Question:
Must I wait 3 months to get tested?
Answer:
The “window period” (see below) for HIV infection is most often from one month to three months.
The window period is the length of time after infection that it takes for a person to develop enough specific antibodies to be detected by current testing methods. If an individual engages in unsafe sex or uses contaminated drug injection equipment and becomes infected, the body will make antibodies to fight HIV. When enough antibodies are developed, the HIV antibody test will come back positive. Each person’s body responds to HIV infection a little differently, so the window period varies slightly from person to person.
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