possible exposure - condom broke
Hello, I had an possible exposure 6 weeks ago. The condom broke while having vaginal sex with unknown status female. Three days later i experience groin pain. Since then I’ve taken 3 Hiv test all negative. My last test was at 6 weeks from time of exposure. I have recently noticed a swollen lymph node near my testicles area. Is this a sign of one of hiv early symptoms? I’m so scared of my life changing forever. I took the necessary precautions and still end up in fear of my health status. What are my odds of my test remaining negative?
BioSure
Used on 11th December 2017
Hi Worried Lady, the best time to test is 3 months after the possible exposure incident. If you test before then, a negative test result is very encouraging but as the BioSURE HIV Self Test looks for antibodies, it is dependent on when the individual person makes these antibodies. Most people make them well before 3 months but some 'seroconvert' later and that is why it is necessary to test at 3 months because everyone should have made antibodies by then and a negative result it 'true'. Please don't feel ashamed of yourself, life is about making a series of choices and sometimes these are better choices than others, depending on circumstances and how we feel. Whatever you feel now, put it down to experience, learn from it and move on. Being kind to yourself is so important. I hope that helps. Brigette
Worried lady
Thinking on 10th November 2017
Hello, I had unprotected sex with a guy I met on line in early September. I separated from my husband last year after 8 years so had a sort of meltdown, this isn’t something I have ever done before and I am ashamed of myself. Since then although I haven’t had any symptoms I am terrorised that I have put myself at risk. To rule it out I do want to test but when would be the best time to test for an accurate result.
Thank you
Gary Carpenter, BioSure (UK) Limited
Work on 07th November 2017
Hi Jim B
Thanks for getting in touch.
This is going to be quite difficult to work out, but I'll give it a try. Assuming you are in the UK and assuming the woman was not a female sex worker, just slightly more likely to HIV positive).
Firstly, chances that the woman was HIV positive is about 2 in a 1,000.
Chance of contracting HIV when having insertive vaginal sex once with a partner that IS HIV positive is about 1 in 2,000.
So that would give combined odds of about 1 in a million.
The chances that the test would give a correct negative at 6 weeks is about 90%.
The chances of contracting HIV from this instance are very low. So, overall, your negative results are really encouraging. But to be absolutely certain we would recommend that you retest 12 weeks after the incident.
I think that it is incredibly unlikely that the enlarged lymph node is due to HIV infection. If the lump does not go down, it would be worth getting it checked by your GP.
I hope that this helps.
Kind regards
Gary Carpenter
BioSure (UK) Limited