Question
Questions about testing after PEP?
19 April 2022. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission, PEP/PEPSE, PrEP.
Hello! I had sex with a person who was HIV positive but he didn’t know he had it so he wasn’t on any medication.
The exposure was on 13th February although it was a penis rub then later on we used a condom,it lasted not more than 10 mins.
I started taking pep on 16th February and finished on 17th March. I then took a finger prick test on 29th March which showed that I’m negative.
Now I’m worried I might have taken the test too soon.
Could be possible that it might be a false negative?
Answer
Hi
Your risk seems very low, but please see this link for info on PEP and testing.
https://i-base.info/pep-and-prep
This includes the need to wait for 6–8 weeks after finishing PEP before testing. The time depends on the type of HIV test being used.
Please see this link for more information about PEP:
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
Hi Hilly, if your girlfriend has an undetectable viral load then you were not at risk for HIV. In the UK you would not have been given PEP. See this link on U=U:
https://i-base.info/u-equals-u
If you were already taking PrEP, then this would also have not needed PEP.
Your doctor was wrong to give you PEP for both these reasons.
A negative test after 7 weeks means that you are HIV negative.
I took PrEP after exposure then I found out that my girlfriend was hiv positive and on active medication. i switched to PEP on day 5, then drank it for 28 days. Is there risk of contracting HIV.
7 weeks after exposure I took elisa test it came out negative.