Do I have hiv? Test after 40 days?
I am a female and I had a one time exposure (vaginal sex) with a male of an unknown HIV status. Speaking to a medical professional she told me because the man I described was a ”heterosexual white male” and it was a one time occurrence this is considered low risk in the UK and it was highly unlikely I would have contracted it, is this true?
However I have been experiencing a lot of ”hiv symptoms” over the past few weeks such as swollen glands, a body rash and muscle pain.
I did a Biosure test after 40 days which was negative, I know this isn’t conclusive as it’s before 3 months but how accurate would this be? Is this negative test completely useless? And also if my symptoms were related to HIV wouldn’t the test have shown up positive?
I’m terrified to do the test again at the 3 month mark and it coming back positive
Francesca Bard, BioSure (UK) Ltd
Work on 17th December 2018
Hi Scaredgirl. I am here to help! Your assumption is correct and your test would've come back negative if these symptoms were related to HIV. I would recommend testing again at 12 weeks for a conclusive result but as I have previously stated, your risk was low exposure and you have done the correct thing by testing. Merry Christmas Francesca Bard, BioSure (UK) Ltd
ScaredGirl
Used on 15th December 2018
Hi Francesca, thank you so much for getting back to me, it has helped me put my mind at ease a little bit. So if I did the test on day 40 which is almost 6 weeks, more than likely my test would have come back positive if I did have it? But I need to do another on week 12 just to be safe and definitely sure, is that right?
And I have been experiencing a lot of on going symptoms for about 3-4 weeks now so am I right in thinking if this was related to HIV my test would have come back antibody positive by now?
Thank you for your help
Francesca Bard, BioSure (UK) Ltd
Work on 14th December 2018
Hi Scaredgirl. Yes, in the UK this is considered a low risk exposure.
The accuracy of the BioSure HIV self test never changes, it is to do with the rate that individuals produce antibodies. For example at 6 weeks 95% of people would've produced the antibodies to HIV whereas at 12 weeks 99% of people have produced them, this is why a negative result can only be relied on after 12 weeks.
The symptoms you are describing could be due to anything and the most likely cause is stress, I always recommend against searching your symptoms on the internet as it causes you to worry.
Do not be scared to test again at 12 weeks, whatever the outcome it is always better to know. You have had a low risk exposure and have taken the right precaution in testing, I know it is scary to test but not knowing is even worse.
I hope this helps put your mind at rest and please feel free to contact me if you need anything. Kindest regards Francesca Bard, BioSure (UK) Ltd
