std's worried respond asap

i recently had unprotected sex with a questionable female about 3 days ago and i have noticed a break out of red spots on my chest. i ahve heard hiv does that and i was wondering if i could have these symptoms so soon and also how long do i have to wait before i can be tested bya  doctor to see if i have it or anyother std?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Whatever the red spots are, they aren't an STD, not HIV, and not related to sex 3 days previously.

There are so many posts in this forum by men, but rarely by women, who have unrealistic levels of anxiety after single sexual encounters with women they consider risky.  It's interesting, because women are far more at risk than men when they have sex with a partner with a questionable past.  Over 90% of the time, if a man gets infected, he will notice symptoms.  So you can just sit tight; if no penile discharge, urinary discomfort, or genital lesions/sores develop within 2 weeks, you probably are home free.  HPV is an exception; most infections are asymptomatic.  But getting HPV generally doesn't matter, especially in men; and we all get it somewhere along the line anyway.  HIV is an exception too, but it is so rarely acquired from a single episode of vaginal intercourse that that risk also can usually be discounted.

By contrast, women ARE at high risk for getting infected and not then having symptoms that lead to testing.  Yet it is almost exclusively men who develop these anxieties--or who post them on this forum.  I'm not criticizing you for raising it (or for being a male!)--just pointing out an interesting observation.  

The take-home message for all readers:  If you are a woman who has unsafe sexual encounters from time to time, you need to be periodically tested for common STDs and HIV.  If you are a man in the same situation, routine testing usually isn't required unless you develop symptoms.  (There is some controversy here, and it can't hurt for sexually active men to be tested once a year or so--but it's a lower priority than for women.)

Of course these are generalizations, and there are exceptions; and this advice doesn't apply when you know for sure that a new partner has a particular infection.

Best wishes--   HHH, MD

[marc632]

hey thanks alot for your responce and the quickness of it i really appreciate the good news but i still plan to be tested anyways just to make sure you know but thanks agian and have a good day

[Is this Herpes? Please help]

I need some help. I have been married for 8 years. I have recently had a cut at the top of my vagina and a bump come up on my vagina i thought it was a ingrown hair so i popped it puss came out, two days later the cut and bump was worse. I kept hurting and there was a lot of white dishcharge it was getting worse hurt bad. I went to my family md who has known my husband and family for quiet some time. He told me it could be herpes asked if my husband or i had any cold sores recently, my husband had a little crack in the corner of his mouth 2 weeks before my problem, he only had the cut for about 2 days. My md gave me Valtrex to take for the next 10 days. Md tried to reassure me that my husband and i could have had rough sex(which we did) that the cut came from that and just got infected. But we would know if it was herpes if it came back. I'm confused if this is herpes only having one partner for the last 8 years how did i get it, I'm having a hard time with this and its causing some trouble in my marriage Please help!