hives that didnt clear completely after a month

[lester_80]

Hi Doctor,

I had an unprotected sexual encounter with a girl whom i did not know her HIV status last 9th of August. she also performed unprotected oral sex on me. after two days, I got Hives (raised, pink color that doesnt itch.)all over my shoulders and thighs. A little bit also on my body. it quickly subsided the next day but the redness never went away completely. after 7 days i got a mouth ulcer, then i got tested on the 26th of August for all stds and HIV antibody/antigen (CMIA) as well as HIV DNA test(specialty laboratory). i started to have muscle pain all over that day and i feel like vomitting for a few days. I have a fever all along (37.3 C) with a braun ear thermometer test. all test came out negative, but heamophilus parainfluenza was found in a swab. the doctor gave me 1 gram of zithromax and 1 week of doxycycline 200mg per day, and 1 week of flagyl 600mg per day. the followed by 1 week of augmntin 2g per day to cure the haemophilus parainfluenze. My question is it is a month already and the redness still did not go away completely and my muscles still ache and my temperature is still at 37.2 to 37.3 C. Could this be a sign of HIV? or any kind of STD at all? all i noticed about this girl is that she had some sort of rashes, kinda like scabies on both shoulders. Can you help me diagnose what this could be?

Thank you.

Lester

[lester_80]

Hi,

Help on this symtom would be highly appreciated. thanks.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
I cannot confirm anything without examination but HIV has to be completely ruled out in your case. Many people do not develop symptoms after they first get infected with HIV. Others have a flu-like illness within several days to weeks after exposure to the virus. Confirmation is only done by specific tests for HIV like western blot,PCR and ELISA. These tests may show accuracy after 6 weeks to 6 months as HIV antibodies take time to develop in the body.

I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.

[lester_80]

Hi Doctor,

How come you are sure to rule out HIV? I did display flu like symptoms and had hives, mouth ulcer, muscle and joint pain. fever of 37.3 C. the redness from the hives did not dissolve completely until now. It has been one month and 5 days already from the exposure. Ive never had such experience before, and cant think of anything else to explain the situation.

Thank you for helping.

[lester_80]

Hi Doctor,

It has been more than a month and the red spot from the hives doesnt seem to be going away.morever i feel like vomiting and same as usual muscle and joint pain and lost over 10 pounds. any suggestion on what tests i should be taking to find the cause? i really need help.

Thank you.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
I see that you are having the problem of chronic urticaria. It is defined as urticaria that persists for longer than 6 weeks. In most of the cases of chronic urticaria, the underlying pathology is idiopathic i.e it is not linked to any cause. It is essential to rule out the presence of serious illnesses of which recurring hives can be a symptom. Examples are hepatitis, hyperthyroidism, lymphomas, collagen vascular diseases, and cancers of the rectum, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. It is important to rule out all of them. For the HIV tests please get ELISA, western blot or PCR done. I sincerely suggest you to consult a physician for that.
I hope this helps Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.

[lester_80]

Hi Doctor,

I did have a test at 17 days after exposure HIV antibody/antigen (CMIA) as well as HIV DNA PCR test(Specialty Laboratory). the hives occured 2 days after the exposure and though it subsided a day after, but the redness still persist until today. and i still have muscle and joint pains, white oral thrush, and feeling of vomitting sometimes.

[lester_80]

Hi Doctor,

Can you help me analyze the test that I took in my above post? are these tests at 17 days conclusive? especially the PCR DNA test? i took a whole lot of other STD tests as well. would you be kind enough to tell me which tests i should retake in 90 days?

Thanks,

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Although a negative result on an HIV blood test usually means that the person is not infected with the virus, but the body may take three to six months after exposure to the virus to produce enough antibodies to be detectable in the bloodstream. Because of this delay between infection and the appearance of HIV antibodies, a person should be retested six months after the last possible exposure to HIV. You can get an ELISA+Western blot or PCR done after 6 months to retest the antibodies to the virus.

I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.

[lester_80]

Hi Doctor,

Im confused a bit with your suggestion. Firstly you ruled out HIV completely in my case, but then you are suggesting a test 6 months after.

What would help is with your professional practice, what do you think is the possible cause for the rash to persist (did not worsen, but did not resolve completely as some redness under the skin can be detected.) and severe joint pains and loose of strength with my both hands. and still have the feeling of vomitting sometimes. I should not say i have oral thrush but a white tongue instead. Would ARS cause all these? if not what virus could persist so long to be causing all these? or any possible bacterial infection or parasites would cause symptoms to last more than a month?

I want to get a more specific or complete check up, but dont know what to test.

Please help.

Thanks,

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hi

In al m aboe mentioned, posts it hasben mentioned that the status of your HIV needs to be ruled ot. Nowhere it has been mentioned that it is ruled out. Please ge the above mentioned tests done after consulting your dermatologist.

Take care and God bless.