Hiv

[helpme9988]

I had a risky exposure in jamaica (unprotected vaginal) and then my 5 month antiboody/antigen test result was 0.18 - negative. One of my friend told me he also got into hiv test and he got 0.3 from antobody/antigen and he told me he was almost hiv and he got some hiv but not all of it.

is there something like getting hiv a little bit but not fully? or should i believe my 5 month 0.18 result after this very risky exposure to jamaican CSW.

Also could you explain me what this 0.18 stands for because it makes me nervous about my hiv status.
Last question: do i need to get tested again or should i trust my result completely and have unprotected sex with my future wife. Because i decided not to have sex with anybody until  my marriage.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

this will be your last answer.  the "thing" inserted in yor penis was most likely  a swab used to test for STDs like gonorrhea and chlamydia.  You cannot get HIV in this way.  EWH

[helpme9988]

Dr. Hook if it is ok I would like to ask one more question.

  As I said, I went to a hospital in my homecountry 5 months after the exposure. They took my blood and they inserted something from the penis hole to check something. Now I am nervous because what if i got hiv or some other virus from the thing they inserted in my penis? What did they check by inserting that thing from my penis hole?

thank you

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No, other than persons who were taking HIV therapy in an unsuccessful effort to prevent HIV.  In your case, you can test and test and test and the results will be the same.  further testing is a waste of your time and money (if not yours, then someone else's)  EWH

[helpme9988]

Dr. Hook,

1 Last question:

There are some rare examples in the past that negative changed to positive after 6 months. I read this somewhere online. Why do you think that it is impossible for us to happen? I am asking this because I just dont want to risk my partners life and I want to believe that I am completely clear about this situation.

Thank you  

[Edward W Hook, MD]

You are it should read "If the first test is positive but the 2nd is negative the person does not have HIV, if both tests are POSITVE, the person definitely has HIV. "

The impact of duration of exposure is unknown and unstudied.

Gettting tested at a year is a waste of time and money,

The value of 0.18 reflects the way the test works, nothing more.  RELAX.  EWH

[helpme9988]

Thank you Dr. you said "If the first test is positive but the 2nd is negative the person does not have HIV, if both tests are negative, the person definitely has HIV. "
I think there is something wrong with this sentence.

2) I also got negative result 3rd week, 6th week 3rd month and as i said on the 5th month.
Because these tests can give false positive results I cant get the idea of having false negative out of my mind.

Also my exposure happened after broken condom for like max 5 min.

but i was planning to get into test 1 more time after a year.
you are saying that there is no way it can be something other than negative right?

3) Why did I have 0.18, did you have patients who had it as high as 0.18 ?


Thank you

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I think it is your friend who needs information, not you.   The idea of "almost having HIV" is like the idea of being "a little bit" pregnant.  Either you have it or you do not.

When tests for HIV are performed, the results are reported from the machines on which the testing is done as numbers.  Numbers above a cutoff value determined by the test manufacturer are positive meaning that the person likely has HIV and numbers below the cut off are negative, indicating that the person does not have HIV.  Where in the negative numerical range a person’s values are is not at all important for anyone tested more than 8 weeks following their exposure - negative is negative. Similarly, the any specimen which gives a positive result is positive, no matter what the number is.  HOWEVER because rare specimens can be falsely positive, when a person has a positive test, a second test is done to confirm that the person has HIV, not a false positive test.  If the first test is positive but the 2nd is negative the person does not have HIV, if both tests are negative, the person definitely has HIV.  This sort of two-step testing is not needed for negative test results- negative is negative and false negatives virtually never occur in persons tested more than 8 weeks following their exposure.

In your case, your negative test result at 5 months should be trusted.  You do not have HIV.  There is no need to be concerned about having unprotected sex with your future wife related to this exposure.

Take care.  EWH