How To Test For HIV?

Posted on Mon, 7 Jul 2014

Question: Hey my lymphocytes levels were at 1.1 ive been experincing diareha coming and going mouth sores, i slept with a hsv 1 genitailia girl. Im concerd about HIV to

Answered by Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (6 hours later)

You need to get tested. Go to the local urgent care center or clinic and get an HIV Elisa done. That will be the screening. They may want to do another test called a Western Blot. Get tested as soon as you can and you will be at peace and you will be protecting those you love.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (4 hours later)

Ive tok a rna hiv test yestrday is that the same test you are talking about? Does herpes also lower you lymphocyte levels?

Answered by Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (23 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Lets see the HIV result, Herpes shouldn't do that

Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for following up.

1) HIV: Yes, lets wait for the HIV results and see what needs to be done next.

2) Herpes: No: Herpes shouldn't decrease your lymphocyte count in the long run. You might have a transient downtrend when you first get infected. But not in the long term.

Vin

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (37 hours later)

My results came from the hiv rna test. They were negative! How accurate are these tests? Should i feel confident that i dont have hiv?

Answered by Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (40 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Stop worrying.

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX The HIV RNA screening tests are great! Sometimes there is the issue of "false positives" where a person may come up as positive, but not actually have HIV.

That requires testing with Western Blot.. etc etc.. snooze...

But a negative result... is definitely NEGATIVE. No worries there. False negatives are impossibly rare with genetic testing.

So rest easy. You're negative, Keep it that way

Vin

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (8 minutes later)

Thank you very much, over the past day or two i have visible pulsating in my neck, i can see me neck pulse beat. Is this a sign of anything i should be worried about?

Answered by Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (8 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Neck pulsations are normal.

Detailed Answer:
Don't worry about it chief. It's normal to see them in thinner or athletic individuals.

Vin

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (5 hours later)

Okay last question with all these symptoms im having, the gums on the roof of my mouth our rough the dentist said they are fine. Should i be concerned sbout hep c?

Answered by Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj (4 days later)

Brief Answer:
Sorry bout the delay!

Detailed Answer:
Hey sorry about the delay. I don't see any connection to the roughness in the mouth and Hep C. The virus attacks your liver and every patient i have come across has no problems with the mouth.

Take Care,

Vinay

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar