Is herpes like symptoms on chest and back after 5days of sexual contact with HIV

[man of fear]

Hello Doc.

I am very scared as many of your readers probably are.  I had protected sex with a woman that I did not know was HIV+ until after the fact she told me that she was.  I became frantic.  I did use a condom and we only kissed (frenched kissed a few times and the rest just casual kissing).  Her vaginal fluids never touched the head of my penis and I washed my penis off right away.   I through away the towel I used everything.  I can not tell you how scared I was that night.   She is a health care worker and I just knew she would be negative but she was HIV+.  She is on medication for the virus.  Well 4 days later I went to the clinic at the health department and my HIV test was negative for HIV.  4 days after my test however, I started getting outbreaks of lesions little sores that look like herpes sores on my chest and back.  I even got a few on my forehead.  They have been on my body for three days and they seem to be trying to heal but very slowly, I am begining to use acyclovir 800mg to help with this outbreak.   I do not have a fever, I do not have a cold or a sore throat or any night sweats or loss of appetite.  I do feel high anxiety and nervous just thinking of the fear of having HIV.
I have had an out break of herpes before but not like on my chest and back area.   But that was ages ago and it was just on my groin area around my penis.   Please help me and tell me if I seem to have symptoms of a possible HIV transmission.  I am scared to death and I can not tell anyone about what I am going through.  Please give me some guidance with this matter.  I do plan on getting tested again soon in the upcoming month of May.
I pray that I am HIV negative.  I would hate to ruin my life like this.
I am praying everyday for help to understand what is happening to me.  Please help calm my fears, thank you

[man of fear]

Thanks Doc and everyone,

I went to the Dermatologist today and she diagnosed my skin lesions as Pityriasis Rosea.   I was so relieved by her diagnosis she did a biopsy to just confirm and gave me a corticosteroid injection and Cloderm cream for the my itchy sensitive spots twice per day and olux (clobetasol propionate foam 0.05%)  She said I should use this on the body lesions and skin areas that she noticed.   I had the descriptions wrong she said it was a christmas tree type pattern with a herald patch that is usually scaly and then 1 week later all spots of lesions form on the chest neck lower back and sometimes the face area and legs.   But the disease is self limiting which usually last about 2-6 weeks and sometimes shorter.  Also it has a low recurrence rate of 3% and noone really knows what causes it but they attribute it to a some HH7 virus or stress related occurences.   I have been majorly stressed out lately and I am just relieved by your response Doc and everyones contribution. I have been scared straight by this ordeal, I am just going to get married and settle down and raise a family and call it a day.  
This past week has been hell believe me and I would not wish it on anyone neither will I ever put myself in a situation like that ever again.   I feel so much better knowing now what the diagnosis is and that I can just relax and let this common benign skin disease end its course and learn a great life's lesson in the process.

Thank all of you for a good counseling and wise commentary.
I have learned a wise lesson and believe me I will not be forgetting this ever.   Thanks a million for this website of inforamtion.  Have a good day...by

Man of fear

[SiZZO]

I was recently diagnosed with Pityriasis rosea and I did a bit of research. I, however, was not able to find any concrete information on how I got this virus. Could you explain this a bit more on how it is transmitted? I also understand it is not dangerous and aside of its ugly appearance and the inconvenience it causes in my self-esteem I have to ride it out. However, one of my real concerns is having sex with my partner who is a 23 years old black female and does not now if she has ever had this before. I have read that this can last anywhere from two to six months.  What do you recommend I do? And how long is one contagious for? Thanks for your help.

[Brian123]

I am not an expert on here (but reading the recent threads I can say this):
Testing for HIV from a week's exposure would not provide an accurate result.
An individual needs to wait at least 4-6 weeks from exposure to provide a semi-conclusive result. The lesions/result would need to be a attributed to something else
other than HIV sypmtoms (e.g.: reaction to a new clothes detergent, etc.) I would assume you would need to see a dermatologist for starters...no less you would need to state your situation (sexual risk if there was one) in a new thread. The MD probably will not answer your question solely on the fact that he nor the others on here know of your sexual risks.  You may need to go to a different forum (dermatologsit) to answer your question.  Otherwise, you would need to explain your "risk" in a NEW thread.

- Brian

[man of fear]

Hello Doc,

I know that you mentioned that man of fear should not take acyclovir 800mg due to his out break of chicken pox like lesions on his chest and back area and his face areas.  If A person is experiencing symptoms like these in this span of time of a week after possible exposure to an HIV infected person from protected sex, what should you take to control the lesions?  My next question is that a sign of a viral infection like HIV or herpes zoster virus to spread like that in a person from their chest back face and maybe the lower limbs?

