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Hiv scare.. please advise!
12 days I ago I made the mistake of performing unprotected oral sex on a prostitute. She has said repeatedly that she was clean but you know how trustworthy they are...
Since that day my stress/anxiety level has been outrageously high. I check the internet most of the day looking up symptoms, especially those for HIV. 2 days after possible exposure I started having diarreah which lasted about a week. Also, my chest starting hurting often since that day.
Since yesterday, I have begun a red rash on my face, neck, upper back, arms, and a little in my groin area. The skin is very red but not raised yet. I also seem to itch randomly in different parts of my body and different times. I also found what looked like raised taste bumps in the back of my toungue but its a little white back there.
My question is how likely is it that I have contracted HIV? All these symptoms are really overwhelming my mental health and especially knowing that I can't get a confident test result for over 2 months!
Since that day my stress/anxiety level has been outrageously high. I check the internet most of the day looking up symptoms, especially those for HIV. 2 days after possible exposure I started having diarreah which lasted about a week. Also, my chest starting hurting often since that day.
Since yesterday, I have begun a red rash on my face, neck, upper back, arms, and a little in my groin area. The skin is very red but not raised yet. I also seem to itch randomly in different parts of my body and different times. I also found what looked like raised taste bumps in the back of my toungue but its a little white back there.
My question is how likely is it that I have contracted HIV? All these symptoms are really overwhelming my mental health and especially knowing that I can't get a confident test result for over 2 months!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You misunderstand something you have read. The antibody tests ALWAYS are positive within 10 days of ONSET of ARS symptoms.
Re-read all my replies/comments above. You're just going to have to accept the apparently difficult conclusion that you don't have HIV. This isn't a debate and I'm not going to discuss it further. My advice is to suck it up and move on. If you have any symptoms you remain concerned about, see a doctor or clinic to learn the cause, which is not HIV.
Re-read all my replies/comments above. You're just going to have to accept the apparently difficult conclusion that you don't have HIV. This isn't a debate and I'm not going to discuss it further. My advice is to suck it up and move on. If you have any symptoms you remain concerned about, see a doctor or clinic to learn the cause, which is not HIV.
Dr H I went after 9 weeks and got another rapid tests which also came back negative. However, I understand that if you are going through ARS that the test won't come back positive because antibodies haven't been produced yet. This rash/psoriasis/ whatever it is is still here 8 weeks after it started. Assuming it is the HIV rash could that be why my tests are negative 9 weeks after possible exposure?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
HIV antibody tests, including rapid tests, are about 90-95% reliable by 4 weeks after exposure. Since the exposure described was zero risk, if your test had been positive, it would have to be from some other exposure, probably more than 4 weeks ago. Thus, in your case I consider the result 100% confirmation you don't have HIV. Your symptoms don't sound like those of an HIV infection, which doesn't cause either a "sunburn" sort of rash or runny nose. And in any case test results always overrule symptoms. See a doctor if they continue, but stop worrying about HIV.
Dr.H I went to get a rapIid OraQuick Advance HIV test today and it came back negative. Should I trust this type of test and come back at 3 months? The problem is that this sunburn like rash is still here3 weeks later! Plus just last week I had a week long sore throat and runny nose. Thanks!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Stress or anxiety don't cause rash -- although they could lead you to over-interpret some minor variation in skin color or texture. If you're reasonably certain you in fact have a rash, of course you should see a health care provider, although it doesn't necessarily have to be a dermatologist.
Thanks Dr. Handsfield. Could my high anxiety/stress be a likely cause of a this type of rash or would you recommend a trip to the dermatologist to check of another cause?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your question.
You can relax. HIV has never been known to be transmitted by oral contact with female genitals (cunnilingus). Further, assuming you are in the US or other industrialized countries, it is unlikely your partner had HIV; on average fewer than 1% of commercial sex workers are infected.
As for your symptoms, they are not typical for a new HIV infection. Certainly your symptoms at 2 days cannot possibly be due to HIV; they started much too soon. And the rash you describe doesn't sound like that of HIV; and rash in HIV is always accompanied by fever, usually quite high. My guess is that the bumps on your tongue are normal taste buds. (Everybody has a row of 5-7 prominent tastebuds across the back of the tongue, arranged in a shallow V line.)
From a risk standpoint, you don't need hIV testing at all; if I were in your situation, I wouldn't be tested at all, and I would continue unprotected sex with my wife with no worry about infecting her. But if you need the additional confidence of a negative test result to help reassure you, there is no need to wait 2 months. The stand-alone antibody tests are positive by 4 weeks over 90% of the time; and a duo (also called combo) test, for both HIV antibody and p24 antigen, is 100% accurate at 4 weeks. Either or both kinds of test may be available at your local health department.
So mellow out. This was a zero risk exposure. You can be sure you didn't catch HIV.
Regards-- HHH, MD
You can relax. HIV has never been known to be transmitted by oral contact with female genitals (cunnilingus). Further, assuming you are in the US or other industrialized countries, it is unlikely your partner had HIV; on average fewer than 1% of commercial sex workers are infected.
As for your symptoms, they are not typical for a new HIV infection. Certainly your symptoms at 2 days cannot possibly be due to HIV; they started much too soon. And the rash you describe doesn't sound like that of HIV; and rash in HIV is always accompanied by fever, usually quite high. My guess is that the bumps on your tongue are normal taste buds. (Everybody has a row of 5-7 prominent tastebuds across the back of the tongue, arranged in a shallow V line.)
From a risk standpoint, you don't need hIV testing at all; if I were in your situation, I wouldn't be tested at all, and I would continue unprotected sex with my wife with no worry about infecting her. But if you need the additional confidence of a negative test result to help reassure you, there is no need to wait 2 months. The stand-alone antibody tests are positive by 4 weeks over 90% of the time; and a duo (also called combo) test, for both HIV antibody and p24 antigen, is 100% accurate at 4 weeks. Either or both kinds of test may be available at your local health department.
So mellow out. This was a zero risk exposure. You can be sure you didn't catch HIV.
Regards-- HHH, MD
Also, what other STDs should I be on the lookout for even though I only have symptoms similar to those associated with HIV?
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