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ora quick oral swab vs. rapid antibody blood test

Hello!
What is more reliable? A ora quick oral swab test conducted by my doctor post 95 days of unprotected sex or a rapid antibody blood test at 95 days?
I'm asking because I got tested with the oral fluid at 95 days but don't know if I should test with a blood test instead? Or if I should keep testing till 6 months?
No previous serious medical condition, I'm a good girl but made a mistake with this one time exposure :( weird symptoms persist (my std screening test was also negative for everything)  can't get a peace of mind.
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Avatar universal
If you at 4 weeks marks its a perfect time to get your test for p24 an/ag hiv test which is fourth generation time and some countries consider the test to conclusive at 4th week ... so it will be good ideas to get your test at 4 th week and them 3 month .. 4 week test will give you very good ideas of what your result will be in 3 months time ... why to wait to for two more month in anixty and fear ..other factor 95% of people of develop the antibodies at 4 weeks mark ,,, so its will good ideas to get your self test now and be fear free and for your peace of mind get the test done at 3 months
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Avatar universal
Livelife,
Thanks! I'll pray for you too. I'm actually a straight guy that acted out because of bicuriosity, and the brief experience has left me ashamed and full of anxiety. I'll get through it. Don't be ashamed of therapy. I may seek it out myself. We all need someone to help give us perspective and ease our minds at times. You sound like a very kind person. You're gonna be just fine.
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Avatar universal
Jake,
This is a little embarrassing for me to say but I have put myself in therapy over this fear. I know it's the right thing to do but I have literally let myself get sick from anxiety. Reason:because 4 weeks after this exposure I had flu like illness and was in the hospital for a few days because of it. But ever since that time HIV screamed as the cause of my illness. I constantly check my lymph nodes, my temperature, and I have a mild rash on my face. My doctor is not concerned about it and says that it's not anything to be afraid of..that it's a reaction from the antibiotics I was put on. But I can't get over this fear. I found relief for a little while at my negative result. But just hope and pray that it's conclusive. Don't be like me and let yourself get ill with anxiety. Keep busy, and do things you enjoy. Stay off of DR. Google for the time being.
Don't beat yourself up over this, we all make mistakes. But you live and learn! I'll try my best to move on from this and will pray for you, you'll be negative :)  
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Avatar universal
Love life, from everything I've read, you're results are conclusive. The 6 month test would be for some one with a rare immune condition and is based on test capabilities and data that is over 10 years old. Some doctors still follow that out dated guideline to be extremely conservative. I've heard that in most European countries a 3 month antibody test is deemed 100% conclusive. I'm only at the 4 week point, so anxiety is still high. I get a little comfort in the latest published CDC report on transmission risk per exposure, and they state the risk at 6.5/10,000 for becoming infected from a single exposure to a known HIV pos source. They still call it high risk for some reason, but when your life is at stake, it's just semantics because there's still a risk. Even with such a low statistical risk, it drives us crazy with anxiety. I'm still trying to get over the fact the I let myself get in a moment and do something I never in million years thought I would do. We are all human and capable of doing very stupid things. I don't think you should worry about this anymore. Move on and take care.
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Avatar universal
Jake,
Did you test at 90 days yet? If not how much longer do u have to wait?
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your explanation! Ughh anxiety kills! My doctor told me to come back in 3 months to retest at the 6 month mark. Why would you do that to someone?! I don't want to worry about this anymore. So over it!
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Avatar universal
Rapid tests which use blood are more sensitive than oral swab tests.
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Avatar universal
I'm in the same boat,  anxiously playing the waiting game and doing a lot of research. I'm no expert, but from what I have read, the oral test is very accurate and just as conclusive as a blood test after 90 days. The issue is at the six week mark when blood anti-body tests are generally considered to be conclusive for the vast majority of people (excluding those that don't have weakened immune system from cancer treatments or some other mitigating factor), the oral test is only 91% accurate for detecting a true pos (can give a false negative 9% of the time) at 6 weeks, though it is 99.9% accurate detecting a true neg at this point. At 90 days it is considered 99.9% accurate for detecting a true pos and true neg. Many testing centers are opting for the oral test at 3 months because it is very accurate. This is based only on my research. Also, i found this posted by a CDC worker, so don't know if it can be verified by a medical expert (would be curious if one could answer this).
Good luck and God bless.

A person who has contracted HIV may show up positive as early as two weeks after the time they were infected. According to page 11 of the Module 6 Training Manual from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vast majority of those who contract HIV will show up positive between 4—6 weeks after infection.

To obtain a reliable test result, it is recommended that you wait at least six weeks after your last exposure. A tiny number of people may not test positive for three months. These are generally people with pre-existing immune disorders such as chemotherapy patients or recent organ transplant recipients who must take immune system-suppressing drugs. For this reason, many agencies will suggest a uniform three month test to cover everyone.

Testing beyond three months is completely unnecessary.

Here is a chart with approximate accuracy of HIV antibody testing:

Time Accuracy

2 weeks…………………………50%

3 weeks…………………………75%

4 weeks…………………………95%

6 weeks…………………………99%

3 months…………………….100%
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