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STDs (Expert Forum)
A few questions - false positive?
Answered by
University of Washington
Seattle - WA
Welcome to the STD Forum, which is intended only for questions and support pertaining to sexually transmitted diseases other than HIV/AIDS, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, human papillomavirus, genital warts, trichomonas, other vaginal infections, nongonoccal urethritis (NGU), cervicitis, molluscum contagiosum, chancroid, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). All questions will be answered by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D. or Edward W Hook, MD.
A few questions - false positive?
by abitscared, Nov 12, 2006 12:00AM
1) About 9 months ago, I had an experience where a guy rubbed the head of his penis around the labia and my vagina without penetration. If there was any at all - it may have gone in less than an inch. But I don't remember there being any. Essentially, our genitals were touching and he was rubbing his penis on me. Other than HPV or herpes (which I show no signs of), should I go for a regular full on STD test? Prior to that, I had had only one partner for many years.
I didn't have sex with him but I was wondering if there was pre-ejaculate and it got anywhere near the inside of my vagina if that would be enough to get chlamydia, syphillis, or anything else for that matter. I'm a bit freaked out because I was in a really long term relationship before that and that was a lapse of judgment in our relationship. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't expose my boyfriend to anything.
2) A few years back I tested positive for chlamydia, I took the antibiotics and my boyfriend took them as well. After the first diagnosis and after we both had taken the antibiotics, we were monogomous, didn't use condoms and having sex on a regular basis.
About a year after that, I went back for a routine STD test. The doctor took a urine sample and also a swab test. That day, the doctor said that the white blood cells in my urine were at an elevated level and put me on an antibiotic.
Later, the clinic called (the same clinic that I had gone to the previous year) and said I had tested positive again which I couldn't believe because I only had one partner for the whole year. So after the clinic called, I took my boyfriend in to get tested as well. The second test that I took came out negative (which I assumed would be so since I taken another round of antibiotics) and his came out negative as well before taking any antibiotics.
Is it possible that this test that I took a year later was a false positive? What else besides an STD could have caused elevated white blood cells in my urine? Wouldn't my boyfriend have contracted the chlamydia during that year of having unprotected sex? How could I have it and he not contract it during that whole time? I thought that it was highly contagious if you had unprotected sex at all, let alone for an entire year.
I guess the bottom line is - it's been over 3 years now. Should I go back and get tested again or should I chalk it up as having been a false positive since my boyfriend tested negative before taking any antibiotics?
3) What's the likelihood of being infertile due to chlamydia, if it was treated within a few months of infection? Would you know if it developed into PID?
Thanks.
I didn't have sex with him but I was wondering if there was pre-ejaculate and it got anywhere near the inside of my vagina if that would be enough to get chlamydia, syphillis, or anything else for that matter. I'm a bit freaked out because I was in a really long term relationship before that and that was a lapse of judgment in our relationship. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't expose my boyfriend to anything.
2) A few years back I tested positive for chlamydia, I took the antibiotics and my boyfriend took them as well. After the first diagnosis and after we both had taken the antibiotics, we were monogomous, didn't use condoms and having sex on a regular basis.
About a year after that, I went back for a routine STD test. The doctor took a urine sample and also a swab test. That day, the doctor said that the white blood cells in my urine were at an elevated level and put me on an antibiotic.
Later, the clinic called (the same clinic that I had gone to the previous year) and said I had tested positive again which I couldn't believe because I only had one partner for the whole year. So after the clinic called, I took my boyfriend in to get tested as well. The second test that I took came out negative (which I assumed would be so since I taken another round of antibiotics) and his came out negative as well before taking any antibiotics.
Is it possible that this test that I took a year later was a false positive? What else besides an STD could have caused elevated white blood cells in my urine? Wouldn't my boyfriend have contracted the chlamydia during that year of having unprotected sex? How could I have it and he not contract it during that whole time? I thought that it was highly contagious if you had unprotected sex at all, let alone for an entire year.
I guess the bottom line is - it's been over 3 years now. Should I go back and get tested again or should I chalk it up as having been a false positive since my boyfriend tested negative before taking any antibiotics?
3) What's the likelihood of being infertile due to chlamydia, if it was treated within a few months of infection? Would you know if it developed into PID?
Thanks.
Doctor's Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D., Nov 13, 2006 12:00AM
, Nov 13, 2006 12:00AM
I'll go straight to your questions.
1) The likelihood of catching any STD during such brief contact is extremely low. I don't suggest testing unless you otherwise are at risk.
2) If your sexual history and your partner's are correct, there are two possible explanations for your repeat postive chlamydia test. First, you had persistent infection for a year. That is very unlikely, because the antibiotics are very effective; and most chlamyidal infections clear up on their own within a year. But there are occasional antibiotic failures. Second, you might have had a false positive test--which also is consistent with the fact that a repeat test was negative and your partner didn't have it. False positivees are rare with the currrent, modern chlamydia tests. But 3 years ago lots off labs were still using older tests that sometimes gave false results. All in all, that's the best bet--i.e., that you didn't actually have chlamydia when retested. I see no reason for retesting again now.
3) The risk of infertility after a single chlamydial infection, without symptoms of tubal infection (pelvic pain, etc) are not know with certainty, but the chance generally believed to be quite low.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
1) The likelihood of catching any STD during such brief contact is extremely low. I don't suggest testing unless you otherwise are at risk.
2) If your sexual history and your partner's are correct, there are two possible explanations for your repeat postive chlamydia test. First, you had persistent infection for a year. That is very unlikely, because the antibiotics are very effective; and most chlamyidal infections clear up on their own within a year. But there are occasional antibiotic failures. Second, you might have had a false positive test--which also is consistent with the fact that a repeat test was negative and your partner didn't have it. False positivees are rare with the currrent, modern chlamydia tests. But 3 years ago lots off labs were still using older tests that sometimes gave false results. All in all, that's the best bet--i.e., that you didn't actually have chlamydia when retested. I see no reason for retesting again now.
3) The risk of infertility after a single chlamydial infection, without symptoms of tubal infection (pelvic pain, etc) are not know with certainty, but the chance generally believed to be quite low.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
