No, for sure no need to worry.
Thanks for the thanks. Glad to have helped.
Hello Doctor,
I really do appreciate the empowering information you have given me. It's kind of strange how scared I am about HIV... since HIV is innocuous to me, it's extremely hard to enjoy sex anymore without being overly paranoid... over paranoid with circumstances which aren't relative to my feelings. I over-exxaggerate and this is a problem I do recognize. I need to probably seek a therapist's help in trying to better control how I express my anxiety.
But all in all, I do thank you for your time in your thorough explanation. It's quite great that you and Dr Hunt do this for our community. It truly means a lot that you took time off your busy schedule to help answer our incessant questions! :)
So to be clear and reassured once more: No need to worry for HIV from my experiences listed above, correct?
Thanks! Oh, and Happy New Year!
Welcome to the forum. I'll try to help.
I have an initial reaction to the title you chose for this question, before reading anything else. While it is not possible to say rimming carries no risk for HIV transmission, it has never been known to happen; and based on what we know about the biology and mechanisms of HIV transmission, little or no risk would be expected.
Now I have read the details. In the context of sex with other men, you certainly are pursuing a very safe sexual lifestyle. If nothing changes in the care with which you select partners, discuss HIV status ahead of time, and do not participate in penile-anal sex (or consistently use condoms if and when that happens), you can expect to never be at significant risk of HIV. Fingering, kissing, rimming, etc are not known to have ever transmitted the virus, and I agree with the advice you had about PEP; I also would not have recommended it. And of course sore throat is among the most common of all symptoms in all people; the chance you caught some garden variety cold virus are infinitely higher than the likelihood of HIV as a cause.
As for your partner wanting to be HIV tested on his own, that doesn't suggest anything at all to me. My bet is that most people would feel the same and I doubt in signifies he is more likely to have a positive result.
Those comments directly or directly answer your questions, but to be explicit:
1) Fingering carries no known risk of HIV.
2) Ditto.
3) We agree about oral sex.
4) I agree with the nurse.
5) Almost certainly you have a cold, nothing more.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD