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Hiv Symtoms and Antibiotics
Hi Doc,
I was just wondering if antibiotics can let hiv symptoms disappear?
6 weeks after a std (gonorrhea, after safe anal and unprotected oral) I got a severe and very painful soar throat, fever (101.8), no appetite, night sweats, some weight loss. After 3 days off symptoms I got Amoxicillin from my doctor and my soar throat was almost gone already in day of treatment. I did developed a running nose during the treatment tho, no cough.
Would hiv symtoms have reacted on my antibiotics or would it make no difference?
Is six weeks still in the early hiv symptoms time frame?
Thanx for you answer.
I was just wondering if antibiotics can let hiv symptoms disappear?
6 weeks after a std (gonorrhea, after safe anal and unprotected oral) I got a severe and very painful soar throat, fever (101.8), no appetite, night sweats, some weight loss. After 3 days off symptoms I got Amoxicillin from my doctor and my soar throat was almost gone already in day of treatment. I did developed a running nose during the treatment tho, no cough.
Would hiv symtoms have reacted on my antibiotics or would it make no difference?
Is six weeks still in the early hiv symptoms time frame?
Thanx for you answer.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Oral sex is low risk for HIV. Whether it is any higher if the same oral event results in gonorrhea isn't known, but it is logical to suppose it is higher -- but still the risk likely is so low to start that this might not make much difference in actual risk. But as I say, there are no data; all we can do is make reasonable (and hopeful) assumptions.
Yellow (pus-like) discharge usually is gonorrhea, especially if the symptoms started less than a week after exposure. If more whitish and/or onset over a week later, then nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) is more likely. Presumably your doctor thought it was NGU, since doxycycline is not reliable against gonorrhea and most doctors would know this. Still, you should have been tested for it. Next time (hoping there isn't a next time, of course) your local health department STD clinic might be a better choice to assure quality STD care. Knowing about NGU versus gonorrhea is quite important. If it wasn't gonorrhea, my advice about elevated HIV risk doesn't mean much. NGU doesn't carry the same implications for HIV risk.
Otherwise, I have no other comments about your symptoms etc.
That should be all for this thread. Take care and stay safe.
Yellow (pus-like) discharge usually is gonorrhea, especially if the symptoms started less than a week after exposure. If more whitish and/or onset over a week later, then nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) is more likely. Presumably your doctor thought it was NGU, since doxycycline is not reliable against gonorrhea and most doctors would know this. Still, you should have been tested for it. Next time (hoping there isn't a next time, of course) your local health department STD clinic might be a better choice to assure quality STD care. Knowing about NGU versus gonorrhea is quite important. If it wasn't gonorrhea, my advice about elevated HIV risk doesn't mean much. NGU doesn't carry the same implications for HIV risk.
Otherwise, I have no other comments about your symptoms etc.
That should be all for this thread. Take care and stay safe.
I maybe have to add that I am not sure it was Gonorrhea. The doctor did not test it and gave me medicine right away (doxy). I only know for sure I had some yellowish discharge from my utheria, especially in the morning.
Yes, the gonorrhea was urethral.
But the condom did not break. I always check, and nothing happened. I also always ask about the status of the people i meet.
So, because of oral sex, that makes my chances better? Or is hiv also transmitted regularly via gonorrhea and oral sex?
And because my symptoms started at 6 weeks, and antibiotics cured my soar throat symptoms, you think it the risk is less? Btw, gonorrhea symptoms where already treated 6 weeks ago.
But the condom did not break. I always check, and nothing happened. I also always ask about the status of the people i meet.
So, because of oral sex, that makes my chances better? Or is hiv also transmitted regularly via gonorrhea and oral sex?
And because my symptoms started at 6 weeks, and antibiotics cured my soar throat symptoms, you think it the risk is less? Btw, gonorrhea symptoms where already treated 6 weeks ago.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome back to the HIV forum.
If I correctly recall what I saw on quick scan of your previous questions on this and the HIV community forum, you are male and so are your partners. Presumably your gonorrhea was urethral (penile), correct? If so, and if all your anal sexual exposures in the 1-2 weeks before onset of symptoms were truly condom-protected, then you probably acquired the gonorrhea from the oral sex exposure. In that case, the risk of HIV from the same exposure was low. However, the possibility must be raised that the anal sex was not in fact protected -- but that is unlikely if the condom was used properly (in place the entire time) and did not rupture. If that happened -- or if you had rectal gonorrhea -- you were obviously at quite high risk for HIV.
As for your sore throat, fever, etc, ARS is a much less common cause of such symptoms than garden variety upper respiratory infections -- viral, strep throat, etc. And ARS doesn't cause runny nose, and 6 weeks is too long for onset of ARS symptoms; 10-20 days is typical. Neither the antibiotic treatment for gonorrhea nor the amoxicillin makes any difference one way or the other.
Having gonorrhea -- even once -- is one of the strongest predictors of future HIV infection among men who have sex with men. Gonorrhea occurs almost entirely in people and population groups at highest risk of HIV. Although the specific sexual practices you describe suggest a low risk you caught HIV this time, the occurrence of gonorrhea always means sex with people at very high risk for HIV, lapse in sexual safety, or both.
Therefore, you definitely need an HIV test. Six weeks is plenty of time for the standard antibody tests to become positive, so you could be tested now. But given the high risk implied, you should have another test about 3 months after the sexual exposure that gave you gonorrhea. You can expect negative results, and I'm still certain your sore throat etc were not due to HIV. But it's best to be safe.
So the final bit of advice is a) think about who you're having sex with, i.e. where and how you meet partners, and do what you can to reduce contact with those at high risk (e.g., no anonymous sex, no bath house sex, etc); and b) always ask about and share your own HIV status with partners before having sex, even when safe sex is planned (and don't proceed with sex -- even safe sex) with those who are positive, don't know, or give evasive answers.
Regards-- HHH, MD
If I correctly recall what I saw on quick scan of your previous questions on this and the HIV community forum, you are male and so are your partners. Presumably your gonorrhea was urethral (penile), correct? If so, and if all your anal sexual exposures in the 1-2 weeks before onset of symptoms were truly condom-protected, then you probably acquired the gonorrhea from the oral sex exposure. In that case, the risk of HIV from the same exposure was low. However, the possibility must be raised that the anal sex was not in fact protected -- but that is unlikely if the condom was used properly (in place the entire time) and did not rupture. If that happened -- or if you had rectal gonorrhea -- you were obviously at quite high risk for HIV.
As for your sore throat, fever, etc, ARS is a much less common cause of such symptoms than garden variety upper respiratory infections -- viral, strep throat, etc. And ARS doesn't cause runny nose, and 6 weeks is too long for onset of ARS symptoms; 10-20 days is typical. Neither the antibiotic treatment for gonorrhea nor the amoxicillin makes any difference one way or the other.
Having gonorrhea -- even once -- is one of the strongest predictors of future HIV infection among men who have sex with men. Gonorrhea occurs almost entirely in people and population groups at highest risk of HIV. Although the specific sexual practices you describe suggest a low risk you caught HIV this time, the occurrence of gonorrhea always means sex with people at very high risk for HIV, lapse in sexual safety, or both.
Therefore, you definitely need an HIV test. Six weeks is plenty of time for the standard antibody tests to become positive, so you could be tested now. But given the high risk implied, you should have another test about 3 months after the sexual exposure that gave you gonorrhea. You can expect negative results, and I'm still certain your sore throat etc were not due to HIV. But it's best to be safe.
So the final bit of advice is a) think about who you're having sex with, i.e. where and how you meet partners, and do what you can to reduce contact with those at high risk (e.g., no anonymous sex, no bath house sex, etc); and b) always ask about and share your own HIV status with partners before having sex, even when safe sex is planned (and don't proceed with sex -- even safe sex) with those who are positive, don't know, or give evasive answers.
Regards-- HHH, MD
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