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Do I need to get tested for HIV?
Hello Doctor,
I am a 35 male with no high risk behavior at all. I was married before and have been tested conclusively negative for everything before marriage, my wife (now ex) was a virgin when we were married (we are both middle-eastern). Unfortunately we got divorced about 2 years . We were both religious and monogamous. I recently remarried but my wife was divorced. She is also conservative middle-eastern , and she has 2 kids. She got tested for everything before we were together and was negative. She was divorced for 4 years and didn't have any relations according to her. For some reason her MD ordered PCR, which was negative, however I told her she needs antibody test. The reason she was tested is coz her ex was not a good man and she thinks he was cheating on her. 3 months after being together she had an antibody test and it was negative. My question is, Do I need to be worried about testing for HIV at this point or am I clear. we use condoms anyway for birth control but twice we had sex without condom. I am a little paranoid about HIV from too much reading and just wanted to know if I need to be tested or not. And if the ORAquick at home is good enough. Thanks
I am a 35 male with no high risk behavior at all. I was married before and have been tested conclusively negative for everything before marriage, my wife (now ex) was a virgin when we were married (we are both middle-eastern). Unfortunately we got divorced about 2 years . We were both religious and monogamous. I recently remarried but my wife was divorced. She is also conservative middle-eastern , and she has 2 kids. She got tested for everything before we were together and was negative. She was divorced for 4 years and didn't have any relations according to her. For some reason her MD ordered PCR, which was negative, however I told her she needs antibody test. The reason she was tested is coz her ex was not a good man and she thinks he was cheating on her. 3 months after being together she had an antibody test and it was negative. My question is, Do I need to be worried about testing for HIV at this point or am I clear. we use condoms anyway for birth control but twice we had sex without condom. I am a little paranoid about HIV from too much reading and just wanted to know if I need to be tested or not. And if the ORAquick at home is good enough. Thanks
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Yes.
You can't expect to keep returning indefinitely with every additional anxiety-driven question that comes to mind. Do your best to accept the reassurance I have tried to give and move on. That's definitely all for this thread.
You can't expect to keep returning indefinitely with every additional anxiety-driven question that comes to mind. Do your best to accept the reassurance I have tried to give and move on. That's definitely all for this thread.
So I was embarrassed to continue my question for the reason below, but I am very anxious and I really need just one sentence from you. If I had vaginal sex with another female of unknown status but possibly high risk, and I used condoms from start to finish, no oral, just kissing and mutual masterbation and I got a -ve oraquick after 4 weeks, can I be assured I didn't catch HIV if she was indeed infected?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
It sounds like you followed the instructions and had a negative result. So all is well. Congratulations -- now stop worrying about it. There is no reason you and your wife need to continue using condoms, unless they are your choice for contraception.
Best wishes.
Best wishes.
30 min Same. I will throw the test away now before it changes its mind!
25 minutes, still the same.
Hello, doctor, 20 minutes at the dot, only one single line next to C and nothing at all next to T. Shall I rest assured now that I dont have HIV and move on?
Thank you doctor, I just got the Oraquick test now from CVS and I will take the test right this second just to stop worrying. I will post the results in 20 minutes. Thanks a lot for the encouragement.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.
Responding first to the title of your question, before reading anything else: Whenever someone asks "Do I need to get tested for HIV?" the answer usually is yes. Even if the risk is very low or zero, people who are anxious enough to worry about it usually will be more reassured by a negative test than by anything an expert can say based on probability and statistics.
Now having read the details, your wife clearly does not have HIV. Regardless of how much she may have been at risk -- if her previous partner was infected -- her test results are conclusive. It is impossible to have HIV with negative antibody and PCR tests.
So from a risk standpoint, you do not need testing for HIV. But as noted above, perhaps you should do it anyway, if you will be reassured by the negative result. If you decide to be tested, the Oraquick home test will be fine.
Finally, from an HIV standpoint, you do not need to use condoms for sex with your wife.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Responding first to the title of your question, before reading anything else: Whenever someone asks "Do I need to get tested for HIV?" the answer usually is yes. Even if the risk is very low or zero, people who are anxious enough to worry about it usually will be more reassured by a negative test than by anything an expert can say based on probability and statistics.
Now having read the details, your wife clearly does not have HIV. Regardless of how much she may have been at risk -- if her previous partner was infected -- her test results are conclusive. It is impossible to have HIV with negative antibody and PCR tests.
So from a risk standpoint, you do not need testing for HIV. But as noted above, perhaps you should do it anyway, if you will be reassured by the negative result. If you decide to be tested, the Oraquick home test will be fine.
Finally, from an HIV standpoint, you do not need to use condoms for sex with your wife.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
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