Question
Do I need to take another HIV test?
5 December 2007. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission.
Sir,
I had sex with a woman who I paid to have sex with me on 19th november. At the time I was wearing a condom.( I also had oral sex). When I was trying to insert my penis, condom broke. Then I wore new condom.I got worried so I took an HIV serology test on November 28th. It was ‘HIV Antigen Antibody is Non-Reactive’
ie, HIV Negative right? Is it possible to get HIV infection after some months? Do I need to take any other Test in future? Please give the good suggestion for me. Next month i am having a plan to get marry a girl. Please tell me if I should postponed the marriage? Waiting for your reply.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Oral sex is relatively safe but still carries some risk – some researchers think that perhaps 5% of infections may have been from oral sex.
Oral sex poses more risk for the receptive person if they have ulcers in the mouth or bleeding gums or tiny scratches (ie from brushing your teeth or even eating a crusty bread roll). I also relates to the viral load of the HIV-positive partner.
From the description of your situation, the risks sounds minimal. But if you are worried, it is advisable to take another test as the one you took on 28th November was in the window period which wouldn’t have been accurate.
HIV tests will not detect HIV in the first 1-2 months after exposure during this window period, as this is before the development of antibodies. A negative result during this period does not mean you are HIV-negative.
An HIV test that would give you more conclusive results should be taken 12 weeks after exposure.
If you are HIV-positive then it would only be fair to discuss these results with your partner before you get married.
Best wishes