[Question #11086] Rapid home hiv test kit

Avatar photo
17 months ago
Hi there, i have a question i purchased a rapid home hiv test kit CE world health organisation certified. I asked a sex worker to use this in front of me ( who i suspected of having hiv) who initially was extremely reluctant to do so & even was aggressive & refusing to do so eventually i kept persuading her to do it which she reluctantly did. It says to wait 15 mins for a clear result & no longer due to me being in a nervous rushed state I'm not sure i give it the full 15 mins ( maybe 10 at the most) however it did only show up 1 line ( one line indicates a negative test) ( 2 indicates a positive test) my question is would both lines show up together? Can i rely on this result.. She seemed to want to keep the test herself & did as i say I'm not 100% sure i waited the full 15 mins as i say there was only one line indicating a negative result & No sign of a second even a faint 2nd was not showing
I'd appreciat so much if u could help me with some info thank you. 
Avatar photo
Edward W. Hook M.D.
17 months ago
Welcome to the Forum and thanks for your questions.  I’ll do my best to help but fear my comments will not totally address your concerns.

I can’t answer whether or not you succeeded in waiting the full 15 minutes to get your test result, although my sense is that you probably did.  Regarding test interpretation, the control (single) line may appear before the 2nd line in some infected persons although the 2nd line does typically appear well before the full 15 minutes have passed. 

Having said all this, you risk from the encounter you describe is low.  Her test was probably negative and even in the unlikely scenario that she had HIV, your risk of infection from a single encounter is less than 1 in 2000 ( in other words, chances are more than 99,995 that you were not infected.

Hope this helps.  EWH
---
Avatar photo
17 months ago
Thanks for the reply dr, it definitely wasn't the full 15 mins id say 10. She was rushing me appeared very nervous shaking & sweating & aggressively out the door quick & she insisted on keeping the test. This all stems back to August 2022. I believe this woman who had an attitude problem & had previously complained of health problems. Low red blood cell count, big loss of weight, tiredness, neck pain ect. Im of the firm belief she damaged a condom deliberately with her teeth & then forced herself ontop of me ( which i didn't ask her to do) spend maybe 60 seconds on my penis ( without any moving up & down) got of said nothing & the condom was covered in blood which i also seen some swishing around inside the condom.. I said i u on ur period she said no. I cleaned my hands while looking away from the condom which was swiftly removed by her & also a wet wipe was involved as i was distracted cleaning my hands i never seen the condom again.. In the days after she was acting extremely suspicious watching me on whatsapp & going of line to the second I'd come on which i found suspect.. its like she was waiting for me to say something. anyway 6 days after this very suspect incident i got a rash on my palms & souls of feet combined with awful joint pain on the sides of my knees & ankles/tops of my feet as well as extreme exhaustion & bad diarrhea & stomach cramps 
Avatar photo
17 months ago
Ive also experienced tingling in my feet especially at night, also urinary problems like lack of flow & cant expel my wee properly. No appetite loss of weight. In the 6 days after this event qhwn i experienced these symptoms i had ivermectin tablets which i took one a day for 5 or 6 days.. I went for numorous hiv tests since then ( 13 in total) all negative.  its on a a usa government web
( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327999/#:~:text=Ivermectin%20inhibits%20infection%20by%20HIV,31%2C48%2C49%5D.) 

That states ivermectin is a specific inhibitor of the hiv - 1 virus.. & in actual at one point in 2018 scientists where making a drug for hiv ( 3 drugs in one capsule yhat actually contained ivermectin as one of the components of the new drug) 

