[pinkgeek]

Toughy speaks the truth. The current window periods as set by CDC are as follows: HIV - 3 months, HepC - 6 months BUT, both HIV and HepC can and more often than not show up before 3 or 6 months. HepB has to be tested for by blood test.

The current rapid HIV tests at most DOH funded agencies are actually more sensitive than the Western Blot we use to confirm a positive in agency HIV test.

The reason most agencies will not give you an HIV negative "certificate" is that we can only honestly say you are HIV negative for the 20 minutes you spend in our office. If you walk out the door and have sex 45 minutes later...or you lied about your last potential exposure....the test is not an accurate representation of status....If you find a tester willing to risk their state issued tester number by giving you a piece of paper that says you are negative, be very very wary.

If you are tested by blood draw on a Dr. order the lab or your Dr. might give you confirmation letter of some kind, but again - if someone shows it to you use your head and do the math.

More food for thought.

Originally Posted by Toughy

A simple reminder about any antibody testing.....HIV/Hep/Herpes/_____

The test only tells you your status on the day the blood/saliva was drawn. It takes 3-6 months (it can take shorter or longer though not commonly) to develop antibodies to any antigen (virus in this case). So.......do the math.

To truly say you are HIV or _____ negative you need a minimum of 2 tests and to be damn sure you need 3 tests. You also have to completely trust someone has not exchanged body fluids with another person anytime after the baseline test is drawn. The baseline test is today, the 2nd test is 6 months later and a 3rd test is one year from the baseline. Some folks say you are fine if baseline is neg, another test at 3 months and another at 6 months.

Direct antigen testing is available....meaning you can test for the virus itself (not the antibody). The test is called a PCR and it is used to follow viral load in HIV/HepC folks to monitor treatment. Insurance will probably not pay for it to find out if you are HIV/Hep C positive and it's not cheap when you pay cash. Doctors will just tell you to get the antibody test.