High Risk exposure

Hi Doctor,

I am a gay male living in the Gulf, had unprotected anal sex with another guy (there was no exchange of fluids) three weeks later i noticed little dots on my trunk mainly on the sides under my arms and on my forearms- the dots were red, pinkish in color not itchy. 5 days later i had more dots so i went to see a skin doctor.
at the beginning she thought it might be an allergy so she did some blood tests and the result was as follows:
Total WBC count 10300 (norm 4000-9800)
Lymphocytes 48.8 ( norm 20-45)
the rest was in line
The doctor said that because of the blood results she thinks that it is a viral infection.
I didn't have a sore throat , nore night sweat, didn't have fever or any other symptoms except fear.
She gave me zitromax and 3 days after i took zitromax the dots were gone .

my question is
1- could it be that i am seroconverting? or it should come with another symptom?
2- if i was Does zitromax affect the seroconversion and stop the pimples?
3- if not what other viruses can cause these red dots to appear?
4- how long after the seroconversion can someone know if he is positive?

I asked the guy if he had any exposures but he said no ... i am still in touch with him, and i asked him to get tested but like me we live in a gulf country and we cannot do it here ... so both of us have to wait to go back to our countries to get tested ... i am going in 10 days.

Thnx

[Dr Sean Cummings]

Hello,

You asked some specific questions:-

"my question is
1- could it be that i am seroconverting? or it should come with another symptom?

Well you did have high risk unprotected sex with another male so a seroconversion illness cannot be excluded although the symptoms you describe are not typical


2- if i was Does zitromax affect the seroconversion and stop the pimples?

No, zithromax will not affect the course of an HIV related illness or seroconversion

3- if not what other viruses can cause these red dots to appear?

There are very many - you have seena doctor already and she seems to have helped. Really there are scores of illnesses that may cause the appearance of a red rash and I really cannot speculate on all of them


4- how long after the seroconversion can someone know if he is positive?

The only way to know if you are HIV positive is to have an HIV test - in the UK this can be doen from around seven days post exposure "


best regards, Sean

[panther77]

let me add that i took zitromax for 6 days 500mg a day and i think it controlled them and the dots or pimples rash ... but i think they are coming back and i am having more of them on my stomach and back and a couple on my arms ...!!! if it was seroconversion would it be possible that they come back?after a week?

[panther77]

Thanks for your answer Dr.
just one more clarification concerning my blood test i saw everywhere on the net that the WBC range is between 4000 and 11000
1- in my report my wbc is 10300 but the range is 4000-9800 how can that be?
2- is it possible that i have high WBC and lymphocytes without fever? (knowing that fever is a normal reaction when fighting a virus).
3- what are the typical symptoms of HIV seroconversion? (in most of the people)
sorry for asking too many questions but i live in the Gulf and i can not ask my Doctor these questions and can't be honest about my exposure.
Thnx

[benadeth]

hi i am Manuel Flores ,,, and i am living here in Philippines .. i am suffering in Fistula in Ano .. over 4 years ... the doctor says that there is no Medicine for this Disease ,, that is True? hopew you can help me to find the right answers

[Dr Sean Cummings]

You seem to have hijacked someone elses post. Stick to topic or submit your own paid for question please.

[Dr Sean Cummings]

Hello,

You've had the answer to these questions already from your doctor there in the gulf. The total white count being over the limit may indicate an infection and your doctor has reasonably identified a viral infection as likely due to the lymphocyte count being elevated. It isn't elevated very much so I don't think there are typical signs of HIV infection here.

Typical symptoms include simultaneous appearance of red rash over the entire body; very high temperature - measured with a thermometer and also a very sore throat together sometimes with muscles aches, severe headache, dehydration, abdominal pain, appearance of large lymph nodes in multiple body sites.

The collection of severe sore throat, whle body rash and very high temperature should always raise the possibility of HIV infection in a sexually active adult.

I hope taht is helpful. Best regards, Sean

[panther77]

Thank you a lot Dr. your answers eased my fear ... anyway i will fly to my country and get tested on the 6weeks.

Regards,

[panther77]

One last question Dr.
How long does the ARS rash last?
thnx

[panther77]

One last question Dr.
How long does the ARS rash last?
thnx

[Dr Sean Cummings]

No more questions on this OK?

The answer to the question is between 5 and 10 days or so. Its not a precise time I'm afraid.

No more questions on this.

best of luck, Sean

[panther77]

ok Dr. thank you for your patience ... i did my hiv1/2 test n he 18 and the result was negative ... (i guess that 6 weeks post exposure and 4 weeks after the rash is a very good indication )
i tested for HCV and MNI (mono) all came back negative
the rash is still existing ... i know now this rash is not due to hiv. but will still test at 3 month again ...
any suggestions what should i test? my Dr in dubai gave up ... i m moving from thre but until then i need some guidance.
thanks a lot for your support Dr.