Can HIV virus hide in the blood?

I got water scald-like pimples on my belly and when I went to the doctor he told me I had HIV-related kisipi.

Surprisingly, when I was tested, I did not have HIV. Is it true then that HIV is just hiding? Can herpes turn into HIV? A doctor said it was a recurrence of chicken pox which I have never had!J.B

Dear J.B: Chickenpox is a contagious common illness especially affecting children under the age of 12 years. Its main symptoms include an itchy skin rash that fills with water (blisters) affecting the whole body and may be accompanied by flu-like symptoms that usually go away without treatment.

In some children it may be too mild to notice and even if it did, many people may not recall everything that happened to them when they were young.

Chickenpox is caused by a virus called Herpes Varicella Zoster and usually after an attack, the virus can lie dormant in the nervous system within the body only to emerge later in life as to cause a different type of skin eruption called shingles (kisipi). This is especially true when one’s immunity reduces.

In Uganda, this is increasingly associated with HIV infection, when one suffers from cancer (or is on treatment for cancer) and prolonged use of drugs called steroids (such as predinsone, dexamethasone).

Sometimes, the emergence of shingles may never be found. Anyone who has ever had chickenpox can develop shingles, although people over the age of 60 are more prone.
In Uganda, many people wrongly relate shingles to HIV infection.

This could be the reason why you suspect HIV even after testing negative. It is also not true that the HIV could be hiding because it would still be detected.
You need to continue with the good practices of abstaining or being faithful or proper use of condoms to remain free from HIV.