I am still suffering chronic diarrhea, extreme fatigue, joint pain, tingling in my feet, no appetite, loss of weight since then. To be honest its like the ivermectin i took early has potentially wiped the hiv infection ( or hidden it) out as my immune system was fighting it & my system has remained in an over active hyper state attack me. Ive done so many tests with my dr & in hospital.. Initially around that time they seen i had raised CRP & MPO ANCA but nothing else. I'm very sick & this woman clearly did not want to wait 15 mins for this test early which she insisted she kept. She was a colombian woman.. Also i got severe headaches at the start in the first few weeks like my head was going to explode 
Avatar photo
17 months ago
I know you have said before that if someone is shown symptoms that is an a immune response & that if them symptoms were due to hiv infection they would be picked up by the test.. Ive had these awful symptoms so long now & tested when I've been going through them & no hiv has shown up. Another thing i noticed i took some valium for a few weeks & my symptoms were much much lesser i could actually function & do stuff.. But when i come of them ( I'm of them 6 weeks I'm back to the same symptoms i got aftwr being in sexual contact with that sex work. I read valium suppresses immune response so it's like my immune system is in a hyper active state & if i was to take valium ( which i never really normally do as i am not a drug user) it calms my symptoms down. Im at a real loss as to what's happening to my system i know dr's can only go based on test results but i dont know what's happened to my system since August 22. Its auch a struggle to get through each day. Sorry for the long message.. I'm just trying to give u as much relevant info as possible
Thank you for listening. 
Avatar photo
Edward W. Hook M.D.
17 months ago
What you describe really sounds like no STI, including HIV.  You don't mention testing but if your encounter was in August 2022 then any illness you might have would certainly be detectable. Have you tested?  If so and your tests are negative, this is not HIV- the same is true for other STIs.  OTOH, if you have not tested, then you should.

Many of your symptoms do suggest a high level of anxiety which may be helped with valium.  FYI valium, as well as ivermectin, have NO proven benefit for HIV or other STIs.  EWH

---
Avatar photo
17 months ago
I've Been tested for hiv ( & other sti's) a total of 13 times since August 2022. I was so ill i was in hospital in November 2022 they done a litany of tests & as i say they seen raised crp & mpo anca. I also got ulcers in my mouth ( 4 or 5 at a time) on a couple of different occasions.. I found it very strange how this woman today was extremely reluctant to do a hiv test in front of me & was doing everything not to wait the full 25 mins. I also got hemeroids on my anus a couple of times.. Real weakness innmy thighs like i was going to collapse. Im just extreme unwell i turn pale as a ghost feel like im going to collapse/pass out I'm basically incapacitated on the sofa & it all manifested 6 days after this incident with this woman in August 22
I read this on 
https://www.nature.com/articles/ja201711
'Ivermectin has also been demonstrated to be a potent broad-spectrum specific inhibitor of importin α/β-mediated nuclear transport and demonstrates antiviral activity against several RNA viruses by blocking the nuclear trafficking of viral proteins. It has been shown to have potent antiviral action against HIV-1 and dengue viruses, both of which are dependent on the importin protein superfamily for several key cellular processes. Ivermectin may be of import in disrupting HIV-1 integrase in HIV-1 as well as NS-5 (non-structural protein 5) polymerase in dengue viruses.99, 100'

Also if ivermectin has Zero bearing on HIV why would they ( scientists) be putting it into a new revolutionary drug where people will only have to take one pill a week to control there Hiv. I am not a naturally anxious person & never have been but I'm suffering Physically Badly. As i say I've alot of bad symptoms, sleep problems, urinary problems, joint problems, stomach issues, its awful when in hospital in November 2022 my glands went up i said to the dr why is this happening to me? 
Avatar photo
17 months ago
The dr said to me some type of virus.. I said ok what virus? He said ' we don't know' I'm in a bad way & at a real loss yo what's happened i have my own beliefs of what's happened which I've already stated but its certainly not anxiety or mental health or anything else like that. Could it be possible this woman give me clymidia which the ivermectin wiped out early & it manifested into reactive arthritis?? Thank you for you're help. 
Avatar photo
Edward W. Hook M.D.
17 months ago
As you point out despite being tested 13 or more times for HIV and other STI‘s, you are unable to accept those results. In the face of some of the best test medicine has ever developed. I have nothing more to add to my earlier comments and suggestions. This thread will be closed now. You should not return. There are no different answers for you. Should you return your may be closed without a response and without return of your posting fee. 

