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Extremely worried - please assess my risk
Hello doctors,
I have asked this question on the public forum before and was advised that I should have little to no risk with my possible exposure with a CSW in Singapore about 2 months ago but I would like some reassurance from an expert if possible.
About 7 weeks ago, I was in Singapore and I visited one of the legalized brothels and had intercourse with a CSW. At first, she gave me oral sex with a condom on and afterwards, we had intercourse which lasted about 15 minutes with the same condom. In the end, the ejaculate was on the tip of the condom and it did not appear to have broken.
About two days after the exposure, I had a sore throat and it turned into a cough in the end. The cough did not subside until about three weeks after and I came across with a rash on my chest and stomach about five days after the possible exposure. The cough is now gone but but it has been about 7 weeks and the rash is still there. I haven't noticed any fever or malaise during the course of me being sick. I also had no loss of appetite. There has been once or twice where I did notice that my body temperature was higher than usual but I didn't feel any shivering or coldness of any sort.
The rash I still have is not raised at all, pink in color and is only noticeable when you're looking at my chest with bright lighting conditions. In normal lighting conditions, you can only notice it if you're looking right at it.
My questions are
1) Do my symptoms resemble ARS? I know that a cough with mucus is normally not associated with ARS.
2) How long does the ARS rash last?
3) Should I get tested for HIV? This is my only exposure in question.
4) What are the chances of me getting HIV from this single exposure?
I have asked this question on the public forum before and was advised that I should have little to no risk with my possible exposure with a CSW in Singapore about 2 months ago but I would like some reassurance from an expert if possible.
About 7 weeks ago, I was in Singapore and I visited one of the legalized brothels and had intercourse with a CSW. At first, she gave me oral sex with a condom on and afterwards, we had intercourse which lasted about 15 minutes with the same condom. In the end, the ejaculate was on the tip of the condom and it did not appear to have broken.
About two days after the exposure, I had a sore throat and it turned into a cough in the end. The cough did not subside until about three weeks after and I came across with a rash on my chest and stomach about five days after the possible exposure. The cough is now gone but but it has been about 7 weeks and the rash is still there. I haven't noticed any fever or malaise during the course of me being sick. I also had no loss of appetite. There has been once or twice where I did notice that my body temperature was higher than usual but I didn't feel any shivering or coldness of any sort.
The rash I still have is not raised at all, pink in color and is only noticeable when you're looking at my chest with bright lighting conditions. In normal lighting conditions, you can only notice it if you're looking right at it.
My questions are
1) Do my symptoms resemble ARS? I know that a cough with mucus is normally not associated with ARS.
2) How long does the ARS rash last?
3) Should I get tested for HIV? This is my only exposure in question.
4) What are the chances of me getting HIV from this single exposure?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No, it would not be typical for the rash of ARS to last longer than a week. EWH
Thank you for your reply doctor Hook. I know the symptoms are not a good source for a diagnoses but out of curiosity, how long does the ARS rash last?
I saw a doctor in regards to the cough and he did not prescribe me any antibiotics and mentioned that I most likely just caught a cold virus and I just need time to allow my body to fight it off. As for the rash, he mentioned it's common to have a rash from any type of virus.
The cough did subside but the rash still remains. Is it normal for an ARS rash to last this long?
I saw a doctor in regards to the cough and he did not prescribe me any antibiotics and mentioned that I most likely just caught a cold virus and I just need time to allow my body to fight it off. As for the rash, he mentioned it's common to have a rash from any type of virus.
The cough did subside but the rash still remains. Is it normal for an ARS rash to last this long?
additional details
- when she gave me oral, she made sure her teeth did not touch the condom
- no swollen lymph nodes or any other symptoms
- I also have another type of rash on my shoulders which are needle sized marks and red in color, would this have any relation to ARS?
- when she gave me oral, she made sure her teeth did not touch the condom
- no swollen lymph nodes or any other symptoms
- I also have another type of rash on my shoulders which are needle sized marks and red in color, would this have any relation to ARS?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the Forum. I will validate the information that you have already received from the HIV Prevention Community site. There was no risk for HIV from the exposure you describe. Worldwide, in legalized brothels, the women are regularly checked for HIV and for other STDs and condom use is regularly practiced. Both of these actions make the risk of infection form exposures in the brothels less than the risk from picking up someone in a bar. In your case, condom protected sex is safe sex and therefore there was no risk for HIV or for other STDs from the exposure you describe.
As for your symptoms. They, in part, resemble the ARS but there are important differences. The ARS s does not begin until about 2 weeks following exposure, not a two days. In addition, cough is not a prominent part of the ARS but high fever and severe muscle aches, neither of which you mention are. Finally and most important. it is important to remember that the symptoms of the ARS are non-specific and are also caused by a huge number of other common community acquired viral infection. Thus, when at risk persons get ARS symptoms, the chance that it is due to HIV is less than 1%.
I would not worry about HIV. If you must for your peace of mind, I'd suggest getting a single HIV antibody test. At 8 weeks all persons who acquired HIV would have positive tests. Your test will be negative and therefore will PROVE that you did not get HIV from the exposure you describe above.
I hope my comments are helpful. EWH
As for your symptoms. They, in part, resemble the ARS but there are important differences. The ARS s does not begin until about 2 weeks following exposure, not a two days. In addition, cough is not a prominent part of the ARS but high fever and severe muscle aches, neither of which you mention are. Finally and most important. it is important to remember that the symptoms of the ARS are non-specific and are also caused by a huge number of other common community acquired viral infection. Thus, when at risk persons get ARS symptoms, the chance that it is due to HIV is less than 1%.
I would not worry about HIV. If you must for your peace of mind, I'd suggest getting a single HIV antibody test. At 8 weeks all persons who acquired HIV would have positive tests. Your test will be negative and therefore will PROVE that you did not get HIV from the exposure you describe above.
I hope my comments are helpful. EWH
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