Please Note: Due to volume considerations, not all questions can be answered. Questions most likely to be answered will be those of general interest to a broad group of visitors to this forum. Questions pertaining to a specific case; requests for diagnosis, medical advice, or second opinion; or requests for opinions about untested alternative therapies will generally not be answered.
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worried
May 2, 2008
hi i had unprotected sex at the wkend whilst i was away iam very concerned that i could have caught hiv i have booked in at a clinic to have tests tue but i was reading up and it said that u had 2 wait 3months to have hiv test well 4 it to be accurate is there anyway i can find out sooner so so worried cnt get the thought out of my mind i havnmt had ne symptons. im 2o not sure on his age but he was in the marines got no contact num for him
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Response from Dr. Frascino
Hey Worried,
Unprotected sex, even with a marine, places you at some degree of risk for STDs, including HIV. The recommendation for HIV screening is to get an HIV-antibody test at the three-month mark. HIV-antibody tests taken prior to three months are not considered definitive or conclusive. Yes, other testing techniques are available (NAT, PCR, p24 antigen, etc.) and these may detect an HIV infection somewhat sooner than HIV-antibody tests; however, these tests are not routinely recommended due to technical factors (such as the rate of false-positives) and cost.
I'd suggest you wait for your three-month HIV-antibody test and use the waiting time to read the wealth of information on this site, its archives and related links pertaining to HIV transmission, HIV prevention, safer sex techniques and HIV testing. That should take at least three months. If you have any extra time left over, how about reviewing the basic principles of grammar, punctuation and spelling?!
Dr. Bob
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