Aa
ARS related symptoms or Influenza/Cold
Hi,
I had vaginal sex with my partner with a condom and it slipped off midway through. (So I guess that means unprotected) He put on another condom when we realized it until he ejaculated. This was January 20th. On Feb 26 (exactly 5 weeks and 1 day after that exposure), what follows were my symptoms: Day 1- a lot of drainage draining in the back of my throat; Day 2- feeling cold, chills, sore throat, minor aches, and mild fever. Day 3- Same symptoms as Day 2 but now with night sweats and cough, occasional sneezing. Day 4- chills and aches went away, no night sweat, no fever, but dry cough, sore throat, sneezing and chest congestion; Day 5- chills came back, had another night sweat (my neck, chest, and upper back were drenched), minor sore throat, dry cough and congestion. Day 6-Day 13- lingering dry cough. On Day 10- I went to the doctor and he prescribed me antibiotics for the cough. It has been a week since Day 13 and all symptoms have subsided with the exception of some congestion in my throat. I took a test for HIV yesterday but the results won't be back until next week. Does this sound like an ARS related episode. I will let you know what my results are when I receive them. Thanks in advance!
I had vaginal sex with my partner with a condom and it slipped off midway through. (So I guess that means unprotected) He put on another condom when we realized it until he ejaculated. This was January 20th. On Feb 26 (exactly 5 weeks and 1 day after that exposure), what follows were my symptoms: Day 1- a lot of drainage draining in the back of my throat; Day 2- feeling cold, chills, sore throat, minor aches, and mild fever. Day 3- Same symptoms as Day 2 but now with night sweats and cough, occasional sneezing. Day 4- chills and aches went away, no night sweat, no fever, but dry cough, sore throat, sneezing and chest congestion; Day 5- chills came back, had another night sweat (my neck, chest, and upper back were drenched), minor sore throat, dry cough and congestion. Day 6-Day 13- lingering dry cough. On Day 10- I went to the doctor and he prescribed me antibiotics for the cough. It has been a week since Day 13 and all symptoms have subsided with the exception of some congestion in my throat. I took a test for HIV yesterday but the results won't be back until next week. Does this sound like an ARS related episode. I will let you know what my results are when I receive them. Thanks in advance!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Glad I could help. EWH
Thanks Dr. Hook!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Statistically, despite his unknown status he is unlikely to have HIV unless he has had sex with other men or uses IV drugs.
The ARS is vaguely described. that said, your illness is more consistent with an everyday cold than the ARS. EWH
The ARS is vaguely described. that said, your illness is more consistent with an everyday cold than the ARS. EWH
Dr. Hook, his HIV status is unknown. Does symptoms typically come and go like mine (Day 2 and Day 4 I had night sweats, but not on Day 1 and 3. And are sneezing, coughing, and congestion (and also eye pain when I moved my eyes around-forgot to mention that) typically common with ARS? Thanks for the quick response!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the Forum. I happened to be on-lne when you posted so you will receive your response far more quickly than is typical for the Forum.
The timing of the flu-like illness you describe is consistent with the ARS which tends to occur 2-6 weeks after exposure however unless there is something that you have not said about your partner, it is unlikely that he has HIV and even if he did it is unlikely that if he were infected he would transmit infection to you. Transmission of HIV through heterosexual intercourse occurs only about once in every 1000 sexual encounters. Thus it is far more likely that your illness was the sort of every day, flu-like illness than most people get from time to time than the ARS. When this has been studied, only about 1% of at risk persons seen in Emergency Departments with flu-like illnesses turn out to have HIV. I anticipate that your test will be negative, providing definitive evidence that your flu-like illness was not HIV.
I hope this comment is helpful to you. EWH
The timing of the flu-like illness you describe is consistent with the ARS which tends to occur 2-6 weeks after exposure however unless there is something that you have not said about your partner, it is unlikely that he has HIV and even if he did it is unlikely that if he were infected he would transmit infection to you. Transmission of HIV through heterosexual intercourse occurs only about once in every 1000 sexual encounters. Thus it is far more likely that your illness was the sort of every day, flu-like illness than most people get from time to time than the ARS. When this has been studied, only about 1% of at risk persons seen in Emergency Departments with flu-like illnesses turn out to have HIV. I anticipate that your test will be negative, providing definitive evidence that your flu-like illness was not HIV.
I hope this comment is helpful to you. EWH
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