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Can HIV Be Contracted Through Protected Sex?
Posted on
Wed, 2 Sep 2015
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 2 Sep 2015
Answered on
Wed, 23 Sep 2015
Last reviewed on
Question : Hello doctor,
I am a 26 years male frm tamilnadu. two month back I went on a tour to thailand. I had an exposure with a csw thai girl. it was my first exposure with a csw girl. she inserted condoms in my penis and she had oral sex. then she had sex with me using the same condom. I dnt know wheather the condom is ruptured after ejaculation. I m on extreme fear from tat day wheather hiv infection wil occur. 20 days after my exposure I had a severe neck tension and hand pain. after two days I had a severe neck pain I went to a gen doctor he took an xray and ct scan and adviced its muscular pain and it can be caused by stress or strain. I took a hiv ic rapid test on 28 days after my exposure the result is negative. then I took a anti hiv 1 &2 ag ab combo test after 30days from exposure and the result is non reactive and negative. sometimes I had mild hand pain during these days. I took a oraquick mouth swab test at 42 days from my exposure and the result is negative. then I had a small red like pimple in my middle of side tongue and I went to a ent specialst the doctor advised me its a kind of mouth ulcer and it may be due to inflmation. I took a rapid serum hiv screening test at 50 days frm my exposure the result is negative. after 66 days frm my exposure I had cold and fever of 99.2 deg. I am on extreme fear and stressed.. are these symptoms of hiv infection?I wil again retest after 12 weeks. but nw I m worried how far are my results reliable? pls help me doctor .
I am a 26 years male frm tamilnadu. two month back I went on a tour to thailand. I had an exposure with a csw thai girl. it was my first exposure with a csw girl. she inserted condoms in my penis and she had oral sex. then she had sex with me using the same condom. I dnt know wheather the condom is ruptured after ejaculation. I m on extreme fear from tat day wheather hiv infection wil occur. 20 days after my exposure I had a severe neck tension and hand pain. after two days I had a severe neck pain I went to a gen doctor he took an xray and ct scan and adviced its muscular pain and it can be caused by stress or strain. I took a hiv ic rapid test on 28 days after my exposure the result is negative. then I took a anti hiv 1 &2 ag ab combo test after 30days from exposure and the result is non reactive and negative. sometimes I had mild hand pain during these days. I took a oraquick mouth swab test at 42 days from my exposure and the result is negative. then I had a small red like pimple in my middle of side tongue and I went to a ent specialst the doctor advised me its a kind of mouth ulcer and it may be due to inflmation. I took a rapid serum hiv screening test at 50 days frm my exposure the result is negative. after 66 days frm my exposure I had cold and fever of 99.2 deg. I am on extreme fear and stressed.. are these symptoms of hiv infection?I wil again retest after 12 weeks. but nw I m worried how far are my results reliable? pls help me doctor .
Brief Answer:
Hiv combo test at 4 weeks reliably rules out Hiv; No need for further tests
Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for writing to us
I have gone through your query and I have understood your concern.
Your risk of Hiv is minimal considering that you had protected sex with csw.
As far as screening tests are concerned anti hiv 1& 2 antibody antigen combo test at 30 days from exposure is highly reliable and rules out possibility Hiv infection.
This combo test reduces the window period of Hiv detection from 12 weeks (in a purely antibody based test) to about 2-4 weeks. This is because it also would screen for Hiv P 24 antigen which is usually the earliest to appear in circulation. Hiv antibodies appear later.
All your other test i.e Rapid Hiv test, Oraquick testsare purely antibody based tests and though fairly reliable at 4 wks would still require a 12 wk test to be taken as conclusive for Hiv result. This is because a small proportion of infected individuals may not have detectable anti-Hiv antibodies early on and almost 100% will develop anti Hiv antibodies at 12 weeks.
Since your combo test (Hiv antibody and antigen test) is already negative at 30 days therefore there is really no need to do a 12 week antibody test.
I don't think your symptoms are attributable to Hiv.
Regards
Hiv combo test at 4 weeks reliably rules out Hiv; No need for further tests
Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for writing to us
I have gone through your query and I have understood your concern.
Your risk of Hiv is minimal considering that you had protected sex with csw.
