High stress and hiv test

[junilesta_89]

can high stress and anxiety delay seroconversion?  I did the 3rd generation rapid test after 91 days of exposure and it came out negative.  but I'm worried that high stress weakens my immunity so it doesn't produce antibodies and causes seroconversion to be delayed.

[GuitarRox]

No.  Stress will not impact an HIV test result or anxiety.  What is your exposure but regardless, all tests are conclusive at 90 days and beyond.  

[junilesta_89]

I'm sorry ... my English is not good ... since July I was stressed because of work problems, and in December when I went to the hospital for a medical check-up, I accidentally touched the blood stain on the laboratory table and there was an open wound on my hand.  , two weeks later I had sore throat and joint pain .. and it made me even more stressed, for that I went for the HIV test three months / 91 days after exposure and the result was negative.  can stress before exposure and stress after exposure weaken my immune system so that it fails to produce antibodies so that my test result is false negative?

[GuitarRox]

Let me be clear as I'm sure you have had others be clear, that is NOT a risk for HIV.  You can not touch something and get HIV.  Never going to happen.  Air inactivates the virus. Touching blood does not transmit the virus. The only ways people get HIV is to have unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse with penetration or sharing IV drug needles to inject them with.  That is it.  You never had a risk at all to be concerned with HIV.  You also tested.  You did not need to but for future reference, all tests taken at 90 days or after post exposure are conclusive. Your stress, symptoms and whatnot have ZERO to do with HIV and you never had a risk!

[junilesta_89]

okay .. thank you very much for your help

[Paxiled]

Just to say, you don't say when this all happened, but you could have gotten covid or some other kind of illness even though you were never at any risk of HIV.  You also have a bit of a misunderstanding, or a generalization, about the relationship between stress and the immune system.  While there is some evidence of linkage between the two, that doesn't mean it happens that quickly. It usually refers to a long period of stress that over months or years might lead to immune system weakness.  It also might just as well not lead to that, as our bodies don't all react the same way.  This doesn't alter the above answer to your question, as that's definitive, it's just to say, don't add to your stress by exaggerating how stress affects us.  No gain in that.  Just work on why you're stressed and let the rest take care of itself.  Peace.

[junilesta_89]

Thank you very much ... your advice is very helpful, I will not be stressed anymore

[junilesta_89]

I am very sorry, but I need your opinion GuitarRox, if immune-suppressing drugs can affect seroconversion because they can suppress immunity, isn't long stress the same, long stress also suppresses immunity, will this also affect seroconversion to delayed, I have stress five months before  exposure and after exposure I get more and more stressed, wouldn't this affect my immune system and delay seroconversion?  I'm sorry this is the last question

[Sara_MHModerator]

Your question has previously been answered that you had no risk.  

***  thread closed ***

[AnxiousNoMore]

You have done some Googling and misinterpreted what you read. You said, "I accidentally read on the internet about the viability of the HIV virus outside the body which is said to live up to 7 days at room temperature,"
https://www.medhelp.org/posts/Anxiety/Anxiety-/show/3063898                  ; The reality is hiv is instantly dead in air, otherwise we would all have it by now since it has been around for 40 years. Look at how fast Covid has spread in one year, so if hiv was easily transmissible as you "read" then everyone would have it because everyone gets cut and rubs against someone else's bleeding cuts every month or so at work, play etc.  Your questions are endless but I think they all stem from the faulty belief that hiv can live 7 days, when in fact hiv is fragile in air.

If you accept that reality you can forget about the blood on the table that you touched as GR told you and move on instead of wasting your life thinking hiv is everywhere trying to infect you - but somehow your idea is that hiv is not infecting anyone else as I noted above since you will never be able to read about kids getting hiv from cuts on playgrounds etc. because it doesn't happen - so your idea doesn't make sense. If you can't accept the reality tht the hiv is dead in air, then your anxiety is a bit of a mental health issue so see a therapist because this forum cannot deal with those kinds of issues.