[Question #657] hiv and window period

101 months ago

Dear Doctor Cook or HHH,

i had sex with women with unknown health background. I use condom & after ejaculation i can see cleary my sperm in inside the condom. my concern is we use baby oil at condom and at her vagina. So my question is:

1. by using baby oil is that mean im at risk coz the condom has lose integrity ( micro hole or unseen demage) ?

2. i just take hiv test 9 weeks after that exposure using CMIA method and the Results is 0,13 non reactive. Do i need to take onother test at 12 weeks?

I realy need your help doctor.

thank You

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

101 months ago

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.

My first comment is that most "women with unknown health background" do not have HIV. Of course this varies from one country to another, or from one area to another within countries. But even in the most HIV endemic areas, such as southern Africa, most women are not infected. So the odds are your partner doesn't have it.

1) Many people misunderstand the business about oils and latex condoms. Oils can weaken latex, so that condoms are more likely to break. However, it does not cause leakage through intact latex. Since your condom didn't obviously break, protection against HIV was complete. I would strongly recommend that you not use baby oil or any other oil-based lubricant in the future. But it didn't cause any problem this time.

2) CMIA is a 4th generation test, i.e. detects both HIV antigen and antibody. These tests are conclusive any time 4 weeks or more after the last exposure. THerefore, your 9 week test is conclusive and no additional testing is necessary. For sure you don't have HIV, assuming of course you haven't had a more recent exposure than the one described above.

I hope these comments have helped. Best wishes and stay safe -- and lay off the oil lubricants!

HHH, MD

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101 months ago

Dear Dr HHH,

just wonder cause some website said non every CMIA use both antigen and antibody test. is that true? if so let said they just use antibody test is that mean still my 9 weeks test is conclusive?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

101 months ago

That is true -- I should not have implied that all CMIA tests are for both antigen and antibody. Sorry for the confusion. You'll need to check with your lab to know which was done. But even the antibody-only tests are conclusive after 6-8 weeks. Three months is often stated by manufacturers and regulatory agencies, but that's outmoded for the newer (thrid generation) antibody tests, but 3 months sometimes is still recommended out of conservatism and legal caution. In fact your 9 week result shows for sure you were not infected.

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