Aa
Clarification
Hi everyone. I know there is a constant barrage of HIV related questions here in this forum, so I'd like to apologize beforehand for adding yet another one to the pile. I just need some points to be clarified.
First of all, some background: my "risk" is an actual risk - unprotected receptive anal sex (I'm a guy), no ejaculation, with a partner of unknown HIV status, met online. I think that's considered to be one of the actual possible routes of HIV transmission (non-theoretical). Yes, that was stupid of me, etc. etc. but that's not the point of this post. At 5 weeks after the exposure, I had a PCR test done (yes, I know that this test is not considered to be an actual diagnostic test, at least for non-infants, here on this forum and the countries it represents) and an HIV antibody test (since they were offering them for free). I received the results today - "undetectable" and "negative" respectively. Now, I know that a PCR test by itself is generally not recommended on this forum, although Japan (where I live) considers a negative PCR test at 12 days conclusive, so I'd like some clarification whether a negative antibody test plus an undetectable viral load via PCR together can be relied upon as an indicator of true HIV negative status at 5 weeks after exposure. (of course, I am still going to get a final antibody test at 3 months.)
Another thing that I need clarified is the issue of oral sex (I know, it never dies on this forum). This is what I have gathered from searches and reading: unprotected oral sex, whether you are the receptive or insertive partner, is not a viable route for HIV transmission, including in situations where lips are severely chapped, and regardless of the amount of pre-ejaculate produced by the insertive partner. This is correct, right? I'm assuming your mouth (assuming you were the receptive partner) would have to be totally overflowing with blood and cuts for this to be a viable route for HIV transmission.
Thanks so much for all the time, this forum has been really fantastic for keeping myself sane while I waited for my test results.
First of all, some background: my "risk" is an actual risk - unprotected receptive anal sex (I'm a guy), no ejaculation, with a partner of unknown HIV status, met online. I think that's considered to be one of the actual possible routes of HIV transmission (non-theoretical). Yes, that was stupid of me, etc. etc. but that's not the point of this post. At 5 weeks after the exposure, I had a PCR test done (yes, I know that this test is not considered to be an actual diagnostic test, at least for non-infants, here on this forum and the countries it represents) and an HIV antibody test (since they were offering them for free). I received the results today - "undetectable" and "negative" respectively. Now, I know that a PCR test by itself is generally not recommended on this forum, although Japan (where I live) considers a negative PCR test at 12 days conclusive, so I'd like some clarification whether a negative antibody test plus an undetectable viral load via PCR together can be relied upon as an indicator of true HIV negative status at 5 weeks after exposure. (of course, I am still going to get a final antibody test at 3 months.)
Another thing that I need clarified is the issue of oral sex (I know, it never dies on this forum). This is what I have gathered from searches and reading: unprotected oral sex, whether you are the receptive or insertive partner, is not a viable route for HIV transmission, including in situations where lips are severely chapped, and regardless of the amount of pre-ejaculate produced by the insertive partner. This is correct, right? I'm assuming your mouth (assuming you were the receptive partner) would have to be totally overflowing with blood and cuts for this to be a viable route for HIV transmission.
Thanks so much for all the time, this forum has been really fantastic for keeping myself sane while I waited for my test results.
PCR-RNA tests are supplemental tests used in conjunction with an antibody test. They are not stand alone tests. Oral sex is not a risk no matter what kind of spin you want to add to it.
Alright. Okay, I hope this won't fall under "excessive posting" yet, as I'd like to clarify things just a little bit further.
1) I'm aware that 3 months post exposure will be conclusive, but I'd like to make clear if specifically the combination of the result of the PCR test and the antibody test at 5 weeks is a good indicator of my HIV status (rather than standalone PCR testing, whose results, from what I gathered from this forum, are debatable). I'm aware that it is not conclusive, but I'm wondering if it is a good idea of what to expect for my antibody test results at 3 months, which will be the conclusive results.
2) When you say "Oral sex is not a risk of HIV transmission", that includes all of the "requirements", i.e. chapped lips, amount of pre-ejaculate, etc. that I wrote above, correct?
Again, thank you very much for your answers; you are a tremendous help. Sorry if my English gets messy at times.
1) I'm aware that 3 months post exposure will be conclusive, but I'd like to make clear if specifically the combination of the result of the PCR test and the antibody test at 5 weeks is a good indicator of my HIV status (rather than standalone PCR testing, whose results, from what I gathered from this forum, are debatable). I'm aware that it is not conclusive, but I'm wondering if it is a good idea of what to expect for my antibody test results at 3 months, which will be the conclusive results.
2) When you say "Oral sex is not a risk of HIV transmission", that includes all of the "requirements", i.e. chapped lips, amount of pre-ejaculate, etc. that I wrote above, correct?
Again, thank you very much for your answers; you are a tremendous help. Sorry if my English gets messy at times.
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