high risk exposure

[anxiousandneedadvice]

Hi, I am a British hetrosexual female and on the 5th august 12, I had unprotected sex with a south African male in uk and we had full sex, he fully ejaculated. He had lied initally saying he was from brazil to which I found to be untrue. I am now terrified I have contracted HIV, I have never had a STD previously. I have no idea of his HIV status as it was a one night stand.

I have researched tests and have found the multiplex can be taken 10 days post exposure. However I have also read this test is highly inaccurate and produces positives even when the person is negative. Is this correct? It's very pricey so I'm unsure what to do, my anxiety is giving me panic attacks. I cant eat, I can't sleep...

Should I take the duo test which is more accurate at 2 weeks? Then again at 28 days?

Please help, I am so worried I don't know what to do

[Ann]

Anxious,

One thing you need to get straight is that it doesn't matter where this guy comes from - he could come from Mars - and you still would have been at risk for hiv infection. Homegrown British men can be hiv positive too you know.

In fact if you've been having unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with anyone, you could already be hiv positive and not know it if you've not been in the habit of regular, routine hiv testing.

Don't waste your time and money on tests outside the NHS. You can get a free, complete sexual health check up at your nearest GUM clinic. There are no tests that can reliably inform you of your hiv status in only ten days. There are NO shortcuts to hiv testing.

The earliest you should test is at six weeks. The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days.

A six week negative is highly unlikely to change, but must be confirmed at the three month point.

You need to learn from this and insist on condoms with ANY sexual partner, not just ones who you deem to come from an area of high hiv prevalence. Hiv is EVERYWHERE.

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.

To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Ann

[anxiousandneedadvice]

Thank you so much for your reply. I just have one question: would it be silly of me to take test at 22 days? And then again at 6 weeks? I just need piece of mind, i know you said no short cuts. Thank you again for your help, saying it doesn't matter where he's from has relieved some of my anxiety.

[Ann]

anxious,

Not only would it be silly, it would also be a waste of already strapped NHS resources.

If your local GUM clinic uses the duo test, then a test at four weeks would be pretty much as good as a six week test with tests that only look for antibodies. (The duo also looks for the p24 antigen, which is only present in the first few weeks.)

Keep in mind that if you go in too soon, you may have to wait for the full three months before testing again. GUM clinics will often do this to stop patients wasting money by testing every few weeks. The longer you wait - four or six weeks - the better. I'd recommend you wait until six because a negative then will give you true peace of mind.

Ann