Aa
scared and axious
Im a 28 year old white male who got drunk and had unprotected sex with a white woman in her late 40's. It was for maybe 3-4 minutes and I did not ejaculate. Also she was very wet. This happened four months ago and until now I never thought about HIV. Now I am anxious and have been not eating and losing sleep over it the last few nights and have been panicking for some reason, just from the worry and from staying up all night reading this forum.
I have had no symptoms other than an itchy rash on my thighs I attributed to sleeping outside one night. The itching showed up a month after I had sex with her and I assumed it was a heat rash or something. The rash itself was pretty much non existent, just itching. And it itches more when its humid and I sweat.
What are the odds I got something from her? It was only one time, did not ejaculate, but she was wet down there if that helps any. Please help.
I have had no symptoms other than an itchy rash on my thighs I attributed to sleeping outside one night. The itching showed up a month after I had sex with her and I assumed it was a heat rash or something. The rash itself was pretty much non existent, just itching. And it itches more when its humid and I sweat.
What are the odds I got something from her? It was only one time, did not ejaculate, but she was wet down there if that helps any. Please help.
"Why are the risks so low for male to female? 1/2000? and the other person said 1 in a million? how can that be?"
1 in 2000 transmission statistic assumes that the partner was infected. However, you don't know whether your partner had HIV. So obviously, your risk is much lower than that number, and has to take into account the chance that your partner had HIV, which is less than 1 in 1000. Your risk is the product of those two numbers (less than 1 in 2 million).
1 in 2000 transmission statistic assumes that the partner was infected. However, you don't know whether your partner had HIV. So obviously, your risk is much lower than that number, and has to take into account the chance that your partner had HIV, which is less than 1 in 1000. Your risk is the product of those two numbers (less than 1 in 2 million).
it did help. thanks. I think maybe Im over thinking all this. Ive lost sleep the last two nights worrying about what if.
I also remember one of the doctors here in another topic say you could have sex with a woman whos positive every day for 5 years before catching it. thanks a lot everyone. I really appreciate the help. Maybe I can get some sleep tonight.
I also remember one of the doctors here in another topic say you could have sex with a woman whos positive every day for 5 years before catching it. thanks a lot everyone. I really appreciate the help. Maybe I can get some sleep tonight.
Like I said, I can't vouch for these numbers. I don't know what to believe either when it comes to these numbers, but I'd be more inclined to believe that it's closer to 1/2000 than 1/1000000. Trust me, even the 1/2000 number boggles my mind too. It makes me wonder how it is possible for someone to get HIV from one encounter with such low odds. The only hypothesis I am able to make from it is this:
Think about how many people in the world have sex. Think about how many people are promiscuous. Think about how many people have unprotected sex. A lot. Now you, yourself, may have had one possible exposure, but with there being many, many people out there, having sex and sometimes, unprotected (most people are HIV neg, but a small, small percentage of people are positive- 0.6% in the US I think is the number in the US). It's 2009, we're not a world of saints, many people are out there doing their dirt. Sooner or later, that seemingly low odd of 1/2000 or whatever it may be is gonna hit somebody somewhere. Hope that made sense.
Think about how many people in the world have sex. Think about how many people are promiscuous. Think about how many people have unprotected sex. A lot. Now you, yourself, may have had one possible exposure, but with there being many, many people out there, having sex and sometimes, unprotected (most people are HIV neg, but a small, small percentage of people are positive- 0.6% in the US I think is the number in the US). It's 2009, we're not a world of saints, many people are out there doing their dirt. Sooner or later, that seemingly low odd of 1/2000 or whatever it may be is gonna hit somebody somewhere. Hope that made sense.
I meant female to male. female to male is 1/2000? can someone explain how this is can be?
Why are the risks so low for male to female? 1/2000? and the other person said 1 in a million? how can that be?
24 hour bug? Try 1-2 weeks of absolute hell, feeling like literal death. I've read up personal accounts of people who have suffered ARS (acute retroviral syndrome, the beginning symptoms of early HIV) and it goes WAY, WAY beyond a 24 hour bug. Some of these people were like bed ridden and some even went to the ER. I had similar symptom worries- I suffered from a few night sweats post-exposure and was worrying about it. Turns out night sweats are a common symptom of anxiety and minor sweats are nothing compared to the ones you get with ARS symptoms.
