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How soon do stds show up on lab tests?
Fourteen days ago I did something stupid. Now I am scheduling a whole battery of tests to look for just about every std known to man. The tests will be performed in two days, sixteen days after possible exposure. Which tests can detect their targets in that window? I believe the HIV test is "early detection" - Poymerase Chain Reaction? - and should give an accurate result.
Meanwhile, I have no "classic" symptoms for any of these diseases - but it might be too soon to tell. My initial big concern was HIV, but so far I have not demonstrated any clear signs of acute infection which, according to what I have read here and in other forums, should present themselves in 2-3 weeks (some say longer). Now my biggest worry is Hepatitis, particularly type B since I have read that type C is not very efficiently spread through intercourse. However, I have also read that this particular test may not show anything for up to four weeks. Is it possible to get an accurate result sooner?
Meanwhile, is it possible for symptoms of these diseases to manifest before any known test could detect them in a lab? I have had many general symptoms over the last two weeks that might be attributed to anxiety (constipation, reduced appetite, slight feeing of weakness perhaps due to eating less, and a heightened overall sensitivity to any other "symptom" produced by my body). I hope that my dry mouth and eyes are due to anxiety rather than to something infection-related. As I stated earlier, my biggest fear after HIV is Hepatitis. The others, if treated, can't kill you.
So, I really just want to know how long it will take for me to find out what, if anything, I will be dealing with.
BTW, I have been checking my temperature several times a day for about a weeek. Nothing. In fact, my body seems to run a little cold - as low as 96.5 when I wake up in the middle of the night - and inching up to just above 98 during the day before falling again in the evening as I prepare to sleep.
Meanwhile, I have no "classic" symptoms for any of these diseases - but it might be too soon to tell. My initial big concern was HIV, but so far I have not demonstrated any clear signs of acute infection which, according to what I have read here and in other forums, should present themselves in 2-3 weeks (some say longer). Now my biggest worry is Hepatitis, particularly type B since I have read that type C is not very efficiently spread through intercourse. However, I have also read that this particular test may not show anything for up to four weeks. Is it possible to get an accurate result sooner?
Meanwhile, is it possible for symptoms of these diseases to manifest before any known test could detect them in a lab? I have had many general symptoms over the last two weeks that might be attributed to anxiety (constipation, reduced appetite, slight feeing of weakness perhaps due to eating less, and a heightened overall sensitivity to any other "symptom" produced by my body). I hope that my dry mouth and eyes are due to anxiety rather than to something infection-related. As I stated earlier, my biggest fear after HIV is Hepatitis. The others, if treated, can't kill you.
So, I really just want to know how long it will take for me to find out what, if anything, I will be dealing with.
BTW, I have been checking my temperature several times a day for about a weeek. Nothing. In fact, my body seems to run a little cold - as low as 96.5 when I wake up in the middle of the night - and inching up to just above 98 during the day before falling again in the evening as I prepare to sleep.
Thanks. Actually, the thermometer is part of my paranoid search for signs of anything. So far, nothing. No lesions or any of the "classic" signs of anything. I actually went ahead with the full range of tests this morning. I know that is premature for some things, but not for others. I will likely repeat some of the tests at a later date. Meanwhile, I will be paranoid about every pain, tingle, itch, bump, cough, and sneeze until I have definitive results on all of the tests. Also, I don't think I'll repeat the hep c test for the reason you cited - apparently doesn't transmit efficiently this way - but hep b is a different story. Thanks again.
From "Understanding HCV: A Patient Pocket Guide" - by Alan Franciscus (I consider him and his organization a reliable source of information) I read the following:
"Antibody tests measure proteins produced by the immune system to fight
specific invaders. After exposure to HCV, it may take as long as 26 weeks before antibodies can be detected using a standard test (the “window period”)."
In any case, unless there was a lot of bleeding involved, the chance of sexual transmission of hepatitis C is about nil. Worry about the more likely bugs.
Also, there are usually no symptoms upon contraction of hep C, so skip the thermometer as far as that is concerned. The only sure way to diagnose (up or down) is to get the anto-body test.
"Antibody tests measure proteins produced by the immune system to fight
specific invaders. After exposure to HCV, it may take as long as 26 weeks before antibodies can be detected using a standard test (the “window period”)."
In any case, unless there was a lot of bleeding involved, the chance of sexual transmission of hepatitis C is about nil. Worry about the more likely bugs.
Also, there are usually no symptoms upon contraction of hep C, so skip the thermometer as far as that is concerned. The only sure way to diagnose (up or down) is to get the anto-body test.
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