Exposed to menstrual blood and symptoms

[tenbears]

Hello Doctor, and God bless you for what you do.

28th of july I had protected sex with a Bulgarian CSW in the Netherlands. After I finished, I saw blood on the end of the condom. I also have genital herpes so unfortunately that day there was a sore present roughly around my penis where I saw the blood. I wiped it with a wet cloth and immediately washed it off. I asked her if she had any STD's or HIV, but she replied no and said she is regulary tested. Later on she told me the blood could have been due to her period (I don't know confirmly) I trusted her the first two weeks but exactly after 2 weeks when I woke up ia morning I had a dry nasal (inside nose and post nasal) and later in the day it ended up with alot of mucuous releasing from that dry area and swallowed. The second day I had a swollen lymph node under my jaw on the left side. I did not have any noticeable fever or rash but did have a mild tiredness, irritated throat, headache and a few episodes of night sweating. Everyother symptom is gone but I still feel that lymph node swollen and today is almost 4 weeks. I did go to my doctor after a few days of appearance of the symptoms but she diagnosed it with a viral infection. As we know most of the times symptoms of acute HIV are misdiagnosed. I understand that a CSW from Bulgaria is probably a low HIV prevalence country but she is here in the netherlands for business so there is less for me to trust that she gets tested and HIV freee.

I have seen that a swollen lymph node goes away from (2-4 weeks) with a viral throat infection but Doctor do you have any idea how long does it take with an ARS?

Thank you very much for your time.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Sure, any viral respiratory infection can cause an inflamed lymph node. Equally important, HIV never causes only a single enlarged node.  The lymph node inlammation cause by HIV causes enlargement in lymph nodes all over the body--neck, armpits, groin, etc.

Apart from an HIV test result after a few weeks, there is no additional information you can provide that would change my opinion or advice.  So I won't have any further comments.  

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You describe far more reasons to be reassured that you don't have HIV than reasons to suspect you are infected.  The 2 most important facts are that you have been strongly reassured that your CSW partner doesn't have HIV; and menstrual blood or not, you were protected by the condom.  The amount of blood exposure you could have had, penile sore or not, isn't a significant risk.

Your symptoms are consistent with any number of benign viral infections, as your doctor told you.  Because the symptoms of acute HIV infection are very nonspecific, there presence or absence are never an important indicator either for or against a new infection.  Anyway, nasal congestion is not usually seen with HIV. You had a cold, nothing more.

Have an HIV blood test to settle your nerves.  Assuming you have no other risks for HIV, you can be sure of a negative result.

Good luck-- HHH, MD

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I forgot to add:  The most likely cause of a sore on the penis is genital herpes.  Better get that checked out when you get the HIV test.

[tenbears]

Thank you.
Is there a swollen lymph node associated with a nasal congestion or a viral infection? I mean I did not have a blocked or runny nose but a dry and later mucous that was swallowed.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Any garden variety respiratory virus can cause localized lymph node swelling.  Just as important, HIV never causes it in just one location; HIV associated lymph node inflammation invovles several areas of the body, like the neck, armpits, and groin.

Nose inflammation of any kind is not part of the HIV picture.  You caught a cold.

Aside from reporting a postive HIV test, there is no information you can possibly add that has a chance of changing my opinion and advice, so I won't have any further comments.

[sunsarethebest]

also, Upon reading on this site from people in the Living with HIV forum, everybody who is actually HIV positive and when they describe there lymph node situation they always talk about how LARGE the nodes are and they they can be visibly seen poking out from the neck or something, Thats how large they get. They say that people who dont even know them would notice the large nodes poking from there neck and stuff. I doubt that yours looks anything like that. Its probably just your poking around at your neck and making yourself believe they are enlarged. I do the same thing.

[tenbears]

Thank you doctor and thank you suns.
Your doubts are right suns. My lymph node on the left side under my jaw is not enlarged enough that could be seen from outside. The very beginning days even my doctor tried alot to locate it but she did confirm it was a little swollen. Secondly, dr. HHH always says that absence of fever is a strong evidence against ARS and now you come up and say that everybody in living with HIV forum who are HIV+ almost always talk about LARGE lymph nodes.

As you read doctors comments above he says the sores on a penis could only be a Genital Herpes. He may have missed the very third line of my first question.  This is the reason which makes me worry alot because of the presence of those cells in a genital herpes which HIV mostly infects. Anyway I'll take a HIV test around the 10th or 12th week but to let you guys know Dr. HHH and your comments have eased my anxiety a little bit.
Thank you alll.

[sunsarethebest]

Exactly, dont even worry about it. If you didnt have a fever at anytime then you werent having ARS. Just try and forget about everything and wait the proper time to be tested and get a test. Thats what i am going to do.

[tenbears]

hi again,

Tomorrow will be five weeks of my symptoms and it still exists. However, tiredness is a little much better. The swollen gland and the throat is more or less the same. The headache comes and goes. When I sneez, the eyelash of my right eye keeps moving (flashing) for a while I can even see it myself when I look in a mirror. Went to my doctor yesterday and she drew blood for tests that include Mono, Hepatitis all forms and etc. except HIV. IF in case the results from the above mentioned tests come negative, then I go and take a test for HIV on the 8th or 9th week mark.

Dr. HHH and sunsarethebest,

Do you have any idea of how long does the symptoms of ARS last?

[Isaac Argan]

apparently, few days to 2 weeks. rarely longer. fatigue can persist for months after any viral illness. hence the 'acute' .my collar, armpit, jaw, neck glands swelled up. all went down/stopped hurting after few days. neck node was large enough to be seen for 3 days. on/off. it's down now after 3 months, but not fully down. apparently sometimes nodes can be chronically swollen after viral infections for life. my 23 week duo test was negative.  if they stay LARGE for more than 3 months >1cm (visible) in a couple of places, go back to doc.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Your symptoms do not sound like ARS and never did; and as I told you above, you could not have acquired HIV during the exposure you described.  But why are you waiting until 8-9 weeks???  A negative HIV test now (5 weeks) will settle it for sure.

Time to end this thread.  Feel free to take the discussion over to the HIV support forum if you want to continue to ventilate your unfounded anxieties.