Hi There I Am Just Wondering What Is The Window

Posted on Fri, 16 Aug 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 16 Aug 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Hi There

I am just wondering what is the window period for Hepatitis B?

I had a test done at 4 weeks, it came back negative

I had another test done at 6.5 weeks it came back negative

The exposure was deep kissing, no Sexual intercourse involved

is 6.5 weeks conclusive? or should i test again?

Regards
XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Aaron Branch (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hepatitis B surface antigen can take up to 10 weeks to appear

Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using Ask a Doctor. The marker for diagnosing Hepatitis B, the surface antigen, can take up to 10 weeks to appear in the blood, so if you were negative at 10 weeks, I would consider that conclusive. However, in your case, since you cannot get Hepatitis B from kissing, I would say further testing would not be necessary, as you would almost certainly be negative.

I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any questions about any of that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj