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What Is The Window Period For HIV Test Post Exposure?
Question: what hiv test can i do earliest if i have had sex 2 days before..? since i dont want to wait for 3 months and want my mind at ease
Brief Answer:
HIV RNA and antibody test both
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your question. I am Dr Matin ,and will be answering your question.
There are lot of issues we discuss before we suggest any body to go for a HIV test .
Like -- with whom you had sex -was a sex worker , which route anal/vaginal/oral , whether protected /or condom slipped/torn , status of the partner etc
These issues need to be addressed and that is why we do a pre- test and post counseling after taking consent for doing a HIV test.
But if you have decided to test yourself then it is suggested that you go for HIV RNA and antibody tests both. Sufficient quantities of RNA virus are formed after one week of exposure and antibodies are not formed in sufficient quantity ,and early enough to give antibody test positive , so combination of both are desirable for early diagnosis but still you have to confirm the diagnosis @ 90 days of exposure by standard antibody test which is the protocol we follow .
That is to mean that whatever mode of exposure and whatever be the type of test -the protocol is to test at baseline and after 3 months of exposure to confirm the HIV status -positive or negative .
Hope this helps.
HIV RNA and antibody test both
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your question. I am Dr Matin ,and will be answering your question.
There are lot of issues we discuss before we suggest any body to go for a HIV test .
Like -- with whom you had sex -was a sex worker , which route anal/vaginal/oral , whether protected /or condom slipped/torn , status of the partner etc
These issues need to be addressed and that is why we do a pre- test and post counseling after taking consent for doing a HIV test.
But if you have decided to test yourself then it is suggested that you go for HIV RNA and antibody tests both. Sufficient quantities of RNA virus are formed after one week of exposure and antibodies are not formed in sufficient quantity ,and early enough to give antibody test positive , so combination of both are desirable for early diagnosis but still you have to confirm the diagnosis @ 90 days of exposure by standard antibody test which is the protocol we follow .
That is to mean that whatever mode of exposure and whatever be the type of test -the protocol is to test at baseline and after 3 months of exposure to confirm the HIV status -positive or negative .
Hope this helps.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
it was a sex worked..oral n vaginal sex..with condoms ofcourse.. but in the start due to alcohol i had a bit of a blackout for 1 hour or so and don't remember what happened but before that i did give her the condoms...i did ask her did we use condoms throughout..she said yes and was always using condoms while we had intercourse.. so im worried about the black out i dont remember..is it possible to get infected because of a single exposure?
Brief Answer:
We can tell probability per act
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your response.
We can tell ,you the probability of acquisition of HIV per act.
The probability of getting HIV from an infected partner through vaginal route is
0.1-- 01%.
The chances of getting oral route is extremely low and as discussed transmission depends upon several variables , so it is difficult to predict whether HIV can be transferred through single exposure .
Hope this helps.
We can tell probability per act
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your response.
We can tell ,you the probability of acquisition of HIV per act.
The probability of getting HIV from an infected partner through vaginal route is
0.1-- 01%.
The chances of getting oral route is extremely low and as discussed transmission depends upon several variables , so it is difficult to predict whether HIV can be transferred through single exposure .
Hope this helps.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
makes sense..i do not do this regularly..n hardly have sex..no multiple partners also..do you think im at risk? or im just thinking too much?
Brief Answer:
Answer remains the same
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for your response.
I understand under the given the scenario( your being off balance after taking alcohol) ), you can go for a baseline HIV antibody test and repeat it at 90 days of exposure as per protocol ,just to buy the peace of your mind.
Hope this helps.
Answer remains the same
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for your response.
I understand under the given the scenario( your being off balance after taking alcohol) ), you can go for a baseline HIV antibody test and repeat it at 90 days of exposure as per protocol ,just to buy the peace of your mind.
Hope this helps.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
antibody test is hiv elisa 1 and 2 right ?
