactive result may mean you have hepatitis C now. It can also mean you’ve had hepatitis C in the past and your body cleared it, or it was cured with treatment. You can get hepatitis C more than once, so you may have hepatitis C now even if you’ve cleared it in the past.
  
  If your result is reactive, you’ll need to go to a clinic for additional blood tests (for example a hepatitis C RNA test) to confirm whether the virus is still present or if you’ve successfully cleared it. In some cases, we ask you to re-test using another SHL test kit instead of attending a clinic. Sometimes when these additional tests are done they show that you have never had (or been exposed to) hepatitis C.

More about what SHL test results mean

Treatment:  If you have an active hepatitis C infection, you’ll be referred to a hepatitis outpatient clinic for free NHS care and treatment. You’ll get support to manage the virus until it’s cured.

Consultation: Our online consultation checks if a home self-sampling hepatitis C test is right for you. We may also offer you other STI tests. Some tests need different samples, like a urine sample or vaginal swab.

Treatment:  If you have an active hepatitis C infection, you’ll be referred to a hepatitis outpatient clinic for free NHS care and treatment. You’ll get support to manage the virus until it’s cured.

Consultation: Our online consultation checks if a home self-sampling hepatitis C test is right for you. We may also offer you other STI tests. Some tests need different samples, like a urine sample or vaginal swab.

Hepatitis C

• Hepatitis C is a virus that affects the liver. It’s passed on by blood-to-blood contact, for example by sharing drug injecting equipment or from some types of sexual activity
• Hepatitis C is not common, but it’s more common in London than other parts of the UK
• Many people with hepatitis C don’t notice any symptoms – getting tested is the only way to know if you have it
• In some people, the immune system will clear hepatitis C after a few weeks or months – but most people will need treatment to cure the virus
• Hepatitis C is treated with highly effective antiviral tablets. These are free from the NHS
• If hepatitis C is not treated early, it can end up causing serious liver damage which can eventually be life-threatening
• If you have hepatitis C, sexual partners need to get tested and may need treatment

Do I need a hepatitis C test?

Hepatitis C can damage the liver if it’s not detected and cured as early as possible.

When you order a free STI test kit from SHL, we’ll ask you a few questions to check if you could be at higher risk of hepatitis C. If so, we’ll advise a hepatitis C test.

If you only want to test for hepatitis C, you’re 18 or over, and you live in England, you can order a free NHS hepatitis C test.

Anyone can get hepatitis C, but some people may have a higher chance of having hepatitis C.

It's worth considering a hepatitis C test if you:

• Think you could have been exposed to hepatitis C – even if you don’t have symptoms or you’ve had hepatitis C before
• Have hepatitis C symptoms
• Have a higher chance of having hepatitis C, for example because of:
• Having group sex
• Having chemsex (sex when using drugs)
• Having anal sex without a condom
• Living with HIV
• Fisting without gloves
• Any kind of rough sex
• Sex without a condom when one or both partners have an STI or another genital infection

When’s the best time to get a hepatitis C test?

When you order an STI testing kit, SHL will assess if you need hepatitis C testing by asking you certain questions.

If you’re not offered a hepatitis C test but feel you need one, you can contact the SHL team to discuss this. We may sometimes suggest you get tested at a sexual health clinic instead of testing at home.

Hepatitis C may not show up on a test straight away. Testing too early may mean you test negative even if you do have early hepatitis C. Consider retesting 3 to 6 months after your last possible exposure to hepatitis C to make sure your test is as accurate as possible.

Register and order your free STI testing kit.

If you only want to test for hepatitis C, you’re 18 or over, and you live in England, you can get a free NHS hepatitis C test.