
Have Chronic Kidney Disease. On Allopurinol. Will It Take Longer To Show In HIV Test?

I am sorry to hear about your battle with CKD.
CKD and allopuronol consumption compromises the immune system. This will take longer for the body to be able to mount an immune response to any infection including HIV. About your worries, I suppose you were maybe exposed and wish to find out whether you were infected with the virus or not. If it is rather for informational purposes, please disregard the above assumption.
There are two ways of testing individuals for the presence of HIV infection. The simplest and most common one relies on the presence of antibodies in the system and this is closely linked to the immune response of the individual. In immune depressed individuals it may take longer but I think within 3months there will be an appropriate level of antibodies to tell whether this test is positive or not unless otherwise.
The other one(PCR) does not depend on the immune response and the presence of antibodies. It looks for viral particles directly. And if you are concerned with the above method, then this one will provide definite answers to you. It is more expensive and cannot be done everywhere but the advantage is that you will get results very fast and may not have to wit for up to 3months before being sure of your HIV status.
So because of this concern, doing a PCR is the best way forward supposed you have it in your milieu. However, if it is impossible, then I think the rapid one that depends on antibodies would be reasonable and the results will not be too different fro findings in the general population.
I have reviewed your laboratory findings and they are very well explained. I have nothing to add to at this time unless you do request for additional information o something specific.
I hope this answers your query fully. Please, feel free to ask me related follow up questions if need be.
Thanks and wish you good health.
Dr. Ditah, MD.


I understand how troubling this is and for sure we all get this anxiety in similar situations.
From this information. there was exposure and whenever there is exposure, no matter how minimal the risk of transmission is, it is never zero. Please, consider getting tested and being more careful next time about ensuring proper and total protection.
Your risk is clearly very very minimal but I will not also call it zero. so, do a follow up with your doctor to get to know your status.
I wish you well and best of health.
Dr. Ditah, MD.


please, there are no well conducted studies which talk of a protective layer forming and protecting against HIV. Also, even in people who have not shaved, once they are exposed they are at risk and so we cannot run to talking about this to suggest that infection could not have taken place.
These are all hypotheses and I will not comment on it now because there is no well controlled scientific findings.
please, I understand your anxiety but the only answer to whether you were contaminated or not depends on the outcome of your tests. As i mentioned earlier, your risk is very very minimal but not zero. Just stay relaxed and tell yourself unless you are extremely unlucky the chances of having an infection from this encounter are very unlikely.
Hope it helps.
Dr. Ditah, MD

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