[Question #9790] Likelihood of contracting HSV-2 from wearing another persons underwear?
 |
29 months ago
|
Hello! I am curious if you can contract genital herpes from wearing the same underwear as another person with herpes. I did not notice that they weren't my underwear until about 20 minutes after when I used the bathroom.
 |
Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
29 months ago
|
I would say the odds of that are one in a million or less. That would be require someone who has herpes to be having an outbreak with active virus present on the underwear and you immediately putting them on after that person. What do you think?
Terri
--- |
29 months ago
|
I would say you're probably right! Hey, just curious on your thoughts, do you think that 0.3 to 0.4 mg of biotin ingestion would cause an HIV test to come back as a False-Negative? I'm a huge hypochondriac when it comes to HIV and I have been tested five times in the last 4 years, but discovered studies saying biotin can interfere with HIV tests and cause interference. So now I am just certain that my HIV tests have been false negatives due to my Vitamin B Complex supplement. My last test was on January 30th, 2023 and I did not consume the supplement for close to 30 hours before having my blood drawn. Is this just needless anxiety?
|
Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
29 months ago
|
Yes, I think it is needless anxiety! I understand your concern, but it just isn't clear that this concern is well founded yet. Trust your negative.
Terri
--- |
29 months ago
|
Do you ever get any questions about Biotin interference in HIV tests? I surely hope something as minute as a lousy 0.4mg dose wouldn't interfere with a common test like that. I am certain that you've read that study before.
|
Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
29 months ago
|
I have read about it in terms of HSV before, yes, less about HIV. I'm going to ask Dr. Handsfield or Hook their experience with your question to be more certain.
Terri
--- |
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
29 months ago
|
Greetings. Online buzz about biotin and HIV testing has generated substantial concern in some who use it as an aid in physical conditioning. (Whether it has any benefit along those lines is scientifically questionable, but it's harmless so no problem there.)
There may be occasional interference with HIV test reliability with doses of biotin in far higher than taken in most conditioning programs, but you are correct in assuming that the doses normally used have no effect on HIV test reliability. But for those who remain nervous, it's a simple thing to just skip biotin for 2-3 days before testing for HIV.
HHH, MD
--- |
29 months ago
|
Greetings, Dr. Handsfield! Thanks for your response. I’ll just give you this rundown and then let it go.
I have consumed a Vitamin B-Complex supplement for roughly 2.5 years (on and off), and no dose of biotin has ever been above 0.4mg. My most recent HIV test was taken on January 30th, 2023. The sample was collected from my arm at 2:20pm. My last supplement of Vitamin B-Complex was taken at 10:30am the day before. I am a 100% straight 28 year old male and have never used drugs in my entire life. My test was Non-Reactive. In your professional opinion, do you believe that my test results were accurate and that I should stop worrying about this? I believe the study said that the cutoff to show a False-Negative was 200 ng/mL, which is a boatload of biotin. Something like over 5mg ingested daily can have blood serums that high.
|
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
29 months ago
|
I think you can rely on your negative HIV test result. But if you remain nervous about it, you are free to be retested for HIV after holding off on your vitamin pills for a couple of days.---