[Question #2189] HIV/STD concern

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96 months ago
To make a long story short i had an 2 incidents back on December 2016. 
I already submitted a question through your website and Dr. Handsfield described as a very low risk.

Now 5 months later and many Hiv 4th Generation Test last one took place on May 8 which is 19 weeks since the last incident  all came back negative.

I Still experience Sore/Scratchy throat that comes and goes every 2 weeks or so.
Also  as my  ENT Dr described my throat is being  consistently red which looks like its inflamed  with little bumps on the back of my throat. My Dr. still didn't find the cause of it.
He took 2 cultures from my throat which came back clear for any bacterial infection.

He prescribed me with Omeprazol thinking its acid reflux. I'm taking it for a month now and still no change.
I also have swollen lymph node on my neck below my left ear i did ultrasound test twice with 2 months apart and I've been told that it doesn't grow so i should just let it go.

Now the fact of the 2 incidents i had on December keeps on coming back to my mind. making me crazy.

My question is if there's any chance the tests i took were false negative. As i was reading that in some rear cases HIV test takes up to 6 months or even 1 year to clear.
Maybe I'm one of those rear cases that the body take longer than usual to develop antibodies.

Dr. Handsfield already told me that i have nothing to worry in regards to HIV about 3 months ago but the fact that my  ENT Dr. still didn't figure out why my throat is red and why I'm having these pain in my throat that keeps on come and go.

Thank you so much for your help. 
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
96 months ago
Welcome back to the forum. But I'm sorry to see you remain concerned about the exposure and HIV test results we discussed 3 months ago.

From my initial reply in your other thread:

The modern HIV blood tests are among the most accurate diagnostic tests ever developed, for any medical condition. The results are 100% reliable if done sufficiently long after the last possible exposure, which varies from 4 weeks to 3 months, depending on the particular test or combination of tests. For the standard antigen-antibody (4th generation) tests, that time is 4 weeks. Results after those times are always conclusive and outweigh all other factors, such as exposure history and symptoms. Your result at 3 weeks made it almost 99% you didn't catch HIV, and the 4 week and 6 week results were conclusive. 

That remains true, except that we now cite 6 weeks instead of 4 weeks for conclusive 4th generation test results. And your latest test, at 19 weeks, confirms the previous results. Because the tests are so good, the results always overrule exposure history and symptoms. You had an exposure that could not have given you HIV, and your symptoms are not at all typical of an HIV infection, which does not cause throat pain that comes and goes. But even if you had a very high risk exposure or typical symptoms, the test results tell the truth. I cannot even guess at the possible causes of your symptoms, except that the evidence proves it isn't HIV. Beyond that, you'll have to continue working with your own doctors.

I hope these comments are helpful. Best wishes to you--  HHH, MD

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95 months ago
May i ask what is the reason that you now cite 6 weeks for the conclusive 4th generation test? is it because any new researches that prove otherwise?

i know my next question would sound a little bizarre but i need to get it out of my mind.

I have an ingrown hair on my penis that my dermatologist diagnosed and  prescribed me with  Mupirocin ointment to apply 3 times a day.
about a week later i still noticed a little  bump and i tried to squeeze it in the morning and some pus came out as well as some blood.
later in that same day i had some lady coming to my office and she got undressed and touched herself in front of me. I then touched myself as well and i noticed that we both touched the same chair before everything began.
I had no physical contact with that lady.
my question is if by any way i could acquired herpes or any std. assuming i had some sort of wound on my penis. ( it was like 9 hours from the time i squeezed it until that incident)
would the ointment my Dr. prescribed me can interfere with igg HSV-2 test if i choose to take one?

Thank you!





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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
95 months ago
A new review of the 4th generation and other HIV blood tests, by investigators at CDC, concluded that although nearly all 4th generation tests are conclusive by 4 weeks, 6 weeks is required for 100% certainty. In other words, not new research, but a more precise interpretation of previous studies.

A woman came into your office and got undressed?? Sounds pecuilar....  But as you have predicted, of course neither HIV nor other STDs can be transmitted without physical contact. And the antibiotic ointment will have no effect on HSV testing if you decide to do it.

That completes the two follow-up comments and replies included with each question, and so ends this thread. Please note the forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. This being your second, it will have to be your last; future new questions about this exposure, testing, and attendant risks for HIV, herpes, or other STDs will be deleted without reply and without refund of the posting fee. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is designed to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers. In addition, continued answers tend to prolong users' anxieties. Finally, such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. Thank you for your understanding.

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