Oral sex risk vs. HIV testing time

[anon0415]

Just a quick question - I've noticed that the moderators on this board, in particular Teak, seem to be very conservative about the 3 month window period. I.e. if people ask what their negative result at 6 weeks means they usually get the response "It takes 3 months for the test to be conclusive" or something like that. I take this position to be rather conservative. I agree that a person should in any case have a test done at 3 month to be sure, but I still think it is important to tell people that their 6 week neg test (at least if it was, say, a 4th generation test and not a quick test) is very reassuring.

I can understand the wish to be conservative, so as to be as much in agreement with official guidelines as possible. But what I can't understand is why this doesn't extend into other subjects like the risk of unprotected receptive oral sex. In this forum the consensus seems to be that it is absolutely zero risk. I would really hope that to be true and I agree that it is in any event a very low risk. But I also wouldn't say it is no risk and saying it is no risk goes against the guidelines issued by the health ministries in most countries, even those that are perhaps a bit more liberal than the CDC.

I don't think we should discuss here what the risk actually is, but I'm more interested in your rationale for, one the one hand, sticking very closely to CDC guidelines when it comes to testing and on the other hand being more liberal when it comes to oral sex risk?

[anon0415]

Thanks for your reply.

I haven't been able to find this info on the "window period" from the manufacturers. The test I took as the example was the Abbott Architect HIV-1 Ab/Ag test.

I was just wondering if you had had some bad examples of people getting negative results before the 12 wk mark only to seroconvert later.

[LIZZIE LOU]

there is PROOF that oral sex does not transmit hiv.

first and foremost...it is the manufacturers of the very tests that you are referring to that still state that 3 months is conclusive.  there is not a test on today's market that suggest that a conclusive test can be obtained before 3 months.