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HIV Prevention (Expert Forum)
exposure to an HIV + female. question for the doc
Answered by
Edward W Hook, MD - HIV Prevention, stds
This forum is limited to prevention of HIV and to safe sex in general. If you believe you might have been exposed to HIV and want help to judge your risk, would like advice about HIV testing, or have questions about the effectiveness of condoms or the risks associated with specific sexual practices, this is the site for you.
IMPORTANT
No questions will be accepted on the treatment of HIV/AIDS or its complications, viral load, and similar topics. If you have questions about a specific STD other than HIV/AIDS, please visit the STD Forum. Questions that do not pertain to the above topics will be removed from the forum.
If you have not done so, please review other threads in our archives for questions similar to yours and Dr. Handsfield's replies. Questions that duplicate other frequent ones, for which abundant replies exist, and that have little educational value for other forum users, will be DELETED WITHOUT RESPONSE. YOUR PAYMENT WILL NOT BE REFUNDED. The most common examples of such questions are those about low risk exposures to HIV, such as oral sex, condom- protected intercourse hand-to-genital exposure, and nonsexual contact with possibly infected blood or body fluids as well as symptoms of early HIV infection.
No questions will be accepted on the treatment of HIV/AIDS or its complications, viral load, and similar topics. If you have questions about a specific STD other than HIV/AIDS, please visit the STD Forum. Questions that do not pertain to the above topics will be removed from the forum.
If you have not done so, please review other threads in our archives for questions similar to yours and Dr. Handsfield's replies. Questions that duplicate other frequent ones, for which abundant replies exist, and that have little educational value for other forum users, will be DELETED WITHOUT RESPONSE. YOUR PAYMENT WILL NOT BE REFUNDED. The most common examples of such questions are those about low risk exposures to HIV, such as oral sex, condom- protected intercourse hand-to-genital exposure, and nonsexual contact with possibly infected blood or body fluids as well as symptoms of early HIV infection.
exposure to an HIV + female. question for the doc
by curious3872, Apr 26, 2008 01:12PM
I have read a handful of the posts and your responses to them so i have a general idea of how you may respond to my episode. This is probably somewhat anxiety driven as the majority of the posts are here but i feel there is more validity to my concern based on the knowledge i have that the girl i was with is more than likely hiv positive.
as for the details of my encounter with her, i met with her on 2 brief occassions. the first time was about 30 minutes of fingering and brief cunnliingus that lasted ~ 10 seconds and stopped once i realized she was on her period. the next day was more fingering and on 2 occassions i got some of her blood of her finger which i used my mouth to relubricate. there was also about 30 seconds worth of unprotected anal sex with no tearing or visible blood, etc. basically there was not too much contact other than the brief anal sex and the 3 times i had her blood and or vaginal fluids in my mouth. i went in for what was called a rapid hiv antibody test at 3 weeks after the episode as i freaked out when i found out she was likely hiv positive from a couple of her friends. the test involved a pin ***** blood sample from the index finger with a 10 minute return of results. it came back negative. the docs there told me that the hiv rapid antibody test would come back negative near 100 percent of the time even if i had contracted the infection 3 weeks ago. one other thing that concerns me but may not be relevant was a swollen throat that enlarged the uvula to the point of dangling on the back of my tongue for a few days, one week after the encounter. looking back now that somewhat concerns me as ive never had that condition in the past. anyway, what i am trying to figure is approximate ballpark odds on having contracted the virus based on what ive told you here and if it is warranted to go back for a test at 6 weeks/12 weeks and if so, which type of hiv test as i know there are a few different kinds. thank you.
as for the details of my encounter with her, i met with her on 2 brief occassions. the first time was about 30 minutes of fingering and brief cunnliingus that lasted ~ 10 seconds and stopped once i realized she was on her period. the next day was more fingering and on 2 occassions i got some of her blood of her finger which i used my mouth to relubricate. there was also about 30 seconds worth of unprotected anal sex with no tearing or visible blood, etc. basically there was not too much contact other than the brief anal sex and the 3 times i had her blood and or vaginal fluids in my mouth. i went in for what was called a rapid hiv antibody test at 3 weeks after the episode as i freaked out when i found out she was likely hiv positive from a couple of her friends. the test involved a pin ***** blood sample from the index finger with a 10 minute return of results. it came back negative. the docs there told me that the hiv rapid antibody test would come back negative near 100 percent of the time even if i had contracted the infection 3 weeks ago. one other thing that concerns me but may not be relevant was a swollen throat that enlarged the uvula to the point of dangling on the back of my tongue for a few days, one week after the encounter. looking back now that somewhat concerns me as ive never had that condition in the past. anyway, what i am trying to figure is approximate ballpark odds on having contracted the virus based on what ive told you here and if it is warranted to go back for a test at 6 weeks/12 weeks and if so, which type of hiv test as i know there are a few different kinds. thank you.
Doctor's Answer
by Edward W Hook, MD, Apr 26, 2008 02:33PM
, Apr 26, 2008 02:33PM
First of all, if possible it would be to your advantage (and possibly your piece of mind) to ask her directly if she is HIV infected or not. With all due respects to your friends, in my experience information of this sort from friends is wrong more often than it is right.
Now for your risk. Several facts come to mind:
1. her blood in your mouth- low risk. the virus does not get absorbed well through the oral cavity and is killed once it reaches the stomach. I would still put your odds from this exposure, if she is infected at about 1 in 10,000.
2. Rectal intercourse. This is your highest risk exposure. Brevity is on your side but odds are quoted at around 1 in 100
3. You have a negative HIV test at 3 week. Well over half of tests that care going to become positive will be at 2-3 weeks.
So should you get retested. Probably a good idea if she is HIV infected. At 6 weeks over 95% of tests that are going to be positive will be and at 12 weeks well over 99% will be.
Any of the available blood tests including the rapid test you had at three weeks will perform similarly.
Hope this helps. EWH
Now for your risk. Several facts come to mind:
1. her blood in your mouth- low risk. the virus does not get absorbed well through the oral cavity and is killed once it reaches the stomach. I would still put your odds from this exposure, if she is infected at about 1 in 10,000.
2. Rectal intercourse. This is your highest risk exposure. Brevity is on your side but odds are quoted at around 1 in 100
3. You have a negative HIV test at 3 week. Well over half of tests that care going to become positive will be at 2-3 weeks.
So should you get retested. Probably a good idea if she is HIV infected. At 6 weeks over 95% of tests that are going to be positive will be and at 12 weeks well over 99% will be.
Any of the available blood tests including the rapid test you had at three weeks will perform similarly.
Hope this helps. EWH
Rash- most likely related to something else. EWH
Took a negative PCR and a negative ELISA at 6 weeks/1 day past possible exposure. I'm guessing i'd be better off worrying about a deadly car accident if i need to continue worry about something. Do you recommend a follow up ELISA at 12 weeks ? The people that gave the tests said it would be pointless when these both came up negative. Thanks for all your responses.
I was in a similar situation, where a girl I had sex with was told by my friends to be HIV+. However, it was not true, she was not. I find that in my circles it is very common for people to mess around about people having certain STDs and etc. It think it is an awful thing to say about someone. What was your friend's concerns based upon?