[Question #3596] Question regarding oralquick

88 months ago

How are you doctors. I did oralquick test and it was negative, my only concern is that i rinsed my mouth with water 22 minutes before taking the test, it might be the frightening experience i did not realize i did not waited the 30 minutes for the test. it was 9 months after an incident.

Thanks

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

88 months ago

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.

The oral fluids test is done on crevicular fluid, which the imperceptible oozing fluid produced by the gums, alongside the roots of the teeth. That's why the instructions emphasize the collection device remaining in place between cheek and gum for 2-5 minutes. It is not possible to wash away crevicular fluid with water or any mouth rinse of any kind. Further, the test was designed to be more or less idiot-proof, which the US Food and Drug Adminsitration also required in order to approve the test for marketing. In other words, it is durable in spite of all kinds of errors that everyday users might make. For example, the 30 min waiting period is overkill and probably makes no difference in test performance or interpretation.

For those reasons, your test is entirely reliable and does not need to be repeated. Congratulations on the negative result!

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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88 months ago

Thanks doc, that means is the same casr for drinking water or even eating and not waiting for the 30 minutes?

88 months ago

And the instructions say to swab once up and down like for 2 seconds not 2 to 5 min, it says only once above and below

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

88 months ago

Interesting -- I wasn't aware of a change in instructions, and the version I found online still says to leave the device in place between lower gums and cheek for 2-5 minutes.

However, this does't change my opinion or advice and I'm confident your negative result is valid and reliable. Of course you're always free to repeat it if another negative result would be more reassuring.

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88 months ago

Dr Ba ndsfield, i did another test without eating or drinking. Just swabing the upper and lower gum once on both sides and it was negative, can i be 100% sure i was not infected? Thanks

88 months ago

Sorry my question was first if the control line had the mark does it mean i was a good collection and then if i can have piece of mind now?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

88 months ago

Well, I tried to assure you that you could "have peace of mind" after the first test. The second test confirms you don't have HIV. Congratulations on the negative result! You can move on without worry.

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88 months ago

Dr just out of curiosity, does the control line always show the swab was done correctly, i mean even if istructions are not follow exactly the way instructed?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

88 months ago

Yes, that's the reason for the control line. If it doesn't show up, the test is invalid -- whether because the instructions were not followed or some other reason.

That concludes the usual complement of follow-up comments and replies, and so concludes this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful.

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