Worried

[Darren517]

Doctor,

I had intercourse with a CSW and unfortunately the condom split. 31 days later I had several red swollen lumps under each armpit. They were red and tender for two days then went hard and disappeared within the follwoing three days. There was no pus or heads to the lumps. They felt just beneath the skin. I have had absolutely no other symptoms except worry. I often wear a wetsuit and would have a wetsuit rash under both arms which i had a few days prior. My doctor said the lumps were swollen sebaceous glands and not lymph nodes. He confirmed no swollen nodes in groin or neck. He will not test me for three months.

My questions are as follows:

1. If the lumps were swollen lymph nodes should I had other symptoms also?

2. Do swollen lymph nodes make the surrounding skin red and are they tender?

3. Generally how long would swollen lymph nodes last with acute hiv?

4. With acute hiv would nodes swell in groin neck and armpits together? As a general rule of thumb?

Thank you for you time.

Worried

[Darren517]

Thanks for your reply

[Teak]

1. Yes you would have had other symptoms if they were real symptoms of ARS.
2. No
3. Usually one-two weeks
4. Yes

You cannot diagnose HIV from symptoms. Symptoms are never reliable and HIV has no specific symptoms. You can test at 3 months and collect your conclusive test result.