Expert: Terry B - 12/2/2007

Question
Dear Dr,
I'm really worried about having HIV inside my body after a very risky unprotected vaginal sex six months ago.
I had many tests during the last period and i got many infections most of them were bacterial related.
the last test was 4 months post-exposure and it came back negative ..
what freaked me out , I have now folliculitis , and I'm so scared of it as I might be in the seroconversion time from - to + , Please guide me I can't get it out of my mind ..
Is there a possibility for me to be an HIV+ ?

thanks and regards,

Answer
Dear BF:

Peace.  First, I am not a physician; as it seems you have one with whom to discuss your concerns, and I recommend that you do so.  I am unclear as to what testing you had performed, and will assume you included testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV; if this was an antibody test (ELISA + Western Blot) at four months, chances are it is an accurate negative result, but six months is the outside recommendation to be sure.

So... my recommendation is that you speak with the provider who is treating your bacterial infections and ask for a confirmatory HIV antibody test.  My assumption at this point is that you are negative for HIV, but as you should be seeking treatment for the folliculitis, you might as well confirm the HIV test results.

Sincerely,

Terry