As far as screening tests are concerned anti hiv 1& 2 antibody antigen combo test at 30 days from exposure is highly reliable and rules out possibility Hiv infection.
This combo test reduces the window period of Hiv detection from 12 weeks (in a purely antibody based test) to about 2-4 weeks. This is because it also would screen for Hiv P 24 antigen which is usually the earliest to appear in circulation. Hiv antibodies appear later.
All your other test i.e Rapid Hiv test, Oraquick testsare purely antibody based tests and though fairly reliable at 4 wks would still require a 12 wk test to be taken as conclusive for Hiv result. This is because a small proportion of infected individuals may not have detectable anti-Hiv antibodies early on and almost 100% will develop anti Hiv antibodies at 12 weeks.
Since your combo test (Hiv antibody and antigen test) is already negative at 30 days therefore there is really no need to do a 12 week antibody test.
I don't think your symptoms are attributable to Hiv.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks doctor for your helpful reply.I have browsed the internet about initial symptoms of hiv. In tat they have mentioned cold,fever, muscular body pain, mouth ulcer etc as symptoms. I had cold and fever after 66days from my exposure. is that not a symptom of hiv. pls advice me regarding this.
Brief Answer:
You don't have Hiv
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Not every patients who has flu like symptoms can be suspected as Hiv+ve. These symptoms can happen otherwise as well due to some other illness.
In your case the timing for flu like symptoms i.e 9 + weeks after possible exposure is a bit too late for it to be considered Hiv related Flu like symptoms, which usually develop between 1-4 weeks of Hiv infection.
Also, flu-like symptoms need to be interpreted in relation to exposure risk to Hiv which is minimal in your case since your sexual act was a protected one.
Moreover, the various screening tests that you did for Hiv have all been negative. So, I don't think you have Hiv.
Regards
You don't have Hiv
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Not every patients who has flu like symptoms can be suspected as Hiv+ve. These symptoms can happen otherwise as well due to some other illness.
In your case the timing for flu like symptoms i.e 9 + weeks after possible exposure is a bit too late for it to be considered Hiv related Flu like symptoms, which usually develop between 1-4 weeks of Hiv infection.
Also, flu-like symptoms need to be interpreted in relation to exposure risk to Hiv which is minimal in your case since your sexual act was a protected one.
Moreover, the various screening tests that you did for Hiv have all been negative. So, I don't think you have Hiv.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks doctor for your reply. though my sexual act was a protected one I used the same condom for oral and intercourse and I dont know the status of the condom wheather it is broken or not during intercourse. if there is an infection will it be identified in my screening test durations? can I be convinced about my test results under this condition? is my 30 days ag ab combo test result conclusive ? please advice me
Brief Answer:
Combo test is conclusive at 4 weeks
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Yes. A combo test for Anti Hiv 1&2 antibody and P24 antigen is conclusive at 4 weeks Or 1 month. The advantage of combo test is that it shortens the window period from 12 weeks for an antibody based screening test to about 2-4 weeks for a combo test that combines P24 antigen detection in addition to anti Hiv 1&2 antibody detection. This test has a sensitivity of 99.8% at 1 month.
Regards
Combo test is conclusive at 4 weeks
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Yes. A combo test for Anti Hiv 1&2 antibody and P24 antigen is conclusive at 4 weeks Or 1 month. The advantage of combo test is that it shortens the window period from 12 weeks for an antibody based screening test to about 2-4 weeks for a combo test that combines P24 antigen detection in addition to anti Hiv 1&2 antibody detection. This test has a sensitivity of 99.8% at 1 month.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks doctor for your valuable reply. should I do a retest after 12 weeks? is it necessary to confirm negative again after 12 weeks?
Brief Answer:
No need to further testing
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
No need to redo an antibody based test at 12 weeks.
As I already said that the combo test is accurate at 4 weeks. It has a short window period because it looks for P24 antigen as well in addition to anti-Hiv 1& 2 antibody.
Regards
No need to further testing
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
No need to redo an antibody based test at 12 weeks.
As I already said that the combo test is accurate at 4 weeks. It has a short window period because it looks for P24 antigen as well in addition to anti-Hiv 1& 2 antibody.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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