How long does it take for AIDS to show up on a blood test?

Answer

Three to six months from your last unsafe sexual experience is the amount of time you need to wait to get an HIV test. Depending on the source, you will get differing opinions about this "window" of time between infection and HIV antibody detection in a blood test. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends six months, some city and state health departments advise waiting two months, while the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), the oldest and largest HIV and AIDS service organization in the world, suggests a three-month waiting period. Alice thinks that six months is a long time to wait for HIV test results, and a negative or positive test result three months after possible HIV exposure can be considered reliable, although not 100 percent accurate.