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Is it possible to take a rapid HIV test incorrectly?

Hello,

Just to ease my anxiety ( I have no reason to worry about this ) I got tested for HIV with the rapid HIV test.  The nurse told me to swab the top of my gums, then flip the swab over and do it again.  So I swabbed the top of my gums twice, and failed to swab the bottoms of my gums.  The test was negative, which is great.  But can I trust that the test is negative?  I am worried that I might have taken the test wrong.  Is it possible to take the test incorrectly and get an incorrect result?  

Will the test give a definitive answer if the test was performed incorrectly?

Please help.  I would really like to stop worrying about this!!!!
11 Responses
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Avatar universal
I will repeat my test then and try to stay calm in the meantime.  Thank you for the response.
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Avatar universal
If you had an exposure, your 3 months post exposure test will be conclusive.
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Can anyone comment on the interpretation of the Rapid Oral test results?  For example if the control line is very faint and there is an artifact like a horizontal blotch could that be considered negative result of a test taken 52 days post encounter?   My apologies if I was to make a new thread for this ?
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Avatar universal
You never had an HIV risk--end of story--if you want to test for more common STDs then do so.
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Avatar universal
It's called education.

No incident HIV infections among MSM who practice exclusively oral sex.
Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. WePpC2072)??Balls JE, Evans JL, Dilley J, Osmond D, Shiboski S, Shiboski C, Klausner J, McFarland W, Greenspan D, Page-Shafer K?University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

Oral transmission of HIV, reality or fiction? An update
J Campo1, MA Perea1, J del Romero2, J Cano1, V Hernando2, A Bascones1
Oral Diseases (2006) 12, 219–228

AIDS: Volume 16(17) 22 November 2002 pp 2350-2352
Risk of HIV infection attributable to oral sex among men who have sex with men and in the population of men who have sex with men

Page-Shafer, Kimberlya,b; Shiboski, Caroline Hb; Osmond, Dennis Hc; Dilley, Jamesd; McFarland, Willie; Shiboski, Steve Cc; Klausner, Jeffrey De; Balls, Joycea; Greenspan, Deborahb; Greenspan
Page-Shafer K, Veugelers PJ, Moss AR, Strathdee S, Kaldor JM, van Griensven GJ. Sexual risk behavior and risk factors for HIV-1 seroconversion in homosexual men participating in the Tricontinental Seroconverter Study, 1982-1994 [published erratum appears in Am J Epidemiol 1997 15 Dec; 146(12):1076]. Am J Epidemiol 1997, 146:531-542.

Studies which show the fallacy of relying on anecdotal evidence as opposed to carefully controlled study insofar as HIV transmission risk is concerned:

Jenicek M. "Clinical Case Reporting" in Evidence-Based Medicine. Oxford: Butterworth–Heinemann; 1999:117
Saltzman SP, Stoddard AM, McCusker J, Moon MW, Mayer KH. Reliability of self-reported sexual behavior risk factors for HIV infection in homosexual men. Public Health Rep. 1987 102(6):692–697.Nov–Dec;

Catania JA, Gibson DR, Chitwood DD, Coates TJ. Methodological problems in AIDS behavioral research: influences on measurement error and participation bias in studies of sexual behavior. Psychol Bull. 1990 Nov;108(3):339–362.

There is no debate (among experts) about the HIV risks associated with oral sex. The risk is so low that almost nobody who cares for HIV infected patients has ever had a patient believed to have been infected that way. Among experts, it's a semantic issue about using terms like "no risk" and "very low risk". There is no difference between my or Dr. Hook's use of "low risk" and other experts' "no risk".
DR. HANSFIELD

"And oral sex is basically safe sex -- completely safe with respect to HIV and although not zero risk for other STDs, the chance of infection is far lower than for unprotected vaginal or anal sex. Please educate yourself about the real risks. If you stick with oral sex and condom-protected vaginal or anal sex, you have no HIV worries and very little worry about other STDs. " DR HANSFIELD

"I am sure you can find lots of people who believe that HIV is transmitted by oral sex, but you will not find scientific data to support this unrealistic concern..." DR HOOK

"HIV is not spread by touching, masturbation, oral sex or condom protected sex."- DR. HOOK

in the public HIV Prevention forum of MedHelp, TEAK and the other moderators maintain that oral sex in all forms is a zero risk activity. Would you agree with this assessment?
I TOTALLY AGREE / DR GARCIA
"HIV is not spread by masturbation, through oral sex, through kissing or other casual contact." Dr. Hook
"The observation on thousands and thousands of observations is that HIV is not spread by oral sex (of any sort)." DR HOOK
"I would not say your risk ,if he had HIV is "slim to none"- that's too high.  I would say they are effectively zero.  How much of his ejaculate or other genital  secretions you may have swallowed makes no difference.  EWH "
"As far as HIV is concerned, there is no known risk of getting HIV from performing oral sex on an infected partner, even if that person's genital secretions get into your eyes or if you swallow." Dr.Hook
HIV is not spread by oral sex, giving or receiving, even if sores, gum disease or blood is present
DR HOOK
The fact is that there are no cases in which HIV has been proven to be transmitted by oral sex, including fellatio..  EWH
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Avatar universal
How can you be so sure??
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Avatar universal
HIV is not transmitted by oral sex no matter what the gender is.
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Avatar universal
oral sex performed by another man by the way.
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Avatar universal
You never had an exposure and didn't need testing.
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Avatar universal
Well, I am glad I did.  I have only had sex with one man, and that is my boyfriend of nearly 4 years.  I have had oral sex performed on me once before so I wanted to ensure that I had nothing.  So you are 100% sure that I don't have to worry about taking the HIV test wrong?
Helpful - 0
186166 tn?1385259382
your test was fine BUT you NEVER needed to test.
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