HIV or Herpes

[ota598]

Hi,i'm 27 years old male, well i had unprotected sex many times but never with prostitute , recently i have a girlfriend and we've been together for 3 months, first time we had sex it was in 22nd of may 2011 as i remember well and it was unprotected,  i haven't noticed any symptoms since then, but 10 days ago we had sex after that i noticed a small red pimple on my pubic area while i was shaving and it burned i thought its from shaving so i forgot about it, the day after i saw my girl and we had sex but during intercourse it hurted me so i stopped and i noticed another sore pimple popped out and slight pain when swallowing the next day so i decided to see a doctor, i went to an std provider " doctor" and she checked out my pubic area and first she thought i have syphilis so she wanted me to make a blood test and i did, the day after i went back there and the results came out negative and she told me that it might be herpes so now my test also was included hiv 1 and hiv 2 !! and i have to go back in 15 days to get the results , currently i have 4 to 6 open sores, 2 on the shaft and 4 on my pubic area and they itch alot and painful as well with redness around  also painful swollen glands in my groin only and some slight tingling feeling in my joints , i'm so confused is this genital herpes or initial hiv symptoms?  

i have anxiety most of the time and i cant sleep as well please help me with some information?

i'm so confused about what i have exactly so what is the average time frame for other symptoms related to hiv to appear if i have it already?  can hiv stay dormant even with genital herpes symptoms appearing ?

i've read once in an article that there is increasing evidence that  hiv and herpes appears simultaneously additionally till today i have no other symptoms related to hiv like fever or rash of diarrhea or other swollen glands..    

PLEASE ADVICE ... thanks    

[Edward W Hook, MD]

This will be the last answer. You do not seem to be hearing the advice I have provided and keep repeating yourself.  To diagnosis these lesions you need to be EXAMINED (this means seen and examined, not asking for advice over the internet) at a setting where and experienced clinician can test as needed, including a herpes culture if needed.  The longer you delay this the less likely it is that you will get the diagnosis you want.  

There will be no further answers to these repetitive questions.  EWH

[ota598]

well doctor Edward thanks a lot for your help, this was really helpful.

on the other side i just want to mention something, the description is the following:

i have small red blisters as a cluster around my pubic area which hair grows also on the shaft of my penis only i have three . these blisters became small ulcers with fluid inside and usually don't bleed unless i scratch them. in about a week after they became a crust i mean these small ulcers have bloody crust now, the itchy feeling almost gone and i barely feel pain. this whole process took ten days. also my swollen lymph nodes in my groin are notable and slightly painful if i touch them before they were a bit enlarged and painful as well.

i hope this description help you to find out should i worry or not. this is my last thing and i would really appreciate it if you reply.

Sorry if I'm bothering you and thank you again.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Sorry, I still don't understand your question about symptoms.

Blood tests may not be helpful for diagnosing herpes.  You need a culture if the lesions are still there.

Tender is painful.

What is clear is that your anxiety is getting the best to you. Asking questions about symptoms and bumps will not help this.  Perhaps you should talk to someone.  

Your "bumps" on your tongue are likely normal and are irrelevant.

I will not continue to try to reassure you that every "new" (actually, that means newly noted as you search for signs of infection) bump, skin irregularity, or possible symptom you identify is  not inicative of infection.  You are wasting your time.  EWH

[ota598]

also doctor i forgot to tell you theres a small red bumbs in the back sruface of circumvallate papillae in tongue are not painful,, what this could be?  are these related ?

[ota598]

Dear DR. EWH,

what i meant by this is as long as my body reacted and showed symptoms might be for another condition, so if i'm HIV positive i should have had already the rest of the symptoms, Right?? IF i have it ??


first i did a blood test for syphilis and already HIV 1 and HIV 2 were included in that test as well ,that's why i'm worried so when i came back the day after the results for syphilis came out negative so they decided to do HSV 1 HSV 2 tests from the same blood sample and now in two weeks the results will come up with HIV tests as well, but there was no culture made for HSV.

now i don't get what do you mean exactly by tender my swollen lymph nodes are notable as a pea in both sides of my groin and are painful so is this TENDER ??


i wish you can give me some additional answers for each , i know this might be sound silly but i am so stressed and confused doc.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Dormant?  Not sure what you mean by this.  People with HIV can be asymptomatic and persons who have both HIV and other STDs may not transmit all infections at once.  

I still cannot tell you what the "pimples" might be.  You indicated that a culture for HSV was taken. That will tell the story.  If a culture for HSV was not taken from the lesions, it should be.  

You are repeating questions.  You've already been told that swollen tender lymph nodes are not a sign of HIV and that when persons have swollen nodes with HIV they are located at multiple locations around the body and are not tender.  EWH

[ota598]

Dear Dr EDW,

Firstly, Thanks for your kind reply but actually i'm still worried.

just some more questions,  can HIV stay dormant even with experiencing other stds symptoms ?

the pimples slightly pus watery fluid turned out to be clusters later on , and the itchy feeling slowly disappearing of course they were painful with the rest of the symptoms i've mentioned to you.. so what to you think my case now?


also what are the swollen glands in my groin area that are painful..? also i'm experiencing  headaches infrequently and not often.


so would all that be hiv early symptoms ? Please doc. just be more specific because I'm being so stressed lately... thanks again and sorry if I'm repeating some questions.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum  I've read your interactions on the HIV community site and can see that you have gotten much useful information there.  Without  examining you it is difficult to assess what the bumps you describe might be but the sorts of bumps you describe are not characteristic of HIV.  While any person who is sexually active with sex partner whose HIV status they do not know can acquire HIV, it is uncommon and, as I've said, nothing you've reported makes me overly concerned that this might be your problem or the origin of the "bumps" you mention.

One clinician you saw was concerned about syphilis and you were tested and found not to have syphilis  (syphilis tests are very reliable.  Indeed, herpes skin lesions can mimic those of syphilis, but so can many other things including benign skin conditions such as folliculitis.  Testing is the right way to go and I'm pleased that you have been tested and results will soon be available. The other thing that is likely to be helpful at this time would be for your current partner to be tested. sometimes a diagnosis in one's partner is helpful in sorting such matters out.  

I hope this helps.  Getting tested was the right thing to do.  EWH