My Partner Tested Positive but I Tested Negative

Is your partner’s result HIV, and was your last contact in the past 72 hours? Don’t wait for a test. PEP is for emergency situations only and must be started within 72 hours of a possible exposure. Go to an emergency room or urgent care clinic now and ask for it.

Hearing that a partner tested positive, then getting a negative result of your own, leaves many people unsure whether they are in the clear. The honest answer is that a negative result doesn’t always settle it.

Can I test negative if my partner tested positive?

Yes. There are a few reasons it can happen, and a clinician can help work out which one applies.

• The test was too early. Every infection has a window period, the time after exposure when a test may not yet find it. The NHS says STIs can take up to 7 weeks to show up on a test. For HIV, CDC gives windows from about 10 to 33 days for a NAT to up to 90 days for antibody tests.
• The test missed the right body site. CDC says chlamydia in the throat or rectum can be diagnosed by testing at the site of exposure. A urine test alone may not cover oral or anal sex.
• It was a different infection. Your partner’s result may be for something your test didn’t include. Ask which infection it was.
• You don’t have it. A negative result can simply be correct.

Should I be treated even though I tested negative?

Often, yes, and clinicians don’t always wait for your result. For chlamydia, CDC says sex partners from the 60 days before symptoms started or the diagnosis should be referred for evaluation, testing and presumptive treatment, meaning treatment given without waiting for proof. The same is true of the most recent partner even if contact was longer ago.

For syphilis, CDC says partners exposed in the 90 days before a diagnosis should be treated presumptively even if their blood tests are negative.

In some places, a clinician treating your partner can give them medicine or a prescription to pass on to you, without examining you first. This is called expedited partner therapy, and CDC describes it for chlamydia and gonorrhea. CDC links to a state-by-state page on its legal status, so check what applies where you live.

When should I test again?

Test again after the window period for the infection, even if you are treated. The NHS says that if you have no symptoms, it’s best to wait 7 weeks before testing, because STIs can take that long to show up on a test. For HIV, CDC says to get tested again after the window period for the type of test you took. A herpes blood test taken too soon after infection can give a wrong result, and CDC says current tests may take up to 16 weeks or more to detect infection.

Our window period calculator works out dates from your exposure date.

What if my partner has HIV?

Go to urgent care or an emergency room now if your last contact was within the past 72 hours. CDC says PEP must be started within 72 hours and is for emergencies only. Ask a clinician about it right away. After that, you need follow-up HIV testing based on the window periods above.

Can we have sex in the meantime?

CDC advises avoiding sex until you and your partner have both completed treatment. Otherwise, the infection can pass back and forth between you.

What should I ask my partner?

A few questions make your next steps much clearer.

• Which infection was it? A negative test for a different infection tells you nothing about this one.
• When were they tested and treated? Treatment dates affect when you should avoid sex and when to retest.
• Which sites were tested? If their result was from a throat or rectal swab, yours should cover those sites too.

You can share this page with them, or take the answers to a clinician.