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ARS symptoms 2 days after.

Dear Dr Hook,

I am 24 years old living in the UK. I have had protected oral (her to me) and vaginal sex (me to her) with an escort about 3 weeks ago. Each time I ejaculated she would put me on a new condom using her mouth (possible saliva,blood touch inside of condom?). I also had hand masturbation from her without a condom.

2 days after the possible exposure I experienced the following:

-Sore throat lasting for 1 week.
-Mild fever lasting for 1 week.
-Extreme joint pain especially on the fingers and pelvis lasting 2 weeks.
-Myalgia, my muscles felt stiff and my legs felt very heavy, I could barely walk straight lasting 1 week.
-I was generally feeling dizzy, fatigued and disoriented for about 1 week.
-Low apetite, lost weight, had diarrhea on the 5th and 9th day post exposure.
-Swollen lymph nodes on neck that went away about 1.5 weeks later.
- I also may have developed a rash on my chest/back on the 4th day.
-At about 1 week after exposure my stomach felt extremely irritated and full of gases.This stopped 1 week later i.e. 2 weeks post the possible exposure.
-I have had no headaches which I usually get when I get a cold. This felt something more than a common cold.

At about 2 weeks post exposure I started feeling better and I am currently relatively okay.

1)Is is possible to develop ARS symptoms 2 days post exposure? I asked my GP and said PROBABLY not.

2)So there are people who develop ARS symptoms this soon after a possible infection i.e. 2 days later?

3)I had an HIV antibody test at 3 weeks. I am still waiting for the result. How accurate is it at this early stage?


I am really worried and I can't  stop thinking about it. I have been spending half my day since the incident searching for it on the web. Nothing is specific or certain. I stopped talking to my friends/going out with them, having lunch with them, since I fear I might be infected. I also haven't had sex with my girlfriend since and I am not planning to for at least 6 months.
5 Responses
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300980 tn?1194929400
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to our Forum. the exposure you describe was very low risk  It is unlikely that your partner even had HIV- most commercial sex workers do not.  Furthermore, as I suspect you know, receipt of oral sex is virtually no risk for acquisition of HIV as is condom protected vaginal sex. that your partner applied your condoms with her mouth does not change this.

The ARS does not begin in such a short period following exposure.  Typically the ARS begins 2-3 weeks following exposure and lasts about a week.  On the other hand, the far more common, typical viral illnesses that most people get from time to time do begin soon after exposure.

As for your test results, at 3 weeks we estimate that testing would detect over 75% of infections.  in addition, in persons with the ARS, tests are typically positive a week after symptoms begin.  

When you put all of the facts mentioned above together, the chance that you acquired HIV form the exposure you describe is virtually zero.  Personally, with regard to the exposure that you have described, I see no reason for concern and no reason for further testing.  You did not get HIV from the exposure you described.  EWH
Helpful - 2
Avatar universal
A related discussion, Should I be worried? was started.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
A related discussion, ARS symptoms 2 days after was started.
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300980 tn?1194929400
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
My opinion is unchanged.  Your expsoure was virtually no risk.  Your DUO test will be negative.  

This site is not a for debate. Neither with other doctors or with infomration from other on-line sources.  The internet, for all of its virtures is not a good place for an anxious person to seek answers.  Much information there is incorrect and/or taken out of context.  EWH
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Dear Dr.,

My 3 week hiv test was a simple antibody test and it was negative. According to your saying, is it safe to assume that the symptoms I was having was not a result of ARS?

I have been feeling very stressed out ever since I got the results back so today (5weeks+ 2days post last exposure) I went for an HIV DUO test. I was told by the physician there, that my exposure was certainly not a low risk one and that the 3-week simple antibody test was not a clear indication of my status nor that ARS could in fact have an impact on the 3-week antibody test result.

This made me feel worse than ever and I am now waiting in agony for the HIV DUO test results. I have come to lost any drop of hope I had, and to make things worse, after an exhaustive search online I did find HIV positive people whose symptoms began 2-3 days after the exposure that were similar to the ones I was having.



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