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What Causes Night Sweats Post Unprotected Intercourse?
Question: Hello doctor,
I had receptive vaginal unprotected sex 7 weeks ago. 9 days after the incident, I began having some night sweats (no fever.) Feeling somewhat concerned, I ordered a PCR RNA test on day 17 that came back negative. I'm still feeling somewhat conflicted as I don't know whether or not that was long enough to wait. Should I worry? I'm debating whether or not to get an antibody test.
I had receptive vaginal unprotected sex 7 weeks ago. 9 days after the incident, I began having some night sweats (no fever.) Feeling somewhat concerned, I ordered a PCR RNA test on day 17 that came back negative. I'm still feeling somewhat conflicted as I don't know whether or not that was long enough to wait. Should I worry? I'm debating whether or not to get an antibody test.
Brief Answer:
If you are talking about HIV, you tested too early
Detailed Answer:
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.
HIV does not mount a full immune response in your body for 6 weeks- so it is good that your first test was negative, but you should test again at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and a year. You do not need a confirmatory test for a negative screen, only if it's positive (the negative screen is very accurate) to make sure the diagnosis is correct.
If you are concerned with HIV exposure, you should check for all STD's like gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, syphillis and hepatitis C (and B if you are not waccinated) A GYN doctor can do all of these tests for you. Chlamydia and herpes are the two most common of STDs. Even though you had symptoms of an illness, that does not mean it was related to any sexually transmitted disease.
I hope you feel better, and that the tests you get in the future all turn out negative.
If you need anything further, please do not hesitate to contact me again.
Thanks for using my services and healthcaremagic.com
Dr. Brown
If you are talking about HIV, you tested too early
Detailed Answer:
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.
HIV does not mount a full immune response in your body for 6 weeks- so it is good that your first test was negative, but you should test again at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and a year. You do not need a confirmatory test for a negative screen, only if it's positive (the negative screen is very accurate) to make sure the diagnosis is correct.
If you are concerned with HIV exposure, you should check for all STD's like gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, syphillis and hepatitis C (and B if you are not waccinated) A GYN doctor can do all of these tests for you. Chlamydia and herpes are the two most common of STDs. Even though you had symptoms of an illness, that does not mean it was related to any sexually transmitted disease.
I hope you feel better, and that the tests you get in the future all turn out negative.
If you need anything further, please do not hesitate to contact me again.
Thanks for using my services and healthcaremagic.com
Dr. Brown
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Thanks for your respond. Well the PCR RNA test looks for the virus itself and not the antibodies, which is why I was advised to take that one first. Evidently the window period is 2-3 weeks for this particula test. r
Brief Answer:
Either way you do not have to worry at this point
Detailed Answer:
Yes that is true about the RNA test, and the accuracy is over 99 percent. Especially since you were concerned about symptoms of seroconversion, this does rule out acute HIV infection with the same accuracy as the antibody test in the appropriate time frame.
However the manufacturers of the most commercially available personal HIV RNA test recommend antibody testing at 12 weeks to confirm.
The protocol of antibody testing I was referring to is the one that is recommended for health care workers who have a needlestick injury in the U.S. The protocols have not changed yet despite the availability of the RNA test.
Anyway I still encourage you to do testing for other STD exposure as you are much more likely to be exposed to the other STDs I mentioned than to HIV.
Thank you for the feedback and I hope this follow up is helpful.
Take care, Dr. Brown
Either way you do not have to worry at this point
Detailed Answer:
Yes that is true about the RNA test, and the accuracy is over 99 percent. Especially since you were concerned about symptoms of seroconversion, this does rule out acute HIV infection with the same accuracy as the antibody test in the appropriate time frame.
However the manufacturers of the most commercially available personal HIV RNA test recommend antibody testing at 12 weeks to confirm.
The protocol of antibody testing I was referring to is the one that is recommended for health care workers who have a needlestick injury in the U.S. The protocols have not changed yet despite the availability of the RNA test.
Anyway I still encourage you to do testing for other STD exposure as you are much more likely to be exposed to the other STDs I mentioned than to HIV.
Thank you for the feedback and I hope this follow up is helpful.
Take care, Dr. Brown
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Thanks for the response! I plan on doing a 12 week antibody test to confirm. So 17 days was ample time for a PCR test to be positive? Also, have you ever seen a negative PCR test later be positive with an antibody test? Thanks so much.
Brief Answer:
18 days is within the valid testing window for RNA test
Detailed Answer:
So the window of accuracy for the RNA test is between 2 and 3 weeks, so you should be covered.
I personally do not have much experience with HIV RNA primary testing because in New York in the US most health insurance does not pay for the RNA test so very few patients use it for primary screening. The public health HIV testing clinics may offer it to high-risk individuals (like exposure to a known HIV positive individual) but there are no specific statistics I can find of the incidence of antibody conversion.
Certainly in my own practice in over 15 years I have only diagnosed a few women with HIV and it was always with an antibody test at a primary care screening. Very few patients present in the testing window for the RNA test.
In your case, from a single heterosexual exposure with vaginal intercourse, your risk is very low for contracting HIV to begin with.
I really don't think you need to worry about HIV after your negative RNA test, but the 12 week confirmation will give you extra reassurance.
Hope this gives you peace of mind!
Dr. Brown
18 days is within the valid testing window for RNA test
Detailed Answer:
So the window of accuracy for the RNA test is between 2 and 3 weeks, so you should be covered.
I personally do not have much experience with HIV RNA primary testing because in New York in the US most health insurance does not pay for the RNA test so very few patients use it for primary screening. The public health HIV testing clinics may offer it to high-risk individuals (like exposure to a known HIV positive individual) but there are no specific statistics I can find of the incidence of antibody conversion.
Certainly in my own practice in over 15 years I have only diagnosed a few women with HIV and it was always with an antibody test at a primary care screening. Very few patients present in the testing window for the RNA test.
In your case, from a single heterosexual exposure with vaginal intercourse, your risk is very low for contracting HIV to begin with.
I really don't think you need to worry about HIV after your negative RNA test, but the 12 week confirmation will give you extra reassurance.
Hope this gives you peace of mind!
Dr. Brown
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
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