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HIV - Facts, myths, tests and peace of mind
Early Symptoms of HIV - AIDS Infection
At Regent Street Clinic we see very many hundreds of people each year with worries about possible HIV exposure and then possible early HIV symptoms. The web is a fabulous resource but can terrify the life out of people who are perhaps feeling just a little guilty because they have had a sexual encounter they would not usually have, or have had sex with another outside their usual relationship.
In the UK the prevalence of HIV is actually very low indeed with around 100,000 out of 62 million people being infected. That gives a chance of meeting someone with HIV as 1:600. The risks of infection are very real and the illness is severe and very significant from all sorts of point of view, but looking at it in the cold light of day, the risk of HIV transmission amounts to a chance of less than 1% on any single occasion.
The symptoms of early HIV infection do not always appear. They probably appear to some degree in around 60 - 70 % of people, but very many people remain completely well. If they do appear then it is likely they will develop somewhere between 2 and 12 weeks after infection. Symptoms before this time are very rare indeed. The only sure way to diagnose HIV is with an HIV test.
Common HIV Questions:
Can I catch HIV from kissing?
No
Can I catch HIV from sucking a penis?
Catching HIV from sucking a penis is very, very unlikely. There are a few cases reported worldwide but the best studies show a minimal to zero risk. The risk will change if the guy being sucked ejaculates or "cums" into your mouth, but still the risk has shown to be small.
Can I catch HIV from being sucked?
This is even less likely than sucking. I'm not aware of any case reports or any personal knowledge of that.
Can I catch HIV from licking a vagina?
Again catching HIV from licking a vagina is very, very unlikely. The general consensus is that if the woman is bleeding then that will increase the risk but otherwise the risk is minimal.
If you are the female in this oral episode then there is virtually no risk of acquiring HIV this way.
Can I catch HIV from touching dried or cold semen - on a sex workers sheets or in a sex club?
No - not the most pleasant thing maybe but HIV is a fragile virus and requires ideal conditions to spread. Semen once dried or cold is not an HIV threat.
One thing you should remember is that other STDs are much more efficient at spreading than HIV. They will if present together, increase the risk of picking up HIV. Using condoms reduces the risk of these as well.
Symptoms of HIV
High fever
Sore throat
Headache
Rash
Chest infection or cough
Mouth ulcers
Diarrhoea
Vomiting
Large lymph glands in neck, armpits and groins
Pains in the joints or muscles
You can see that the symptoms of HIV infection are very similar to the symptoms of any disease caused by infection such as tonsillitis, chest infection, influenza etc. All of these are much more common and it is much more likely that if you do have these that they are not early symptoms of HIV but symptoms due to something else. Anxiety itself is a powerful condition and can persuade people that they have symptoms which in fact they don't.
The important thing is to avoid putting yourself in a position where you might have to worry about the early symptoms of HIV, in general this means using a condom for penetrative sex - whether anal or vaginal. If you use a condom and it stays on and does not rip then the chances of HIV infection are almost zero.
If you don't use a condom or it breaks then it might be an idea to consider using Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). This is a one month course of anti-HIV medications designed to try to interrupt new infections with HIV.
It is best taken as early as possible after an unsafe episode. It is available from us, but is expensive privately, or free of charge from a GUM clinic or an Accident Dept in the UK.
HIV Testing at Regent Street Clinic
You can be as anonymous as you like - security and confidentiality are guaranteed
Comfortable, private clinic environment
Friendly, helpful and non-judgemental staff
Fast, expert, accurate and very transparent service
Sterile, single use, disposable instruments for your complete safety
HIV INSTI test results in 1 mnute. HIV DUO test results in 1 minute too, even at weekends.
Care Quality Commission Registered
The UK Health Protection Agency estimates (in its report dated Nov 2011) that approximately 120,000 adults have been diagnosed with HIV in the UK in the last 30 years of whom about 27,000 have developed AIDS and more than 20,000 have died. There are currently approximately 91,500 people living with HIV (HIV positive) of whom 22,000 are unaware they are HIV positive. The HPA goes on to say that much of the increase in HIV infections occurs in men who have sex with other men.
Of the 6,600 new HIV infections in the UK in the HPA report 3000 (45%) were in men who have sex with other men - the highest ever number. Approximately 50% of people acquired their infection heterosexually.
This ultimately means that the overall chances of acquiring HIV through heterosexual sex with a UK resident remains low.
HIV Duo Test - HIV 28 Day Test
The HIV antibody/p24 antigen Duo Test is an excellent, accurate and inexpensive HIV test that reliably detects HIV infection that occurred just 28 days prior to the test. This HIV test is known as the 'Duo' because it tests for both HIV antibodies as well as the 'HIV P24 antigen'. The HIV p24 antigen is a core HIV viral protein which becomes detectable at approximately 10 days post exposure, peaks at 16 days or so and then remains at high level for 8 to 10 weeks post exposure. It will then fluctuate over the rest of the course of the illness. HIV p24 antigen is extremely useful in combination with an HIV antibody test in determining early on whether an individual has been infected with HIV. The HIV DUO test is extremely accurate at 28 days and is now the test recommended by the new UK Guidelines on HIV testing 2008.
