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STDs (Expert Forum)
Should I test again
Answered by
University of Washington
Seattle - WA
This forum is for questions and support regarding STD issues such as: Chlamydia, Crabs (pubic lice scabies), Gonorrhea, Hepatitis (viral), Herpes, HPV, Molluscum Contagiosum, PID, Rectal Infections, Syphilis, Trichomoniasis, Warts, Yeast Infection.All questions will be answered by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D. or Edward W Hook, MD.
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Should I test again
by hypochon, Mar 13, 2006 12:00AM
Hi Doc
On november 16 2005 I got drunk and had unprotected vaginal and oral sex. I also had quite a nasty cut inside my top lip which bothers me.
About 4 weeks later I started getting what looked like a glossitis on my tongue. It scared me because it may have been erythematous candiadis. It started with a little bump which I kept aggravating by touching it and then became a red patch on the dorsum of my tongue. I also thought I had swollen lymph nodes in my neck on the right. I was getting a shooting pain through the right side.
So I went for an Hiv blood test(elisa) 4 weeks and 4 days after the tongue started hurting and developing this glossitis which makes it 60 days (8 weeks 4 days) after exposure and it came back negative.
After taking anti fungal medication for my tongue it seems better, no real redness but its become furry at the back and tends to get stained easily and turn white easily due to bacteria from food I eat getting caught. I must tell you it is furry but not hairy. The front of my tongue is perfect. The hairy back part does scare me. The dorsum centre of my tongue still looks a bit cracky and funny but not very noticable.
However at about 10 to 11 weeks I got the flu for about 4 days which went away and now at about 4 months Im experiencing slight discomfort under my arms. Im not sure if Im imagining it but my arms do feel a bit sore and irritated underneath but I cant feel any lumps
I have been under tremendous stress
My questions are
1. Is the glossitis 4 weeks after exposure a common symptom of HIV
2. Is the furry tongue at the back indicative of HIV
3. Should I get another test due to the fact that my exposure was quite high risk. 60 days maybe a bit soon
4. Was the nasty cut in my top lip something to worry about with regard to transmission
5. If I tested 4 weeks after the glossitis and the glossits was a symptom of sero conversion would I not have shown positive already
Thank you so much
Regards
Hypochon
On november 16 2005 I got drunk and had unprotected vaginal and oral sex. I also had quite a nasty cut inside my top lip which bothers me.
About 4 weeks later I started getting what looked like a glossitis on my tongue. It scared me because it may have been erythematous candiadis. It started with a little bump which I kept aggravating by touching it and then became a red patch on the dorsum of my tongue. I also thought I had swollen lymph nodes in my neck on the right. I was getting a shooting pain through the right side.
So I went for an Hiv blood test(elisa) 4 weeks and 4 days after the tongue started hurting and developing this glossitis which makes it 60 days (8 weeks 4 days) after exposure and it came back negative.
After taking anti fungal medication for my tongue it seems better, no real redness but its become furry at the back and tends to get stained easily and turn white easily due to bacteria from food I eat getting caught. I must tell you it is furry but not hairy. The front of my tongue is perfect. The hairy back part does scare me. The dorsum centre of my tongue still looks a bit cracky and funny but not very noticable.
However at about 10 to 11 weeks I got the flu for about 4 days which went away and now at about 4 months Im experiencing slight discomfort under my arms. Im not sure if Im imagining it but my arms do feel a bit sore and irritated underneath but I cant feel any lumps
I have been under tremendous stress
My questions are
1. Is the glossitis 4 weeks after exposure a common symptom of HIV
2. Is the furry tongue at the back indicative of HIV
3. Should I get another test due to the fact that my exposure was quite high risk. 60 days maybe a bit soon
4. Was the nasty cut in my top lip something to worry about with regard to transmission
5. If I tested 4 weeks after the glossitis and the glossits was a symptom of sero conversion would I not have shown positive already
Thank you so much
Regards
Hypochon
Doctor's Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D., Mar 13, 2006 12:00AM
, Mar 13, 2006 12:00AM
Symptoms rarely are a useful indicator for or against HIV infection, and many things other than HIV can be associated with glossitis or similar oral problems.
1,2) Glossitis and "furry tongue" by themselves almost certainly are not due to HIV. Primary HIV infection (acute retrovirual syndrome, ARS) always has fever and many other symptoms, not only one symptom such as glossitis. Also, those things also are associated with many other conditions that are much more common than HIV.
3) I don't know that your exsposure was "quite high risk", unless you have reason to believe your partner is an injection drug user or bisexual. Negative HIV tests at 4 weeks are reassuring, although not definitive. For your peace of mind, being tested again at ~60 days might be wise. (Some experts recommend 3 months, but anywhere from 2 to 3 months is sufficient.)
4) The cut probably made little difference in your risk.
5) Yes, if glossitis were due to HIV, I would have expected your 4 week test to be positive.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
1,2) Glossitis and "furry tongue" by themselves almost certainly are not due to HIV. Primary HIV infection (acute retrovirual syndrome, ARS) always has fever and many other symptoms, not only one symptom such as glossitis. Also, those things also are associated with many other conditions that are much more common than HIV.
3) I don't know that your exsposure was "quite high risk", unless you have reason to believe your partner is an injection drug user or bisexual. Negative HIV tests at 4 weeks are reassuring, although not definitive. For your peace of mind, being tested again at ~60 days might be wise. (Some experts recommend 3 months, but anywhere from 2 to 3 months is sufficient.)
4) The cut probably made little difference in your risk.
5) Yes, if glossitis were due to HIV, I would have expected your 4 week test to be positive.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
;-)
If it is is a woman, saying
" I had unprotected vaginal and oral sex" that would make sense to me, just saying she received it vaginally.
If it is a man, saying
" I had unprotected vaginal and oral sex" that would also make sense, just saying he stuck it in the vagina rather than her anus.
The oral part is not specific to what genitals and who was giving.
But I am sure it is a man just by the tone in which the question is written.
My test was done at 60 days, I was saying that it was 4 weeks after the glossitis which appeared 4 weeks after exposure. Therefore 8 weeks and 4 days.