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Hiv test results conclusive
Hello DR. HHH
I was dating a guy who is HIV+ for four months. In that time we were practicing safer sex and only had sex (with a condom) once as well as oral on a couple occasions before pre-*** was visible. I had an hiv antibody test 6 weeks after the last risk (oral sex) and it came back negative. My neck has been stiff off and on for 6 weeks, but that is the only symptom I have been feeling. I also had a complete blood count done at the same time as my hiv test, where the test results came back all in the normal range.
Is it alright for me to assume that I am HIV- since the HIV test came back negative and my blood shows no signs of fighting any invection or virus.
Thanks,
Ryan
I was dating a guy who is HIV+ for four months. In that time we were practicing safer sex and only had sex (with a condom) once as well as oral on a couple occasions before pre-*** was visible. I had an hiv antibody test 6 weeks after the last risk (oral sex) and it came back negative. My neck has been stiff off and on for 6 weeks, but that is the only symptom I have been feeling. I also had a complete blood count done at the same time as my hiv test, where the test results came back all in the normal range.
Is it alright for me to assume that I am HIV- since the HIV test came back negative and my blood shows no signs of fighting any invection or virus.
Thanks,
Ryan
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Congratulations for having a level-headed, non-panicky perspective. Decidedly atypical for this forum!
It sounds like you were just about as safe as possible, once you made a decision to have sex with an HIV infected person. And with the information (below) that your partner had an undetectable HIV viral load, your risk was zero or close to it. Therefore, your negative test result 6 weeks after the last exposure is completely reliable. And stiff neck is not an HIV symptom anyway.
That said, many official guidelines (CDC, various health departments) continue to recommend a very conservative 3 months as the magic time interval. You truly don't need to be retested, but many people find it anxiety provoking to just ignore such official guidance. If that applies to you, consider another HIV test at 3 months. But you can be sure it will be negative.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
It sounds like you were just about as safe as possible, once you made a decision to have sex with an HIV infected person. And with the information (below) that your partner had an undetectable HIV viral load, your risk was zero or close to it. Therefore, your negative test result 6 weeks after the last exposure is completely reliable. And stiff neck is not an HIV symptom anyway.
That said, many official guidelines (CDC, various health departments) continue to recommend a very conservative 3 months as the magic time interval. You truly don't need to be retested, but many people find it anxiety provoking to just ignore such official guidance. If that applies to you, consider another HIV test at 3 months. But you can be sure it will be negative.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
Hi,
I am George from Romania and i have made protected sex with a person wich is HIV infected. I found that after 4 mounts.
I have made my HIV test and is negative after that period. ( 16 weeks)
Someonu said that you have to wait 6 mounts for a conclusive results, and i am disperate, i can't sleep and i have a lot of panic atack and anxiety.
Please help me with some advices please,
Thanks,
George
I am George from Romania and i have made protected sex with a person wich is HIV infected. I found that after 4 mounts.
I have made my HIV test and is negative after that period. ( 16 weeks)
Someonu said that you have to wait 6 mounts for a conclusive results, and i am disperate, i can't sleep and i have a lot of panic atack and anxiety.
Please help me with some advices please,
Thanks,
George
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You may not start a new thread when it's a follow-up on a previous one. I deleted it. The forum permits only 3 new questions per day and there alway are many more people trying to ask their questions; not fair to block them.
Many experts in fact reommend 6 weeks (e.g., the Massachusetts Health Dept, to name one). Rarely it takes longer, and in really high risk situations, I recommend 3 months.
Consider someone with a 1 in 10,000 risk of catching HIV. Test that person at 6 weeks, when 99% of infected persons will have a positive test. The odds that person has HIV, after testing negative, are 0.0001 x 0.01 = 0.000001. That's 1 in a million. The chance any particular person will die within 24 hours is a lot higher than that. In the US, the lifetime chance of dying by lightning is 1 in 27,000. That is 37 times higher than the chance of having HIV in the example I just gave. Nobody should need more assruance than that.
You can search the threads for "time to positive HIV test" to find at least 100 discussions on this over the years.
HHH, MD
Many experts in fact reommend 6 weeks (e.g., the Massachusetts Health Dept, to name one). Rarely it takes longer, and in really high risk situations, I recommend 3 months.
Consider someone with a 1 in 10,000 risk of catching HIV. Test that person at 6 weeks, when 99% of infected persons will have a positive test. The odds that person has HIV, after testing negative, are 0.0001 x 0.01 = 0.000001. That's 1 in a million. The chance any particular person will die within 24 hours is a lot higher than that. In the US, the lifetime chance of dying by lightning is 1 in 27,000. That is 37 times higher than the chance of having HIV in the example I just gave. Nobody should need more assruance than that.
You can search the threads for "time to positive HIV test" to find at least 100 discussions on this over the years.
HHH, MD
And you have a 1 in 3 chance of developing cancer in your life.
Ryn - its good that you always practice safe sex - you should be in the clear, If you gave unprotected oral the risk would only average 1/10000 per episode. Since it seems as though her never ejaculated in your mouth the risk is probably much less than that. A six week negative is highly encouraging - although most authorities say 3 months is the definitive window period. So you may wanna retest. Can I ask why would you engage any sexual relations with anyone you knew had HIV - something could go wrong like a condom breakage?
I forgot to mention that my boyfriend's viral load was undetectable, so would that also make the risk lower?
Ryan
Ryan
You are reading content posted in the HIV - Prevention Forum
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