Dr Joel Gallant, John Hopkins HIV:
About condom protection against HIV:
1. An intact condom, properly used, is virtually 100% effective at preventing HIV transmission.
2. You can't get infected through intact skin, so it is not necessary that the entire penis be covered. The skin at the base doesn't matter.
3. If you use condoms all the time, and stop intercourse if the condom ever breaks, then you should be fine
On HIV window:
1. As I said in another recent answer, it all depends on how much certainty you want. I would agree with the GMHC that about 99.7% of people will have converted by 3 months. Testing again at 6 months is going to get rid of that 0.3% uncertainty. Is that really important? Probably not, especially for people with the kind of non-exposures that I get asked about about here. But in the case of a legitimate, high-risk exposure, one might want to retest at 6 months, while acknowledging that the test will probably continue to be negative. Since I am a doctor and not a policy maker, I have the luxury of being able to answer the question this way, without having to decide what the "official policy" should be.
2. My advice is the same as it always is for people with confusing test resuilts: stop getting viral loads, PCRs, and CD4 counts. Just get a standard serology (ELISA). If it's negative, you're negative, and you're done
3. it's enough to say that if you're negative at 3 months, you're probably negative, but you're welcome to get a 6-month test at 6 months if you want to be absolutely certain.
Dr. Bob Frascino, Robert Frascino AIDS Foundation
On Condoms:
1. The facts are that latex or polyurethane condoms are very effective in reducing the risk of STDs, including HIV, if they are used properly and do not fail (break).
2. Use latex (or polyurethane) condoms with your wife until you get your definitive three-month test.
3. For protected sex of any type, the HIV-transmission/acquisition risk would be essentially nonexistent if the latex condom was properly used and did not fail (break).
On Window period:
1. The HIV seroconversion window is three months.
2. I would consider a negative HIV test at 3.5 months following a failed condom vaginal sex exposure with a partner of unknown HIV status to be definitive and conclusive. Certainly if you remain worried, the option to take another test at the six-month mark is always available to you. However, I do not feel it's medically warranted.
3. Yes, "most" folks will have detectable antibodies to HIV within 1 month. But, "most" really isn't good enough when you are talking about HIV. By waiting the full 3 months, the test can pick up late seroconverters. Consequently, a 2-month test can be encouraging, but only a 3-month test is considered definitive.
I just thought it would help other worried wells as it has helped me. Enjoy