Do I Need To Re-Test

[ERIC_38FL]

I am a married man but in January of 2007 I had a one-time unprotected sexual experience (vaginal intercourse) with an older married woman.  Around July of 2007 I went through an on-line provider of STD testing who sent me to LabCorp.  My full panel including HIV-1 EIA according to the report was negative at that time, which I estimate was over five months post exposure (probably closer to six).  I have had zero outside expsoure since this event.  My wife is HIV neg as well.

About a month ago I noticed my tongue had a pronounced white coating on it.  I vaguely remember smoking a cigar the night before or maybe that day before, but this coating caught my eye.  I smoke very very rarely and drink rarely.  It is a thin white coating that at close inspection looks like very many dots, almost like white taste buds.  There is no pain, no bleeding, no irritation, just this whitish "haze"  I also have a whitish coating on both sides of my tongue under the dorsal top that appears equal in size on both sides when I extend my tongue.  It is slightly more pronounced in the back, like faint white stripes, but more like the same white dot texture at closer inspection that is on the dorsal surface of my tongue.

When I brush my tongue, my tongue is more pink but still has some remnant of the white appearance on the dorsal surface and the areas on the side immediately below the dorsal surface when my tongue is extended.

My question is, I tested negative five months post exposure last year and have had zero exposures since, but I do know tests can be wrong and oral symptoms can be one of the first signs of HIV infection.  Do I re-test or stop staring in the mirror and put all this junk out of my head and move on?

Thanks.

[NeverAgain624]

My apologies.  Thanks for all of your counseling.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Never again.  I answered your post in errot.  Please do not jump other people's posts.  If you have a question ask it but in my opinion, you should not waste your money.  You are not at meaningful risk.  EWH

[Edward W Hook, MD]

It depends on who the woman is and here situation.  In addition, the CDC has recently revised its estimates.  For heterosexual women in the U.S. who are not IV drug users the current ifure is 1 in 1000 OR LESS.  EWH

[NeverAgain624]

I couldn't help but notice that you stated above that 1/1000 heterosexual women in the US have HIV.  In a response to me the number you quoted was 1/300 (http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/688633).  I was wondering if I misunderstood your answer to me?

[monkeyflower]

Cyberchondria.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/technology/internet/25symptoms.html

and the classic
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38791 ;-)

[ERIC_38FL]

Thanks for your input.  Yes, I was worried about OHL and I need to get off this computer and stop looking at images of people's mouth's.  Sometimes the internet is more damaging than helpful.  I am going to act rationally and move on from this episode hypochondria.  I suspect my guilt concerning this event is what I really need to get over.  Thanks again, and I will end my portion of this thread here on that note.  Enjoy the rest of your evening and your Sunday!!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Believe the tests.  they are very accurate.  Even before you got tested it was very, very unlikely that you got HIV since it is terribly unlikely that your partner had HIV (less than 1 in 1000 heterosexual women in the U.S. have HIV and the risk for an older married woman would be lower than average).  Then the risk from a single exposure is less than infection per 1000 exposures.  Then you were tested by a very accurate test by a quality laboratory.  Putting all of this together there is simply no realistic way that you are HIV infected.

AS for the white coating, I suspect you ware worried about hairy leukoplakia which can be seen in persons with HIV.  Most people who have HL however do not have HIV and we don't even know if that is what you have noted.  I suspect it is not.

Bottom line, you have no reason whatsoever to worry about HIV.  Rest easy.,  EWH