generally antibodies appear during or shortly after the seroconversion illness.
Just get tested again and get your negative result so you can move on
Hi there was just one other question, do you know if it takes a certain amount of time for the symptoms of seroconversion to appear after the actual seroconversion - or does it generally take hold pretty instantly? Nick
hi carnage - just one last thing regarding our conversation, do you know if there is a time gap in-between the antigens disappearing and the antibodies appearing in the blood? It
I had a very similar experience around the same time but didnt realise for 1-2 minutes.What would be the the risk in my case?
hi thanks for replying so soon, one thing though - the full HIV test I had was at 26 days - (just under 4 weeks) and not 35 days as you mentioned - it was me feeling ill that started at 35 days! carnageofthepast has posted that this wouldn't be a problem, but would this change your advice at all? cheers, Nick
thanks for replying..take care..
Yes. A negative Oraquick is just as conclusive as any other test.
HHH, MD
sounds like your pretty clued up on a lot of this stuff, & it's certainly knowledge worth knowing I can tell you! can you recomend any decent HIV info sites, since I've come across quite a few over the last few weeks that are based both in the uk and usa - its sometimes difficult to know which ones are putting accross the right information... Nick
aidsmeds.com is a good one and thebody.com is a good one. The official recommendation by the cdc is to wait 13 weeks for a reliable test. This is more than long enough for the majority of people and is used as a safety net to catch all cases. However, as stated before, 25 days is the average time to seroconversion so almost everyone will show between 4 and 6 weeks on antibody test. I suggest you IMMEDIATELY STOP searching the internet about test times and symptoms and wait either 8 weeks or 13 weeks so you can get this behind you. I wasted 3 months of my life obsessing and worrying over having this disease when I was totally fine the whole time.
As you will read on any reliable hiv site, symptoms are never a way to diagnose hiv infection since there are much more common causes for symptoms than hiv. The only answer that will alleviate your anxiety is to get another test at 8 weeks, this will be conclusive.
If it makes you feel any better, I'd bet money that you dont have hiv mainly because the chance that the antigen would show at 25 days is like 95% even if the antibody was still negative. The p24 antigen is an actual part of the hiv virus so it shows independently of your body's response. It only disappears once antibodies appear.
i have a question..and i have not got the answer for this question yet...is ORAquick(rapid) test is as conclusive as other test after 6 weeks?..please doctor reply or any other person about this ..thanks
You risk for acquiring HIV was very low, probably less than 1/1000 for the exposure you describe(thats assuming the sexworker had hiv)
Additionally, a negative hiv test that includes antigen testing is highly encouraging at 26 days. Since the average time to seroconversion is 25 days, and the antigen shows up about a week before the antibody, your test is probably accurate. Get a test at 8 weeks if you are still worrying but you are probably fine.
I agree with the people who described your exposure as low risk and strongly disagree with the one who would have recommended PEP; the risk from any single episode of vaginal intercourse is just too low to warrant PEP. I might make an exception if a person's partner were known for sure to have HIV, but most Thai commercial sex workers are not infected. In any case, you can rely with 90% certainty on a negative HIV test result 35 days after exposure. Symptoms never are a reliable indicator either for or against HIV infection; the blood test result (even as early as 35 days) is much more reliable. But your symptoms don't sound like HIV anyway.
Bottom line: Your risk for HIV seems low and the negative test so far confirms it. To be even more certain, you can have a test at 6-8 weeks. Some would recommend a 3 month test as well, but with modern tests it really isn't necessary.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD