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Faint positive line appears on two consecutive tests 3 days after exposure
I posted a question a few days ago but I was not answered on the issue of having a faint positive line on two consecutive rapid tests using alere determine combo 3 days after my exposure. Could it be an early infection that caused the faint positive to appear? Got tested 2 weeks after exposure there was no faint positive line. Tested 5 weeks after exposure was declared negative but I am still very paranoid and worried. I'm sorry if I've not stuck to the community guidelines but I'm worried and this is the only place I feel confident talking about my issue. I fear that my test may return positive and I plan to take it on the 7 week mark with the alere determine combo.
Hello Valkyrie, first off let me say that your test at 5 weeks is your true status assuming its a combination test. NO TEST can detect HIV infection 3 days from exposure conclusive. RNA PCR tests have a high sensitivity closer to 1-2 weeks but even then those results are not conclusive. I understand any faint positive mark would cause some distress but simply put; the biologics, mechanics and sensitivity of these tests cannot pick up a recent infection of 3 days. Since you're referring to a reactive line I'll assume its a rapid test which is conclusive around 6 weeks.
The guidelines are in place to ensure you get tested ACCURATELY at the proper times.
3-6 weeks combination (p24+antibody) test
1-2 weeks PCR for early detection - must be f/o by a combination/rapid test
6wk - 3mo rapid test as standalone
Please fill in those gaps as to which tests were performed when.
Wishing you excellent health,
C.M.
The guidelines are in place to ensure you get tested ACCURATELY at the proper times.
3-6 weeks combination (p24+antibody) test
1-2 weeks PCR for early detection - must be f/o by a combination/rapid test
6wk - 3mo rapid test as standalone
Please fill in those gaps as to which tests were performed when.
Wishing you excellent health,
C.M.
3 Comments
Thank you for the response, each time I was tested using the rapid alere determine hiv 1/2 ag/ab combo test and I was wondering if I would test again at 7 or 8 weeks if the result would be conclusive.
It seems if you're here chances are you're pretty paranoid about HIV. If it was me I would stop testing and most specialists would say conclusive combo tests at 4 - 6 weeks. At week 5 your test is probably somewhere in the range of 95-99% conclusive and is highly unlikely to change.
Okay,I'll try to relax though it's not easy,anyway thanks for your input.
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