Saturday, November 28, 2009

How long does it take for an HIV/AIDS test to come back

How long does it take for an HIV/AIDS test to come back?
im in the military and they recently gave me and blood test. its been about 3 months now. im not sure if it was an HIV/AIDS test. they say there going to draw blood and i say ok you know what i mean. but i havent heard back from them. if it was an HIV/AIDS test would they already have the results? and would they contact me if i had somethin?
STDs - 2 Answers
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1 :
Hi there, If they asked you when your last sexual encounter was, and you answered within the last 3 months, it will take 3 months for results to come back. The reason for this is because they have to test if your blood is reactive to the hiv virus, and this can take 3 months to get a clear answer. In simple terms, they put hiv antibodies into the blood sample they took from you, and if your blood cells mimic the hiv antibodies then it is positive, if they don't it is negative. Obviously this doesn't happen immediately, so they monitor it over 3 months. If you havn't had a sexual encounter in the last 3 months, it usually takes one week. Most places which test often do the 3 month test to make absolutely sure. They should contact you whether the results are positive or negative, but i'd imagine that they would have had to do a large amount of testing at the same time so the delay might just be getting in touch with you. If there is someone you can contact e.g. the people who carried out the blood test, it would be a good idea to call and enquire about it :) Also don't panic, HIV isn't as common as the media makes out. Im unsure of USA statistics but in the UK only 1% of the population has it :) Hope this helps you.
2 :
Another answer indicates that it would take 3 months for the lab to get the results back. That is not true. The results would have been back long ago. However, HIV testing can not be done without the written consent of the person being tested, so if you did not ask for the test and sign a consent form, it would have been illegal for them to test you for HIV. They should have told you exactly what they were testing for, and how long it would take to get the results back. Call them and check. Also: It can take 3 months, or in very rare cases, up to 6 months, for someone to test positive for HIV after they get infected. (More than 98% of people who have HIV would test positive within 3 months.) Testing is recommended 3 months after possible exposure, followed by retesting 6 months after possible exposure.

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