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after taking an rt pcr dna and a hiv antibody test what are my chances of having hiv?
Hello Dr. Thank you for taking time out to read all of our questions on Medhelp.
I had sex with this woman who x husband use to do crack, she told me. Also she calmed to have got tested for hiv before, but could not show me any papers to prove it. we had sex twice that month. I took an rt pcr dna test 13 days after we had sex last and an a hiv antibody test from labcorp 1 month after as well after we had sex last. They both came up negative. My white blood cell count was 4.6 I think it said the average is 4.0 to 10. Also I recently developed a rash close to my chin I was wondering does it look like an hiv rash. I have a picture of it here http://www.lovedforevermore.com/rash1.jpg and here http://www.lovedforevermore.com/rash2.jpg Also I have been coughing lot but barley in phlim when I do get some it is white. Please give me an answer I am very very worried. I am loosing sleep over it. Do you think you could give me a percentage of me having hiv? Thank you so very much for your time.
p.s. I think I posted my question in the wrong form last time.
I had sex with this woman who x husband use to do crack, she told me. Also she calmed to have got tested for hiv before, but could not show me any papers to prove it. we had sex twice that month. I took an rt pcr dna test 13 days after we had sex last and an a hiv antibody test from labcorp 1 month after as well after we had sex last. They both came up negative. My white blood cell count was 4.6 I think it said the average is 4.0 to 10. Also I recently developed a rash close to my chin I was wondering does it look like an hiv rash. I have a picture of it here http://www.lovedforevermore.com/rash1.jpg and here http://www.lovedforevermore.com/rash2.jpg Also I have been coughing lot but barley in phlim when I do get some it is white. Please give me an answer I am very very worried. I am loosing sleep over it. Do you think you could give me a percentage of me having hiv? Thank you so very much for your time.
p.s. I think I posted my question in the wrong form last time.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No, the diarrhea is not a sign of HIV. EWH
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the Forum. I'll be happy to try to address your questions.
Before I get to your questions, let me point out the chance that your partner has HIV is low and even if she does, the chance that she gave it to you after two sexual encounters is also lower still. The most direct way to answer your concerns is just for her to get tested, as she says she did. If her test is negative, you are not at risk. She has told you she is negative and since most people do tell the truth,. I really doubt that you have any reason for concern.
As for your testing, in general we do not recommend HIV PCR testing for diagnosis is HIV infection for several reasons. While the PCR is likely to become positive more quickly than other antibody detection tests (i.e. usual blood tests), at the present time the blood tests are becoming more and more sensitive and detecting infection earlier and earlier so that the time difference in detection between PCR test and antibody detection tests is becoming smaller and smaller and at present is, in general only a week or two. In addition the time course over which the PCR tests become positive is less well described than for the blood tests and, as a result, it is difficult to make a definitive statement on what a negative PCR test means at any time within a few weeks of exposure to a HIV infected or possibly infected partner. In addition, and most importantly, the false positive rate for PCR tests (i.e. a positive result in persons who do not have HIV) is higher than for blood tests. Each of this on this Forum have seen a number of people who were worried needlessly because of false positive tests. For all of these reasons, we rarely recommend testing for HIV diagnosis using PCR. Having said that, your negative PCR at 13 days is strong evidence that you did not get HIV bit it is impossible to say just how strong.
Your antibody test at 1 month is also strong evidence that you did not get infected. At 30 days over 90% of persons with HIV would have positive antibody tests.
Finally, your symptoms are non-specific as are changes in the white blood cell count. Your symptoms are not concerning for HIV and are far more suggestive that you have caught a cold or some other non STD, non-HIV viral infection. (Also, we do not look at photos on this web site, they are more often misleading than helpful)
You really have little reason to concern. You can be completely sure that you are not infected by having your partner tested (again) or by getting yourself tested with a combination p24 antigen/antibody test (sometimes referred to as "duo tests). if it is negative at any time more than 4 weeks after your last exposure, you did not get HIV. EWH
Before I get to your questions, let me point out the chance that your partner has HIV is low and even if she does, the chance that she gave it to you after two sexual encounters is also lower still. The most direct way to answer your concerns is just for her to get tested, as she says she did. If her test is negative, you are not at risk. She has told you she is negative and since most people do tell the truth,. I really doubt that you have any reason for concern.
As for your testing, in general we do not recommend HIV PCR testing for diagnosis is HIV infection for several reasons. While the PCR is likely to become positive more quickly than other antibody detection tests (i.e. usual blood tests), at the present time the blood tests are becoming more and more sensitive and detecting infection earlier and earlier so that the time difference in detection between PCR test and antibody detection tests is becoming smaller and smaller and at present is, in general only a week or two. In addition the time course over which the PCR tests become positive is less well described than for the blood tests and, as a result, it is difficult to make a definitive statement on what a negative PCR test means at any time within a few weeks of exposure to a HIV infected or possibly infected partner. In addition, and most importantly, the false positive rate for PCR tests (i.e. a positive result in persons who do not have HIV) is higher than for blood tests. Each of this on this Forum have seen a number of people who were worried needlessly because of false positive tests. For all of these reasons, we rarely recommend testing for HIV diagnosis using PCR. Having said that, your negative PCR at 13 days is strong evidence that you did not get HIV bit it is impossible to say just how strong.
Your antibody test at 1 month is also strong evidence that you did not get infected. At 30 days over 90% of persons with HIV would have positive antibody tests.
Finally, your symptoms are non-specific as are changes in the white blood cell count. Your symptoms are not concerning for HIV and are far more suggestive that you have caught a cold or some other non STD, non-HIV viral infection. (Also, we do not look at photos on this web site, they are more often misleading than helpful)
You really have little reason to concern. You can be completely sure that you are not infected by having your partner tested (again) or by getting yourself tested with a combination p24 antigen/antibody test (sometimes referred to as "duo tests). if it is negative at any time more than 4 weeks after your last exposure, you did not get HIV. EWH
I have one more question if you have time Dr.
Today I have a case of diarrhea I just got tested on the 17 from the antibody test. Therefore the diarrhea could not be a sign I have hiv right?
Today I have a case of diarrhea I just got tested on the 17 from the antibody test. Therefore the diarrhea could not be a sign I have hiv right?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
She is being inappropriate. EWH
Thank you Dr. for taking time out of your day to answer my question. I will try to find where I can take a duo test. I would ask her to take one but she said she will never talk to me again because i asked her about having hiv.
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