After 10 weeks, HIV test is Negative… but still not happy

this would be interesting to read a public reply from HN as its a great question...thanks

krishxxx said:

Hi HealthNurse,

I’ve found so many posts related to STD/HIV but I think my scenario is little different from others.

I had safe sex with an escort about 3 months ago. About 1-2 weeks after that I started to have some itching
(rash? not sure) around my groin area and waist area. I also started to develop some muscle/joint pain in my
arms and legs. The pain is not continues, it will be here and there for about less than 5 sec and then it will simply
disappears, then after a while (about 1 hr), I will feel the pain somewhere else along my arms or legs. I still have
these symptoms, but not got worsen. To treat the rash, I apply some anti-itching lotion to the affected area
and I’m fine for a day. So I do this every day after taking shower.

With these ongoing pains and rash, I decided to be tested for HIV. So, after 10 weeks, I went for an HIV test and the
test result turns out to be Negative.


My question to you is that there is a window period of 12 weeks for a person to be tested for antibodies. I did my test
after 10 weeks. Do you think, doing the test 2 weeks earlier will have any different in result? And also do you think
I may have infected with any other STDs? It's been 14 weeks since but I still have the rash and pains.

Thank you for your time.
Krish

Click to expand...

Hi KrishXXX

Sorry to hear that you are not feeling well.

It is really difficult to diagnose conditions over the internet as we need to see the rash and do some tests, but I can give you some suggestions on what to do.

You stated that you “had safe sex with an escort” I take the meaning of that is that you used a condom for vaginal sex. If this is the case we would consider that you have a low risk for HIV infection. Condoms work really well in stopping HIV transmission.

It is hard to say if the itching and muscle/joint pain is related to your sexual contact 3 months ago. I would recommend that you go to an STI clinic or a doctor to have the rash looked at and get tested. Make sure they do all the tests for you especially syphilis as this can sometimes show up as a rash. As it has been over 3 months since your sexual contact a HIV and syphilis test would be very accurate. Negative test results at 3 months can give you great peace of mind and reduce those stress levels.

We are currently saying that there is a 3 month window period with the current HIV test. If you had a test done at 10 wks and it was negative, we do not know the exact percentage of accuracy but it is very close to 100%.

If you need help getting connected with a clinic or a doctor let me know.

Does this answer your question?


HN
www.stdresource.com