I am just curous because I have the same symptoms and I do want to know more about what I can do I this very situation.  I like man of fear was tested within a week and my test was negative also and the health care worker told me to come back in three months to check again.   I know you mentioned 4-6 weeks that you can tell any transmission at that point.

My final question is I do not have any fever or feel any different really.   I did try taking acyclovir 800mg also and when I saw your comment on man of fear I really wanted to know more of what I should be doing.  Please help me as well.
I am making an appointment to see a dermatologist on Monday to have the lesion biopsied to find out just what it could be.

Do I sound like someone who could be experiencing early signs of HIV or chicken pox symptoms very similar to man of fear?
Also Doc what can I do in the mean time to treat the symptoms they do itch from time to time.
Thank you

[nsns]

Wow sorry to hear about your situation. I cannot even begin to try and think about how freaked out about that I would be!

I want to ask you, how in the world did she come to tell you that she was HIV +, and did she recommend you put on the condom or did you?

I think that if a person has HIV and does not tell you about it before having sex that person should be liable for some type of endangerment. I have read other stories about people who are HIV positive and knew they were have unprotected sex with people without telling them, those people should be put in Jail, it may sound tuff but that is a complete disregard for life.

I would be pissed off! WOW.... Good luck....

[fearfire]

I think your risk is very low but the only way to calm yourself down is a test. 4th generation (ag/ab) test at 16 days can be quite reliable even 2 weeks. I am sure you are negative. Take another test at 4-6 weeks just to be more certain.

[Brian123]

I think MD HHH will probably say something on similar lines, (and just to let you know some background on me...I am gay, and know "something" on the lines of HIV, but I am not an expert as MD HHH is in the field of course):

Your risk is still very minimal.
(1) As far as I KNOW, symptoms of HIV would NEVER show up that soon.
(2) I know of many circumstances where men have slept with woman numerous (and I mean NUMEROUS times) and have never contracted the virus.
(3) I have known many gay men (even riskier situations than yours) that have slept with HIV +  men and have not been exposed (even after risky/unprotected sex).
(4) I think MD HHH will tell you that you will need to get tested @ 6 weeks as well as 3 months since you are knowledgeable of the fact that this woman was HIV+.
(5) Just because you had sexual intercourse with someone who was HIV+
does NOT mean you will necessarily get it.
(6) I am assuming this is a "chance" encounter, which means this is a "one-time-risk"? IF so, and you do not have numerous sexual partners, and you do not use IV drugs, I would say you still have nothing to fear.
(7) You never state that you "Actually" had sex. Unless there was no actual penetration I see NO risk in this matter at all.
(8) Kissing, unless you are bleeding PROFUSELY from the mouth as well as HER, has never been shown to be a means of transmission of HIV. (And to just let you know...if HIV was transmitted via oral fluids....probably 1/2 the world's population would no longer exist). I have NEVER heard but of ONE ISOLATED CASE EVER...where HIV was transmitted by oral fluids. Both partners had SEVERE BLEEDING GUMS...and I mean BLEEDING.  I do NOT think you may fit this situation.


It would have been nice had she told you she was HIV+.
Was there a reason why she did not?

I wish the best for you, and I will keep you in my prayers as well.
Let this be a learning lesson in life, ...and I myself am VERY confident that you are O.K.
However, like the rest of us on here......learn this.....use condoms/safe sex practices for future use.

Good Luck
Brian

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Calm down. Your rash is not herpes and you almost certainly didn't catch HIV.

Some facts:  1) The risk of HIV transmission from any single episode of vaginal sex with an HIV infected woman, without protection, and without antiviral therapy, averages 1 in 1000-2000. 2) The transmission risk is still lower when the infected person is taking antiretroviral therapy. 3) All by itself, using a condom cut whatever risk there was or to zero or close to it.  Considering all those factors, the risk you acquired HIV was far lower than the chance you will win the next lottery.  

Even if you were infected with HIV, despite the extreme odds against it, there is no way it resulted in development of "little sores" on your chest and back.  And there is no way that herpes is the cause, and you should not have treated yourself with acyclovir.  I can't say what is causing your rash, but it has nothing to do with herpes or HIV.

Finally, I need to comment that in my opinion, your partner should have told you about her HIV infection before you had sex. Even with a low risk of transmission, it is not appropriate to potentially expose someone to even a low risk of such a serious outcome without that person's knowledge and consent.  Condoms sometimes break, or can be disregarded in the heat of the moment; and in any case, it just isn't fair to take the risk of inducing a reaction like the one you are experiencing.

But the bottom line is that your risk was close to zero.  For your peace of mind, you should have follow-up HIV testing, however.  And see a provider about your skin lesions.  In the meantime, try to relax and don't let this be such a big deal.

Good luck--  HHH, MD