Brief Answer:
That is correct
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for your kind response.
That is correct .Antibody tests are done for antibodies both against HIV 1 and 2 .
Keep me posted about your progress.
Regards.
That is correct
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for your kind response.
That is correct .Antibody tests are done for antibodies both against HIV 1 and 2 .
Keep me posted about your progress.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
thank you doctor for your support.
my last question is..
in 10 days i will get tested..do i do the elisa..or the p24 test..
i have read window period for elisa is 3 months and p24 is 11-30 days.
please suggest which is reliable to do in the next 10 days to relax my mind..
my last question is..
in 10 days i will get tested..do i do the elisa..or the p24 test..
i have read window period for elisa is 3 months and p24 is 11-30 days.
please suggest which is reliable to do in the next 10 days to relax my mind..
Brief Answer:
These days both antibody and antigen(p24) are done
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your response.
These days both antibody and antigen(p24) are done , called 4th Generation of HIV tests.
Whatever be the window periods for different tests , you will have to go for final test @3 months. So no worries over there reg window periods .
So you can go for any 4th Generation test which has sensitivity of almost 100%.
There are no such tests called 'ELISA' , .ELISA is the principle on which all tests are based.
Hope it helps.
These days both antibody and antigen(p24) are done
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your response.
These days both antibody and antigen(p24) are done , called 4th Generation of HIV tests.
Whatever be the window periods for different tests , you will have to go for final test @3 months. So no worries over there reg window periods .
So you can go for any 4th Generation test which has sensitivity of almost 100%.
There are no such tests called 'ELISA' , .ELISA is the principle on which all tests are based.
Hope it helps.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
4th Generation test which has sensitivity of almost 100%.
what does this mean ? ..does it mean 4th generation tests detect the virus once i have had an encounter.? ..and after how long should i take the test from exposure? 11 days?
what does this mean ? ..does it mean 4th generation tests detect the virus once i have had an encounter.? ..and after how long should i take the test from exposure? 11 days?
Brief Answer:
The basics of tests
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your response.
It is fairly simple I wrote even earlier . Sensitivity is the power of a test to detect positive cases if they are truly positive.
100 % sensitive means that if 100 positive patients are tested by that particular test , then it will pick all of them which are truly positive and reporting as ' true positive' .
Similarly for example ,99 % sensitive means it will pick up 99 'true positive' cases out of 100 positive ones reporting as 'true positives' and 1 true positive case may not be picked up as positive and will be reported as 'false negative'.
That is why we test with maximum sensitivity (approx 100% which all newer tests have) and repeat it after an interval of 3 months to cover up even that 1% 'false negativity ' and be absolutely sure about once's status and hence is the protocol to test at base line and after 3 months.
The first test will be counted as 'baseline' whatever be the number of days of exposure, but final test has to be done after 3 months for final confirmation.
Hope this helps. I understand I have answered all of your queries and so Iwind up the thread over here.
Wish you a very happy 2015
The basics of tests
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your response.
It is fairly simple I wrote even earlier . Sensitivity is the power of a test to detect positive cases if they are truly positive.
100 % sensitive means that if 100 positive patients are tested by that particular test , then it will pick all of them which are truly positive and reporting as ' true positive' .
Similarly for example ,99 % sensitive means it will pick up 99 'true positive' cases out of 100 positive ones reporting as 'true positives' and 1 true positive case may not be picked up as positive and will be reported as 'false negative'.
That is why we test with maximum sensitivity (approx 100% which all newer tests have) and repeat it after an interval of 3 months to cover up even that 1% 'false negativity ' and be absolutely sure about once's status and hence is the protocol to test at base line and after 3 months.
The first test will be counted as 'baseline' whatever be the number of days of exposure, but final test has to be done after 3 months for final confirmation.
Hope this helps. I understand I have answered all of your queries and so Iwind up the thread over here.
Wish you a very happy 2015
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju
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