Hello Dr, I'm a 26 year old straight white male. I have all of these strange symptoms. First, I have yellow looking eyelids, which I saw can be brought on by viral attacks. I also have "vertical corrugations" on the lateral borders of the tongue, like in OHL. However, my tongue just has the corrugations, and no hair on the side like in many of the pictures. I also have coated tongue (a white top of the tongue). Furthermore, I have a case of folliculitis that has not gone away for years and I've tried everything (well, the derm has tried everything). Lately, I have also had literally a week long headache. My question is, and I'm sorry b/c I know others have asked, is the Home Access Test reliable? I took it a few days ago and it came back negative, so is that that, even though I have all these weird symptoms? Does a test ALWAYS trump symptoms of possible HIV? I ask this b/c the internet makes it sound like OHL is only a result of HIV, and my mouth looks just like it. That's it and sorry for the long post, just would like to find peace of mind :( Thank you very much Doctor and I do plan on donating to your cause.

P.S I'm literally the biggest Rubinstein fan of all time!

Hi,

Yes, a negative FDA-approved HIV test outside the window period trumps "symptoms" each and every time. Yes, Home Access Tests are indeed reliable. They use a double EIA (enzyme immunoassay) with confirmatory IFA (immunofluorescence assay) procedure that allows the test's sensitivity and specificity (i.e. accuracy) to approach 100%!

HIV is not your problem. No way. No how.

Rubinstein rocks! I met him several times. He was as magical in person as he was playing Chopin.

Dr. Bob