We send a small blood sample to our laboratory and the results are usually available in a few hours. The cost of this HIV test is £130 (all inclusive). The HIV DUO test including p24 antigen is rated as 99.9% accurate.
HIV PCR Test - Results from 10 Days!
You may also have heard of HIV PCR testing. This is the most sensitive HIV test available and aims to test for HIV 1 infection that occurred as little as 10 days prior to the test. This HIV PCR test is not 100% reliable but it is a guide for those that are desperate for some peace of mind at the earliest opportunity. We recommend that this HIV test is followed-up with an HIV Duo Test at 28 days after the suspected infection. Like the HIV Duo test, a blood sample is sent to our laboratory and the results should be with you in 5-7 working days. This test will help allay fears over the possible early symptoms of HIV. The cost of this HIV PCR test is £280 (all inclusive).
We provide a full range of HIV test and testing services, including the HIV DUO test combining HIV antibody and p24 antigen test; the HIV Antibody test and also the HIV Viral Load PCR test. We offer a same day HIV test and can provide an HIV test from as early as 10 days after exposure which can help allay fears over the possible early symptoms of HIV.
There are several different types of HIV test. During your consultation with our doctor we will discuss the HIV testing options with you and recommend the most suitable HIV test for you.
There is currently no available HIV test to detect whether you have been infected with HIV in the previous few days but you no longer have to wait 3 months until you can get a reliable HIV test result. A consultation with one of our experienced doctors and an appropriate test can allay fears over the possible early symptoms of HIV. We can generally return the HIV DUO test result to you in 4 hours or so. Generally GUM (STD) clinics will offer an HIV DUO test in line with current British Association for Sexual Health and HIV guidelines. We offer very up-to-date HIV testing from 10 days after exposure to the virus.
"Time is also a key factor. If you want to have a blood test because you have had a risky episode (such as unprotected sex, for example), taking hours off work to go through the soul-destroying experience of waiting in line at a drop in sexual health clinic is just not an option. Direct and discreet, this is a service that can put your mind at rest, fast."
Richard Bence, The Independent on Sunday, 8th May 2005
HIV-2 Infection
At Regent Street Clinic we receive very many queries about HIV-2. Here we wanted to set out some basic facts which we hope will be reassuring for patients and people having HIV tests.
At the Autumn conference of the British HIV Association in November 2007, Dr Kamal Mansinho from the Egas Moniz Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal gave an overview of HIV-2 and how it differed from HIV-1.
His main points were that HIV-2 is a less virulent, less aggressive and less harmful virus than HIV-1, with a five to nine foldlower probability of its sexual transmission. In West Africa it is associated with a normal life-span. It is spread by direct contact with HIV-2 infected primate blood and the butchering of sooty mangabeys for food.
HIV Test Accuracy?
We receive very many enquiries about when can people regard HIV testing as complete and 100% accurate.
When is HIV testing complete?
HIV testing has developed enormously over the last 30 years since the appearance of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
There are many HIV tests on the market today. At Regent Street Clinic we try to concentrate on using the most modern tests, with the most supporting evidence regarding their use, our own collective personal experience of using them and also the varying Guidelines and advice from the UK Advisory Groups. Advice and statements from the CDC in the US is considered as valuable but is commonly incomplete and out of date. Consequently, we rely heavily on modern advice obtained from within the UK and also published in world-class medical journals.
Some of the advice published may appear to be contradictory, so again we have tried to develop a consensus view, using our combined huge experience of the tests available.
The UK Guidelines on HIV Testing published in September 2008 have emphatically recommended the use of 4th generation combined HIV p24 antigen and HIV antibody tests (HIV DUO tests) as the test of first choice, citing the very distinct benefit of the earlier diagnosis of HIV using these tests as opposed to the older 3rd generation HIV antibody tests. The 4th generation combined tests will shorten the time from infection to diagnosis by 1-2 weeks over the older 3rd generation HIV tests. The older 3rd generation tests are excellent and will still identify the majority of new HIV infections by 6 weeks.
The UK HIV Post Exposure Prophylaxis Guidelines published in October 2008 are in agreement with the above HIV testing Guidelines with respect to the use of the 4th generation combined HIV p24 antigen and HIV antibody tests except they set the interval for definitive testing at 12 weeks post exposure.
Both lots of Guidelines have been written by different groups but with a crossover of experts. So as with many other issues in life, complete agreement is sometimes not possible.
From the Regent Street Clinic point of view, using as described above the combined knowledge and experience of the team we regard the HIV DUO test as a conclusive HIV test at 28 days or beyond in almost all circumstances. In situations where a patient has had an exceptionally high level of HIV exposure and has symptoms which we might in our expert opinion regard as suggestive of an acute HIV infection, we will encourage the patient to re-test at an appropriate interval which we will decide with the patient. However, it is almost always the case that a negative HIV DUO test at 28 days or more will be conclusive and will not need repeating.
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