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Possible HIV exposure….scared to death
On Oct 7, 2011, I had oral and vaginal unprotected sex with a female sex worker. I know this was very stupid and I will never do it again. I do not know her status. On October 15th I developed a painless sore on the right side of my inner cheek. Several days later I started experiencing joint pain at various times in my hand and legs. The pain was a shooting sharp pain and would never last long. About 10 days later the sore on my inner cheek went away and left a small crater like spot. I have had a slightly swollen lymph node behind my right ear. I have not experienced any joint pain since November 10th. However, I noticed 3 additional small sores on my inner cheek on November 15th (1 on right, two on left). The sores are slightly raised and the skin looks broken as noted by the top of the sore being bright red. I also noticed that my lips have been very dry and chapped. There are a few small areas on my lips where the top layer of the skin in gone and the color is bright red.
Needless to say, I am so scared. I went to the doctor on November 19th and he stated he wanted me to get checked for HSV1, HSV2, HIV and Syphilis. He drew blood and indicated my white blood cell count was 5,000 (not sure what that means) I will have the results by November 23rd. Could this be ARS? I have had no fever, sore throat, or rash. I check my temperature 4 times a day (since exposure) with an average reading of 97.6 to 98.6. At six weeks post exposure would I have sores on my cheeks if this was ARS? I am really concerned that I contracted HIV.
I know the results should clear this up…but I am spending all day worrying about this.
Needless to say, I am so scared. I went to the doctor on November 19th and he stated he wanted me to get checked for HSV1, HSV2, HIV and Syphilis. He drew blood and indicated my white blood cell count was 5,000 (not sure what that means) I will have the results by November 23rd. Could this be ARS? I have had no fever, sore throat, or rash. I check my temperature 4 times a day (since exposure) with an average reading of 97.6 to 98.6. At six weeks post exposure would I have sores on my cheeks if this was ARS? I am really concerned that I contracted HIV.
I know the results should clear this up…but I am spending all day worrying about this.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello,
Thank you for your post and welcome to our forum.
You have certainly put yourself at risk of having contracted an STD, including HIV, as you had unprotected sex. However the risk of HIV to you is relatively low because the status of the lady is unknown, and even in the case that she was positive, the risk for you is less than 0.1% (or less that 1 in 1,000), for the unprotected vaginal intercourse. However it is important that you have been tested. Symptoms of acute HIV sero-conversion are non-specific, but sores on your cheeks is not a typical symptom. You have not had the typical sympotms, including a temperature and a maculo-papular rash. Therefore I do not think that you need to worry too much about it as your result is highly likely to be negative.
Best wishes,
Dr José
Thank you for your post and welcome to our forum.
You have certainly put yourself at risk of having contracted an STD, including HIV, as you had unprotected sex. However the risk of HIV to you is relatively low because the status of the lady is unknown, and even in the case that she was positive, the risk for you is less than 0.1% (or less that 1 in 1,000), for the unprotected vaginal intercourse. However it is important that you have been tested. Symptoms of acute HIV sero-conversion are non-specific, but sores on your cheeks is not a typical symptom. You have not had the typical sympotms, including a temperature and a maculo-papular rash. Therefore I do not think that you need to worry too much about it as your result is highly likely to be negative.
Best wishes,
Dr José
I had the same incident on the same date with a sex worker too. silly me for going unprotected. my anxiety was driving me crazy for the past few weeks. same as you i tested negative for hiv but positive for hsv-2...
ok..
Yes....I tested negative for HIV. I tested positive for HSV-1.
hi,,
Did u get your results....?
Did u get your results....?
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