General questions

How long should I wait after exposure before testing?

Two weeks ago something happened that I regret, and I want to get tested, but every page I read gives a different number of days. Some say test now, some say wait a month, some say wait three.

I don’t want to waste a test and I don’t want false reassurance either. How did you all handle the timing?

tinbird 4 months ago

NoteMember experience, not medical advice. Symptoms overlap between infections and only a test can tell them apart.

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slow_thaw 4 months ago

The reason the numbers differ is that there isn’t one window, there’s a different one per infection and per type of test. Bacterial infections show up on a swab or urine test fairly quickly. Blood-borne ones take longer because you’re waiting on your own body to produce something detectable.

What worked for me was ringing the clinic, telling them the date and what happened, and letting them decide the schedule. They booked me for two visits rather than one.

paper_lantern 4 months ago

Seconding the two visit thing. I tested early, got a clear result, and then spent weeks not trusting it because I knew I’d tested inside the window. Testing again at the right point was the only thing that actually settled it.

Also worth saying out loud: a test now doesn’t stop you testing again later.

night_bus 3 months ago

One thing the timing conversation usually misses, and it is the one that is actually urgent: if HIV is a possibility and the exposure was in the last three days, that is not a waiting question at all.

PEP has to be started within 72 hours and the guidance treats it as an emergency, so it is a same day call rather than something to schedule. If you are outside that window it stops being an option and everything else here about test timing applies.

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