Dr. Frascino,

Instead of having blood drawn, can I go for the OraQuick 20 minute rapid 'gum rubbing' oral test again and expect its accuracy at the 3 month mark? I did the 'gum rubbing' oral test at 7 weeks and it was negative. Just really want to make sure that the oral test at 3 months is just as accurate as a blood test at 3 months.

Had 1 potential exposure on Aug. 1st/2nd.

Your advice and thoughts are much appreciated. Thanks for being so kind and generous with your time on this very, very important forum.

Looking forward to making a donation to your foundation this week, and of course, ultimately, seeing a cure.

Cheers!

-Mr. Liberal & Healthcare for ALL!

Hi Mr. Liberal,

The OraQuick oral fluid rapid test is highly sensitive (99.6%), highly specific (99.7%) and compares favorably to blood tests. A negative OraQuick oral fluid rapid test is considered a definitive negative unless testing occurs within the "window period" (first three months post-exposure). A positive OraQuick oral fluid rapid test is considered only a "preliminarily positive" test and needs to be confirmed with a Western Blot or IFA (immunofluorescent assay). You can read more about HIV diagnostic tests in the archives of this forum. The bottom line is that if your three-month OraQuick oral fluid test is negative, it's WOO-HOO-able! OK?

Good luck.

Dr. Bob