i've heard that sometimes it takes up to 3 months to show up positive for an HIV test which is why i've worried so much. the girl i had sex with said the last time she had sex was a little less than 3 months ago since she's been tested. do you think in this situation it is still safe to say she doesn't have HIV? i've really worried a lot about this lately and felt like i've ruined my entire life. and also are rapid HIV tests as conclusive as other tests? please help
Of course HIV has been transmitted by vaginal fluids. It's called sex.
For you however, there is virtually no risk that you have HIV. Not only was your partner low risk but she has had multiple recent HIV tests and is negative. You cannot get HIV from someone who does not have HIV and her recent rapid HIV test tells you that she does not have HIV.
As for your symptoms, they really are not suggestive of early HIV (ARS). The rash if ARS is different than what you describe and transient lymph nodes swelling, if that is what you had are non-specific. Even if they were, the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection. When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes. In contrast, over a given year, there is almost no one who has not had a viral illness, night sweats or both (sometimes on multiple occasions). In addition, it is also important to realize that many persons who acquire HIV do not experience the ARS. For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time.
The risk from the exposure you describe is so low that you do not even have a medical indication for testing. If you choose to get tested, wait until 4 weeks after your exposure. the test will be negative, proving that you did not get HIV from this exposure.
Hope this helps. You can relax. EWH