Recently I became involved in a r/ship and we both tested NEGATIVE to HIV. My concern is that I have not had sex for 4 years but I slept with a lot of people unprotected. Could my test result be wrong?

No. If you have had no sexual partners in the last four years, and the one guy you are with now has also tested negative, and he is AT LEAST 3-6 months from his last sexual encounter then your in the clear. There are only two reasons HIV tests show negative when in fact a person is positive. If it is within the three month window period from there last encounter, or they are in LATE LATE stages of AIDS.

------------------
Good Luck and Be Safe

Thank you so much for your reply and for not calling me dumb/ stupid (I know I am!) Have a great day and thank you for the response - you are GREAT!

Sorry... just another question - people have been telling me that false negatives occur a lot - is this true?

Only for the reasons I mentioned. If someone is tested before the 3-6 month window perios is over, they could really be positive, but the test would show negative. There has to be enough time to pass so that a persons immune system responds to the HIV by producing antibodies to it. The HIV tests look for the antibodies. It can take up the 3 months for a person to produce enough antibodies to show up. MOST people produce enough by 6 weeks after exposure. So, if someone tests to soon, and gets a negative result, and then test later, and there practices havent changeed between the two test, they may think the first was a false result.

There CAN be false positives, but they have multiple test that can be done after a positive to get a better reading. I have yet to hear of a REAL false negative result.

Oh, and it WASNT a dumb question!! Good Luck!

Maybe Helpful THANK YOU - you are great!!!!

Ok, I checked these websites: AIDSLINE, The San Francisco Ais Foundation and MediLine on Reproductive Health. A quote from the last one is:
"The most frequent reason for a false negative result is a test done during the window period before the person has antibodies. It is important to remember that someone who has tested negative because they are not infected with HIV can become infected the following day if they indulge in risky sexual behaviour!"

And all the other site said the same thing. False Negative is a result of timing, but not because the test are insufficent. Since its been 4 years, you can be SURE you are not in the window period of 3-6 months. You are in the clear!!

Thanks - you are very kind to check that information for me