Why do my HIV test results keep changing?

Ask the Doctor

Dear doctor,
I had an encounter with someone whose status I am not sure of, this year in February. I decided to go for PEP treatment but was not able to complete the dose due to the side effects, so I only took the treatment for two weeks.

Three months later, I went for a test and it was negative. After another two months, I went for another test but it was positive and the statpak was negative. I went back last week and they performed all the three tests, it was positive still, then statpak and unigold were negative. They advised me to get money and have a DNA PCR test to confirm my status.

My worry is that I am stressed, restless and have even lost weight because I fear that I may be positive and waiting for another month might be too far yet I’m not sure whether the results will be clear.
Please advise me because I do not know what to do or think.
Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,
Because it brings lots of suffering and eventual death since it has no cure, HIV infection is one of the most feared human conditions today and as such, any suscipicion that one may have exposed himself to getting it alone will create lots of apprehension and stress.

It is true that whenever one engages sexually (without protection) with a person whose HIV status he does not know, he risks getting the HIV infection. However, even when one has sex with a person known to have HIV it is not always true that that sexual encounter will definately expose him to HIV.What is true is that out of the many who may not get the infection during the first encounter, you could be the unlucky one and get it then!

Since you had many checks for HIV that turned out to be negative, it is likely you did not contract HIV and what you require now is to believe that you survived it and never again get involved sexually with a person whose HIV status you do not know.

The doctor told you to go for DNA PCR test so that you can for sure confirm that you are free of HIV since you seem not to believe your luck. It is likely that you did not have adequate pretest (before the test), or even post test (after the test) counselling that is why you are now stressed and losing weight even when your results are good. What you now need is proper HIV counselling not further testing per se because even if you did the PCR test and it turned out to be good, you would still remain fearful thinking that may be the machines are faulty.

Dear doctor,
Two years back, I had an operation on my left testicle and it was removed. The doctors told me that it was a testicle twist. I want to know what causes this and secondly, won’t it have any effect on the children I hope to have?
David.

Dear David,
Testicular torsion is a very painful condition due to twisting of the spermatic cord (the stalk that carries blood to or sperms from the testes). This causes blood flow to the testicle to be cut off and since the testicle cannot survive without blood this leads to death of the testicle and hence it has to be cut out surgically. This is most common in adolescents.

Those who get testicular torsion have an inherited condition that allows the testicle to rotate freely inside the scrotum. This inherited condition affects both testicles so that if one has lost a testicle, he should have an operation (orchiopexy)to fix the remaining one and prevent torsion. Fertility is maintained even after the loss of one testicle and apart from loss of the testicle there are no other problems like fathering only one gender offspring as is thought in Uganda.

Patients who have lost a testicle however should protect their treasure by avoiding contact sports, where they risk injury to the remaining testicle.

Dear doctor,
I have a problem with my penis. I normally get pimples which later develop into wounds every month but now it’s worse because they come in big numbers and yet they are very large. What is the best medicine I can use to clear this problem?
Sabiiti

Dear Sabiiti,
Each one of us during puberty or after has got a pimple on the face , chest or back due to blockage of oil glands especially in adolescence and has not cared at all but when it occurs on the private partsm it raises lots of concern. A pimple is due to blockage of the oil glands opening in the skin followed with accumulation of oil and inflammation of the gland and though commoner in the face can happen anywhere where there are oil glands on the skin including the genitals.
The activity of the oil glands increases during puberty because of increased production of male hormones (androgens) and hence there is an increased incidence of pimples then, though pimples can affect anyone. In males, the oil glands begin to become prominent and appear on the penis, on the shaft and around the beginning of the penis head during and after puberty.

Therefore, the appearance of the pimples then is usual and should not be confused with an STD though an STD should always be ruled out by a doctor to prevent stress of their recurrence despite treatments. I am sure you are already getting stressed by the recurrence, the more reason you are getting disappointed with your doctors.
Pimples on the penis or testicles which typically occur in teenage years, (though some men may get them later in life) go away as the person grows, so for now, avoid pressing them as this creates wounds and scars. If you are still concerned or they do not go later in life, please visit your doctor again.