Possible exposure to HIV

[impulsive27]

So exactly 8 days ago I had unprotected sex (straight vaginal) with a stripper. It was the first time I have had unprotected sex before. Total lapse of judgment on my part. I asked her if she was clean afterwards and of course she said Yes. Neither here nor there, nothing I can do about that now. At day 6, I started to feel what I would call very mild flu like symptoms, mostly just stuffy & runny nose (yellow mucus), no cough and no fever also no night sweats. Day 7 I had pretty bad neck stiffness and started to notice some tenderness in my right groin. Day 8 the neck stiffness is no longer there and sniffles/runny nose is also gone but now there is a good bit of pain in my groin (still just the right side) mostly dull constant pain and now there is a bit of tenderness in my left armpit. Of course I am really afraid of the possibilities of having contracted HIV. I had tests done for Chlamydia & Gonorrhea and should have those results tomorrow. Does this sound like there is a concern for HIV infection? I am really stressed over this and am thinking of having a PCR test done at exactly 2 weeks, would this give me an accurate reading? Please let me know what you think…

[impulsive27]

Hey Doc,

     I just wanted to Say Thank you for the advice and info you gave me. I ended up taking a PCR test at 13 days exposure and it came back negative. Yes I spent alot more $$ than I should have, but the benefit I see is in the stress relief that I now have. I am going to stop obsessing over this and move on with no further testing as well as keep myself protected at ALL times..

Thanks Again...

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum.  You and I both agree that having sex with this person may not have been one of your wisest decisions.  That said, the chance that you are going to get HIV from this exposure is very, very low- here are the reasons:  First, Very few commercial sex workers have HIV and secondly following a single sexual exposure a person has only a 1 in 1000 chance of acquiring HIV.  That doesn't mean that you should test for HIV but chances are that you did not get it. Chances are also higher that you got a more common STD like gonorrhea or chlamydia so I'm glad to hear you're being tested for them as well.

As far as your symptoms, they sound more like a cold than the ARS.  On this site we have made repeated statements that the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection.  When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes. In contrast, over a given year, there is almost no one who has not had a viral illness, night sweats or both (sometimes on multiple occasions).  In addition, it is also important to realize that many persons who acquire HIV do not experience the ARS.  For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time and is not something you need to worry about.

Bottom line, your risk is low, your symptoms are irrelevant and you should go on and get tested for your own peace of mind.  In your case, a test at 8 weeks will provide conclusive evidence that you did not get HIV form this exposure.  Hope this helps.  Take care.  EWH