Partner got a reactive HIV test result

Even if it is positive. It's not the disease it was. I have several friends with hiv who live perfectly normal lives they are amazing medication that stops it being transferred to anyone else. They have perfectly normal sex lives etc so try. It to worry you do need to get checked

“we both did an STI test when we got together except his blood test didn't have sufficient to get results for the HIV test but all else clearunless you actually saw that written down from the clinic, I call bullshit. Worked in GU clinics for many years and have never seen that happen”

Quite. I think there’s more to this. And if so, I really hope he hasn’t been having sex with you without barrier contraception.

ah sorry, didn't realise the insufficient one was a home one - take that comment back.

OP, assume you're getting tested now - try not to stress too much because even in worst case scenario, HIV is a chronic treatable disease with normal life expectancy, arguably less dangerous than diabetes.

Yes? I was replying to the poster who said it was a POCT in response to people talking about the insufficient sample test.

Yes and the most recent test was a lab one.

The test with the insufficient blood sample was a home test.

I’ve also performed reactive POCTs which have returned negative lab results! That’s never fun as it’s horrendous having to try and explain it to someone who is already going to pieces in front of you and not retaining anything you’re telling them and always late on a Friday afternoon when you can’t chase the lab for an urgent result!

Gosh what a worrying time for you OP. You’ve had some great responses here. The chances are it is just a reactive test- not a true positive. In the minority chance he is positive , the treatments these days are excellent and he can live a normal life with HIV. Even if he is positive, again, the chances he’s passed it to you are also small. Sending hugs. hope it gets sorted soon xx

Unless I misread, it was POCT in clinic, not a home one

Wasn't a home test, sounds like a POCT in clinic.

This is something that would concern me from the start. This would have made me suspicious from the beginning.

Do your own test asap.

Why wait?

Book an appointment for a full screening tomorrow. You can never be certain your partner hasn’t cheated.

My first thoughts also...

Really? I repeat HIV tests all the time from home testing kits, usually due to an under-filled specimen container as they are really hard to fill.

Hi OP, I work in sexual health

If I had a penny for every reactive HIV test I’ve repeated and sent to the lab, I wouldn’t need to work as a nurse anymore! Hopefully it will reassure you to know that I’ve not had any come back as true positives, and I have done hundreds of repeats.

Please don’t listen to the posters who are adamant that he is ‘almost certainly positive’ (I’m particularly surprised that the poster who claims to work in GUM would try to scare you like that as reactive does NOT mean false positive, it just means reactive), the home testing kits are a real fucker for reactive results. It does occasionally happen with lab bloods, but it’s less common. We have one patient whose result is reactive every single time we take it so we have to send it off to a special lab for extensive testing each time as he is high risk for a ‘real’ positive so we need to be sure.

Basically, the test works by looking for an indicator of HIV in the blood, almost like a ‘key’ that will unlock the result and show as reactive. If there’s no key, it’s a straight negative. If there’s a key that opens the door, it’s positive. Occasionally, someone will just happen to have a different key that fits in the lock, but doesn’t open the door, which is a reactive. Sometimes the key has disappeared by the time the bloods are repeated, and there is a clear negative. Sometimes the key opens the door in the repeat and it’s a positive. Sorry if that sounds horrendously patronising, it isn’t meant to be! It’s just how I usually explain it to patients in layman’s terms as most people can wrap their heads around it a bit better as it can be really overwhelming.

Please try not to worry about it until you have the repeated result. I know it’s easier said than done!

She said the first test from when they got together was at home, not at a clinic.

It’s might have been one of those self tests they get everyone to do.

I couldn’t get enough blood either, so I went to an in-person test when it came back about not enough blood.

What was the reason for the sore penis?

OP - I can see why you’re alarmed but honestly HIV infection is such a different thing now. I came of age in the mid-1980s when HIV infection had much more serious implications. Hopefully he and you will both get the all clear but, even if not, HIV infection is very manageable nowadays.

sorry, < 2% are false +ve.........

https://i-base.info/guides/testing/test-accuracy-results-and-further-testing

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10911647/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2952989/

https://journals.lww.com/jaids/fulltext/2024/12010/true_and_false_positive_hiv_point_of_care_test.7.aspx

he's almost certainly positive and you need to get tested asap

we both did an STI test when we got together except his blood test didn't have sufficient to get results for the HIV test but all else clear unless you actually saw that written down from the clinic, I call bullshit. Worked in GU clinics for many years and have never seen that happen.

I would go a full STD screen . He had symptoms of an STD (sore penis, not a symptom HIV).
As you have mentioned, HIV is not the terrifying disease it once was. Treatments are better e.g one a pill a day, with few side effects. Possible to carry an hiv -free baby etc. don’t waste your time worrying, get on with it .
You can also buy HIV tests in boots chemist. Personally I would prefer to be tested and given results and support by a professional.

Science and medicine has come so far it's amazing what they have achieved. It's not a death sentence and people with the virus can live normal and long lives.

Good luck OP. I’m afraid my reaction to his blood test insufficient to get results for the HIV test is skepticism. Unlikely and he could always have taken it again.

Thankfully HIV is relatively treatable at this point in the sense that if he IS positive, with medication he'll likely end up with an undetectable viral load, and low chances of transmission.

Scary time for you both though - agree with other posters to get yourself tested as a priority.

OK try not to panic.

I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
A HIV reactive test doesn't necessarily mean HIV positive.
Your partner will be offered more specific tests which will provide a definitive answer in the next few weeks. The initial test, which I tested reactive to as well, tests for an antigen that the body produces in response to HIV (and many other viruses, and also in certain autoimmune conditions).
At this stage, that's all.
Don't do what I did and read everything on the Internet, and spiral into laying wide awake at 4am, googling angry at the world and stressed up to your eyeballs.

In total 3 blood tests are needed to confirm HIV positive status as they aren't they aren't that reliable to begin with. The 1st is incredibly broad, the 2nd HIV specific (and more expensive which is why they don't do it initially) and the final test is done by Public Health England (if you're in England) which narrows down exactly what type of HIV it is (there's different groups of the virus, and some treatments work best on one and not the other).

If it helps out your mind at ease do one of those pin prick rapid results, I test negative on those but positive on the bog standard HIV test hospitals do.

OP, even if your partner does have HIV it doesn't necessarily mean you have it, and it's not a death sentence either. The treatment options these days are so good. I have a friend with it, she's had 2 healthy HIV negative kids since.