If you think you’ve been exposed to the virus that causes AIDS and want to take a test to find out, timing is important. After the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) enters your body, there’s a certain amount of time that has to pass before a test can detect it. This is called the HIV window period. You need to understand your HIV window in order to get the most accurate HIV test results.
While you wait to have the test, be sure not to have unprotected sex, and don’t share needles. If you do have HIV, you could be very infectious, and you could pass it on to others.
The time between when a person gets HIV and when a test can accurately detect it is called the window period. During the window period, a person infected with HIV can still pass the virus on to others, even though the virus isn’t detected.
The window period varies with different types of HIV tests.
In general, antibody tests that use blood from a vein will detect HIV sooner than tests done with blood from a finger prick or with oral fluid. Currently, no HIV tests can detect HIV immediately after exposure to the virus.
Testing is highly recommended for anyone who feels like they have been exposed to the virus or is at high risk of being infected. High-risk activities include non-monogamous sex, unprotected sex, and injectable drug use.
If you know the moment you may have come into contact with HIV, get a test three months later after that date. Getting tested three months after exposure gives a 99% accurate test result.2
Testing for HIV is available at a hospital, clinic, pharmacy, community clinic, family planning clinic, youth center, mobile sites, or with a take-home test. To find a testing site near you, use the online locator offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Many of the sites offer walk-in testing. Some require an appointment.
There’s a window period between exposure to HIV and a positive test because it takes time for your body to either build a response to the infection or for the virus to replicate enough for a test to detect it. HIV window periods can vary.
For example, if you have unprotected sex on a Friday night, and get an HIV test Monday morning, the test won’t be able to detect HIV or an immune response to HIV yet. There hasn’t been enough time for a positive result, even if the virus is in your body.
To get the earliest, most accurate result, first consider when you were exposed and whether you’re showing symptoms.
If you know exactly when you may have come into contact with the virus, take a test 3 months after that date. Tests 3 months after exposure should be 99% accurate.
If you are having symptoms of HIV, see your doctor right away. Your doctor may want to use a test that can look for the virus directly in your body.
It’s important to remember that a person can still pass HIV on to someone else through sex or sharing needles during the window period. Anyone who suspects that they have been exposed to HIV should take precautions and avoid spreading the virus starting right at exposure.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is given to someone if they think they have been exposed to HIV within the past 72 hours. It is a short-course treatment that prevents the virus from taking hold in your body. However, it has to be started within 72 hours of exposure, or it would not work. The duration of PEP treatment is 28 days.
You may be prescribed PEP if you:
While PEP is not 100% effective, it is very effective at preventing an HIV infection if a person begins to take it right after exposure. It may cause minor side effects, or interact with other drugs a person is taking. Be sure to discuss all the potential risks of taking PEP with a doctor. While taking PEP, it’s still important to keep using other HIV prevention methods.
People who suspect they have been exposed to HIV should still exercise caution to avoid HIV transmission during the window period.
They can do so in several ways:
What Is the HIV Window Period? https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/hiv-window-period
What Is the HIV Window Period? https://www.verywellhealth.com/hiv-window-period-5096905
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