I should also point out to you that searching the Internet, as you obviously do, is a bad idea. Not all of the scientific literature is high-quality and not all statements found on the Internet represent scientific investigation at all. Much of what is said there is taken out of context, out of date, or simply wrong. Over and over we have found that the Internet is far far more likely to this lead our clients astray than to be of any help. I believe you fall into that category. 

I wish you the best in dealing with this unwarranted anxiety. EWH
---
Avatar photo
17 months ago
Thats ok i understand yous can only go based on test results i was just putting up studies done by the National Library of medicine on ivermectin a USA Backed Government website which i thought would have some credence. I can say  one thing which is a fact. the symptoms i go through are NOT brought on by anxiety because I'm not anxious, im just going through hell with symptoms diarrhea for 6 weeks now ( as well as the previous symptoms I've mentioned) As i say the only time my symptoms ease of is when i take diazepam. Its like it calms my over active immune system. 
This is  piece is also from the NLM
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9504140/#:~:text=Thus%2C%20anxiogenic%20BDZs%20in%20general,individual%20from%20stress%2Dinduced%20immunosuppression.
'Thus, anxiogenic BDZs in general suppress the immune response' 
Also this 
'Similarly, diazepam suppressed HIV-1 expression in chronically infected promonocytic (U1) cells and acutely infected monocyte-derived macro- phages, and this antiviral activity was associated with decreased activation of nuclear factor kappa B'
The above taken from 
https://journals.asm.org>pdf

Avatar photo
17 months ago
There was also a study done in africa. They noticed that ivermectin reduced the overall mean viral load in hiv patients & went on to say if newly hiv infected patients took ivermectin early they wouldn't need antiretroviral drugs for up to a year & would remain in the symptom free stage during that time. Well that certainly wasn't the case with me as i have symptoms that are really killing me. The fact that these things i mentioned are brushed off like there nothing when they are in black & white from government websites that are meant to be reputable & on the same team/side as yourselves i find it all questionable. As i say ive had a litany of symptoms including ease bruising as well for no reason ive had LOADS of tests & they can't get to the bottom of it which leaves me very disheartened. I'm a 36 yr old man that looks like im ready to fade away. I mean i appreciate you can't wave a magic wand & make me better I'm just a very frustrated that i see these case studies & sexual health experts don't even acknowledge them. As said this woman also was adamant she didn't want to perform a test infront of me then sabotaged it before the 15 mins was up & thats fact coz i was timing it she was sweating & shaking & shocked when i produced the test. I've been tested for literally everything else but i know i won't be putting up with this much longer one way or the other I'll be putting an indefinite end to all this as my system can take much more of this. Don't mistake this as a cry for help or attention seeking I'm serious in what i say. Its not worth goin through this everyday & no dr can ascertain what's actually wrong with me so there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Anyway this is the last message from me as there's no point paying another $25 & gettin no further on than iam. I wish yourselves & families a happy healthy life may god bless you's. 
Avatar photo
Edward W. Hook M.D.
17 months ago
Thank you for your thanks.  I'm sorry that you have been confused by the conflicting information which can be found in the scientific literature.  Please understand, that one purpose of the scientific literature is to set forth hypotheses which can then be examined further.  My job as a scientist is to examine the data and provide my best judgement as to it's accuracy and relevance to my patients.  You asked my advice, and I have provided it.  I am confident that you do not have HIV and that any ivermectin that you may have taken has not obscured an HIV infection.  

I will point out that the study on benzodiazepines you mention was published over 20 years ago.  Our understanding and knowledge has changed much since that time despite the fact that such studies linger in the medical literature.  

You are correct that my assessment is not going to change.  I wish you the best.  EWH
---