Rash in legs and arms - HIV related?

[longrock10]

Doctor,

I'm a 36 year old male, general good health.

About a week ago I started feeling an itch in my left leg, close to the front of my knee towards the inner side of the thigh. At first it looked like an insect bite: couple of reddish raised "pimples", small, and itchy. I scratched several times, and the skin got irritated in that area. Gradually, other similar bumps started to appear, some of them close to the original one like a cluster and others in isolation on the other side of that same kne and my calf. All very itchy.

The original affected area, got very red, and after a few days it developed blisters. Still itchy there. Now in that original place skin is starting to look somewhat better.

A few other spots have appeared in my other calf and my arms. most of them seem to be following the same course: start as a raised bump then blister. Some have at first a white tip, others a slightly darker one.

In addition to the rash, I have also experienced some stomach discomfort and a little bit of diarrhea for 1 day (this is back to normal now), but no fever that I have been aware of. And of course I have been feeling very stressed about the whole situation.

Now, the HIV connection: about 4 weeks ago I had vaginal intercourse with an escort. Used condom which did not break. Different condom was used each time - 3 in total -. My main concern here is that she supplied the condoms and I did not check if they were Latex which is from what I know the only really safe material.

Hence, my specific questions are:

1. If the condom was not latex, to what extent this was a risk?
2. Does an HIV rash typically itch so much?
3. Does an HIV rash usually develop as blisters and with the general characteristics I have described above?
4. If you don't think this is HIV related, any other possible suggestions?

I'm seeing a dermatologist next week, but in the meantime would appreciate some initial info to help calm my nerves.

Thanks a lot.

[jack1260]

Hi Longrock10, Did u test for HTLV. HTLV test are not included in normal STD screening but it is very much spread out there. Please test HTLV if you still having weak legs, constipation, back pain, neurological problems.

[longrock10]

Dr. Gonzales,

Thanks a lot for your explanation. This makes me feel a lot better.

One of the reasons why I was so concerned is that after googling about my rash, and finding information on the Internet on whether HIV rashes itch or not, I have found some sites where they say that it does rash, so that was confusing me a lot. May I ask a follow-up question on this? you seem to be pretty certain that it does not itch, can you provide more background on your answer please?

Thanks a lot-

[Dr. Jose Gonzalez-Garcia, MD, MRCGP, PhD]

Hello,
Thank you for your post.  Here are your answers:

1. If the condom was not latex, to what extent this was a risk?
MOST CONDOMS ARE MADE OF LATEX AND I AM SURE THAT THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY SAFE.  AFTER ALL THE ESCORT LADY HAS TO PROTECT HERSELF AS SHE WOULD BE THE ONE AT RISK ALL THE TIME.  THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR HERE IS THAT THE CONDOMS REMAINED IN PLACE AND INTACT AND THAT IS SAFE.
2. Does an HIV rash typically itch so much?
NO, IT DOES NOT ITCH.
3. Does an HIV rash usually develop as blisters and with the general characteristics I have described above?
NO, IT DOES NOT.  YOUR RASH IS NOT RELATED TO HIV SERO-CONVERSION
4. If you don't think this is HIV related, any other possible suggestions?
DIFFICULT TO TELL WITHOUT SEEING YOU AS IT COULD BE MANY THINGS.  IT WOULD BE BEST TO WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE DERMATOLOGIST.  ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT IT IS NOT HIV RELATED.

Best wishes,
Dr José