I recently tested HIV negative after a three month abstinence period. How accurate is this result considering the six month window period? What percentage tests negative during the first three months and not after the first three months? Which is a good website for this information e.g. government website (CDC); which links? Because of the six month window, you are obliged to be tested at that time. However, you've little to worry if you've been abstinent or have used protection.
The truth is, and this will earn me "thumbs down" from many, that you have to work rather hard to get AIDS: you have to exhaust your immune system with REPEATED exposure to STDs via multiple sex partners, invade the sanctity of your bod by injecting recreational drugs for entertainment, repeatedly inject the HIV virus into your bloodstream by unprotected or unhealthy sex and contaminated blood products, be a carrier of Hepatitis and one or two other things to get this disease. Syphilis, despite being easily cured with penicillin, appears to be a common denominator in many cases.
The "one night stand" that results in AIDS, although it probably has happened once or twice, is very close to an urban myth. AIDS comes to those that ask for it, repeatedly. It depends how much you were at risk before the three months.
More than 99 per cent of HIV infections will be identified by an antibody test at 13 weeks (3 months). Only a fraction of 1 per cent of seroconversions occur between three and six months.
[Edit] Contrary to what Oldschooldude below says, it does not take multiple exposures to HIV to produce an infection. A single exposure will suffice. However, the chance of infection from any one exposure is relatively low: with multiple exposures the overall probabilty that an infection will result increases because there are more opportunities.
HIV infection causes immune damage, not the other way around.
The presence of other STIs, particularly gonorrhea can make transmission of HIV more likely because such infections make the damaged tissue more vulnerable to binding by the virus particles. The window period for HIV is really 3 months for more than 99% of the population.
99% of people who acquire HIV will seroconvert (create the antibodies that the test looks for) by 3 months.
95% of people will test positive by 2 months after acquiring HIV
75% of people will test positive by 17-20 days after acquiring HIV. And the average person will seroconvert by 10-14 days.
The last 1% includes people whose immune system is compromised from a non-HIV related condition (chemotherapy/radiation, organ recipient on anti-rejection drugs) Since their immune system is not working they take longer to create antibodies/seroconvert. AND while extremely rare, it has been reported that some people seroconvert in late stage HIV disease and some people seroconvert again with prolonged immune reconstitution after initiating HIV meds (probably too much information, sorry...I like to be specific)
Virtually everyone will seroconvert by 6 months.
By accepted standards, a negative ELISA test 3 months from your last possible exposure would be considered definitive unless you fit into one of the categories mentioned above.
As far as links go, I'm not sure. My information comes from respected peer-reviewed journal articles and clinical practice. All of which I would be happy to share if you like. Just send me a message
Hope this helps, Unlike many diseases, HIV infection and AIDS are preventable. While it can be disturbing to think about AIDS and consider your risk, getting up-to-date information is the first step toward protecting yourself.
An estimated 800,000 to 1.2 million people in the United States are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This virus damages cells in the immune (defense) system that fight off infections and diseases. As the virus gradually destroys these important cells, the immune system becomes less and less able to protect against illness. Typically, HIV lives in an infected person's body for months or years before any signs of illness appear.
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is the last stage of HIV infection. People with AIDS experience certain life-threatening infections and cancers which make them very sick and can eventually kill them.
How People Get HIV
The virus lives easily in some body fluids and barely survives in others. Blood, semen (***), or vaginal fluids carry the virus in quantities that can cause infection. Only very small amounts of HIV (too little to spread the virus) are found in body fluids such as saliva. If infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluids enter your body, you may get HIV.
Some people get HIV the first time they get these infected fluids in their bodies. For unknown reasons, other people are exposed to HIV but don't get infected. But if they are exposed again, they could get infected too.
The more times you are exposed to HIV, the greater your chance to get the infection. You put yourself at risk every time you let another person's body fluids into your body. If you don't have HIV, you have everything to gain by protecting yourself now.
How Is HIV Treated?
Currently there is no way to get rid of all the virus once a person is infected. However, new medicines can slow the damage that HIV causes to the immune system. Also, doctors are getting better at treating the illnesses that are caused by HIV infection. Many people now consider HIV infection a manageable, long-term illness.
Is There a Relationship Between HIV and Other STDs?
The presence of certain STDs increases the risk of getting HIV infection during contact with an HIV-infected person. Certain STDs result in breaks in the skin on or in the anus, vagina, or penis that permit the virus to enter the blood system more easily. See a health care provider for testing and treatment if you think you might have any STD. |
