I'm Rajesh and recently I had a brief encounter with a sex worker, but I used two condoms for protection. It happened on the 8th of June 2018, and about 26 days later, I went for an HIV duo 4th generation test, which came back negative with a result of 0.09. Lately, I've developed a cold, cough, and some throat pain that I think could just be due to the weather. Can I trust these test results and get back to my regular routine, or should I be concerned? I'm really anxious about this and could use some guidance.

Answered by 1 Apollo Doctors

Dr Shubham Chauhan

General Practitioner

MBBS
4+ Yrs

Consult Now

Hi Rajesh, based on your description, the HIV 4th generation test you took 26 days after exposure is highly reliable and indicates you are negative. Your symptoms are more likely due to weather changes and not related to HIV. You can continue with your regular life, but if you remain anxious, consider retesting at 6 weeks for complete peace of mind.

Dr. Shubham Suggests...

Consult a Infectious Disease specialist

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Answered 04/07/2025

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So, I've been with my wife for two years now, and we got married in May 2015. We started off using condoms, but for the past few months, at least three I think, we've stopped using them. Both of us got tested for HIV and the results were non-reactive, which was done on May 23, 2016. This was after at least three months of having unprotected sex. The test we did is the ECLIA Cobas e411 Roche. Do you think there's any need to redo the HIV test, or is it fine as long as we're both staying loyal to each other? Is the test we have already sufficient?

ideally not needed unless you have concern.get yourself tested once in a year

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I've got this lymph node tuberculosis on the left side of my neck, and I've been on the first line anti-tuberculosis treatment, plus Streptomycin injections, for around two months now. I've noticed that the swelling in my neck has moved from the top to the bottom. Is this normal, and what could it mean?

might be due to low immunity

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