I recently had sex with an escort; I used a condom but I remember I had a small cut near my groin when we had sex. It wasn't bleeding, but I would like to get a hiv test to make sure I didn't catch anything. I had sex with her about a week ago, so I know the standard elisa Hiv test won't detect any antibodies right now. I heard the p24 antigen test is a decent early detector of an hiv infection, but how long should I wait until I get tested? Are there any tests out there more accurate at detecting hiv early on. I have not had any symptoms of hiv yet, so I know the chances of me having caught the virus are pretty slim, but I still want to make sure I don't have anything. How much does a p24 antigen test or a PCR test typically cost?

First of all - there is no such thing as symptoms of HIV infection - other than the presence of antibodies - which isn't really a symptom of anything is it?

Secondly - there is no evidence that the particle called HIV causes anything, let alone the variety of diseases that are categorized under the AIDS banner.

Thirdly - there is significant evidence that the HIV particle is not transmitted by sexual contact. The world's best scientific study that attempted to measure the efficiency of heterosexual transmission of antibodies to HIV was conducted by Nancy Padian and her colleagues (Padian NS, et al. 1997: Heterosexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in northern California: results from a ten-year study. Am J Epidemiol 146: 350-7).