As for if you should look for other symptoms, no you shouldn't. Two reasons: ONE, because many of the symptoms that are said to be associated with HIV are incredibly non-specific. For instance, a sore throat. A sore throat can be and is much more likely to be attributed to a cold, strep, allergies, sinus infection, etc. TWO, because often times, HIV can be asymptomatic for years so there may be nothing to even look for. If you try to rely on symptoms to self-diagnose yourself, you'll go crazy. For instance, if you catch the flu in the winter and you believe it's HIV-related, your anxiety will skyrocket because of it, which will just make you feel even worse. That's why doctors tell you not to rely on symptoms for HIV.
As for if you should look for other symptoms, no you shouldn't. Two reasons: ONE, because many of the symptoms that are said to be associated with HIV are incredibly non-specific. For instance, a sore throat. A sore throat can be and is much more likely to be attributed to a cold, strep, allergies, sinus infection, etc. TWO, because often times, HIV can be asymptomatic for years so there may be nothing to even look for. If you try to rely on symptoms to self-diagnose yourself, you'll go crazy. For instance, if you catch the flu in the winter and you believe it's HIV-related, your anxiety will skyrocket because of it, which will just make you feel even worse. That's why doctors tell you not to rely on symptoms for HIV.
I did have a 24 hour bug which I thought was the flu or from something I ate about a month afterwards, but it only lasted like 12 hours or so and I was also hungover. Are there any symptoms I should look for now? Its been 4 months. thanks for the help.
In the range of 1 in a million. Older people have lower prevalence of STDs in general- the reason should be fairly obvious.
Hey man, the risk figures for female to male HIV transmission in a one-time encounter is said to be very, very low- like 1/2000 or something. I'm not a doctor, nor do I do professional medical research regarding this topic, so I can't vouch for those numbers. I'm just going by the majority of what I've come across reading.
If you had experienced any symptoms relating to HIV (which they say 50-90% of persons infected experience), would have been about 2-4 weeks post exposure and they would have consisted of the following: high fever with sweats/chills, intense sore throat, body aches and pains, basically like a really really bad fever. If you had experienced these symptoms, you would have definitely known it as they seem to run together and are INTENSE. Don't sweat the rash; I've never heard anything about a rash being a symptom. But just as a side note, if it persists, you may want to see a dermatologist.
All you can do is go for an HIV test, or else it will continue to plague your mind like it did to me for four months last year before I finally went in to get tested. Based on your exposure and the risks estimates, I believe your risk to be low. But still, go get tested.
If you had experienced any symptoms relating to HIV (which they say 50-90% of persons infected experience), would have been about 2-4 weeks post exposure and they would have consisted of the following: high fever with sweats/chills, intense sore throat, body aches and pains, basically like a really really bad fever. If you had experienced these symptoms, you would have definitely known it as they seem to run together and are INTENSE. Don't sweat the rash; I've never heard anything about a rash being a symptom. But just as a side note, if it persists, you may want to see a dermatologist.
All you can do is go for an HIV test, or else it will continue to plague your mind like it did to me for four months last year before I finally went in to get tested. Based on your exposure and the risks estimates, I believe your risk to be low. But still, go get tested.
but how low is "low risk" and why is it people say that anyone whos older (40+) is low risk of having it? Sorry for the questions, Im just really stressed out and scared.
The extent of your concern is not commensurate with your risk, which is very low. While it is true that bar pickups are relatively higher risk for STDs and HIV, the type of partner you describe is very unlikely to have HIV.
You should get tested for HIV, as well as other STDs. For HIV, you can test at 6 weeks and then again at 3 months. At 6 weeks, a negative result is a strong indication that you weren't infected, and is not likely to change at subsequent testing intervals. At 3 months the negative result is definitive, proving that you were not infected.
In the meantime try to keep your mind off of HIV, including searching for information on the internet. I guarantee that the more you read about HIV the worse your anxiety will get, and there is really no point in doing so anyway. The only way you can be sure of your status is through testing.
You should get tested for HIV, as well as other STDs. For HIV, you can test at 6 weeks and then again at 3 months. At 6 weeks, a negative result is a strong indication that you weren't infected, and is not likely to change at subsequent testing intervals. At 3 months the negative result is definitive, proving that you were not infected.
In the meantime try to keep your mind off of HIV, including searching for information on the internet. I guarantee that the more you read about HIV the worse your anxiety will get, and there is really no point in doing so anyway. The only way you can be sure of your status is through testing.
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