Expert: Kristen Brannock, MPH - 7/21/2008

Question
dear dr kristen:
thank you 4 ur time,and im begging you to answer as soon as possible,4 months ago i had dry sex (no penetration and no ejaculation but maybe preejaculatory fluid was present i am not sure) with my boyfriend i was wearing underwear but he wasnt,i am now very worried that i might have hiv,i dont know his status,so finally i had a test done 2day(4 months after possible exposure)and it was negative...my questions are:
1:is there any possible way that i could've contracted hiv from the described act?
2:will a test be accurate 4 months after possible exposure?
thank you and please help me put my mind at ease as im starting to panic and lose all control..thank u

Answer
You can trust your result that you are HIV negative. If you were REALLY exposed to HIV then you would need 1-3 months for testing: the window period is 1-3 months

Anytime that infected blood, vaginal fluid, semen or breast milk enters another person's body then HIV transmission is possible.