I went to get a rapid, anonymous HIV test in New York today at a city clinic.
Instead of giving me my result right away, since I was last of the day and they weren't closing for a while (or she was waiting for my results to pop up on the computer from the blood lab down the hall), the clinician gave me a five-minute lecture about HIV transmission before she whispered the magic word "negative" (I had had a real risk followed by flu symptoms so I was quite anxious during her chat).
I feel I am pretty knowledgeable about HIV transmission but she *assured* me that oral sex was high risk ("up to 10% of people get HIV through oral sex") and that my antibody test (she said she **thought** it was 4th generation, but that was only after I prompted her - I don't think she really knew...it was the poke your finger and give you your result after 20 -30 minutes) told me nothing about anything within 3 months.
Since my risky exposure (unprotected insertive anal) was 1 month ago, I was a bit concerned. My logic (based on lay research) tells me that 90% of tests are accurate after 4 weeks. Also, my logic tells me that oral sex is super low risk.
Can I walk away from this confident (but not 100% assured) that I am negative after this 4-week test result? And that I can still perform oral sex without fear? I want to say yes, but for all the info I hear on sites such as these, I hear others (such as this health worker) and personal anecdotes of others that give me pause.
Sorry to beat this dead horse, but I felt like she was so emphatic about her info that I wanted to double check before I wrote her off as an overzealous city health worker.
She doesn't know what the heck she is talking about. Seriously, find another clinic to go to. There has to be a clinic in NYC where more knowledgeable people are employed.
If you do go back, I would challenge her on her assertion. Ask her to show you just one confirmed case of oral sex transmission. She won't be able to do it.
If you do go back, I would challenge her on her assertion. Ask her to show you just one confirmed case of oral sex transmission. She won't be able to do it.
I was thinking that, but I really just wanted my test result. Keeping someone in a chair for 5 minutes for a lecture (when I had a legit concern) seemed cruel.
She explained to me that getting a rapid HIV test was a "waste of time and resources" for them (maybe NYC is moving away from that) since they wanted to test for everything (I'll do that at my regular doctor next month). All I wanted was to get a 90% call on my unsafe exposure last month, though.
Yes, your research is correct, antibody tests at 1 month are 90% accurate, but not conclusive. You will still need a confirmation test at 3 months, especially since you had a high risk.
