Oral sex with burned mouth

[harrry]

I'm a gay male and in sept 07 I had unprotectd oral sex (insertive & receptive) with a man I didn't know. He didn't ejaculate in my mouth, but there was pre-seminal fluid. When I got home I ate some chips & the salt stung my mouth, I realized I had burned the roof of my mouth on pizza the night before. I checked the skin in the mirror, & it looked swollen but not broken. I'm usually careful not to have oral sex when I have a mouth problem but this time I hadn't noticed 'til it was too late. Since then I've have intermittently aching lymphnodes in my groin, which on 2 occasions was so painful I could barely lift my leg. I've developed eczema on my elbows which I've never had before, & had one bad nightsweat. I had an ELISA test at 77 days after I met the guy, and it came back negative. That was reasuring for a while, and so I went to a regular GP to see if he could find the cause of the pain. He agreed the lymph nodes were swollen, and took a CBC which he said came back normal, and so he told me to only come back they didn't go down. Another month passed and I still have the pain, so today I went back to see him, and he is refusing to check any other cause until I take another HIV test. I went to a sexual health clinic to ask someone who might know a bit more knowledgeable about  it and the Dr said that I didn't need any other tests for HIV and my GP was wrong. It's left a terrible seed of doubt in my mind though, and I am wondering if I should take another stressful test and go back to the doctor, or try to find a doctor who is better clued up about these things. I don't think he will be willing to treat me any further until I take the test.

Could that the burn on the roof of my mouth taken my exposure from low risk to a more significant risk? Does there need to be actual bleeding skin, or would swollen skin be enough to allow an infection to occur? Also, is it legal for my doctor to withhold and further examination untill I take an HIV test?

Many thanks,

F

[harrry]

Many thanks Dr Hook. Your response is much appreciated.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Sorry, missed your post yesterday.  I will answer it but for further questions you'll need to go to the HIV site.  I think we can deal with your current issue now.

With a negative blood test at 77 days, you can be confident that you did not acquire HIV.  By that time about 99% of tests that were going to be positive would be.  In addition, even with a burned mouth, the risk of your oral exposure is low.  We get many questions related to bleeding gums, recent dental work and other factors which might lead to sores in the mouth and our counsel is the same- this is not a problem.  Even with a sore in your mouth, all of the other things that make oral sex lower risk such as enzymes present in the mouth, stomach acid, etc. are present and active and, in your case, you have the proof that you did not get HIV.

I cannot explain your doctor's decision.  What tests he does and when is his decision and there in no law that a patient can have any test performed that he or she wants done.   We do not want to get between you and your doctor but there seems to be some sort of miscommunication here.

As for the persistent swollen glands, there are many possible causes of this and you need to sort that out with a health care provider.  One thing you don't have to worry about is having gotten HIV from the encounter you describe over 11 weeks ago.  Hope this helps and again, sorry for the delay.  EWH

[harrry]

Sorry to be pushy, but is there a reason my post hasn't been answered? I'm the only person in the forum without a response, and lots of people asked questions after mine. I was hoping for a response because I'm meant to be having my test today and would like to know what my chances are.

thanks, and sorry for being impatient, I'm just a little stressed.

F

[harrry]

Sorry, I meant to post this in the HIV prevention section, is it possible to move it, or is it ok for you to answer it in this thread.

Apologies,

F.