HIV Risk

[lollerpoplad]

Hello, Doctor. I'm a young gay male who performed fellatio on a man I met on the Internet. I didn't swallow. He ejaculated onto my face, and some of the semen got into my eye (it stung). I asked him about his status beforehand and he said he was negative (he got tested in February). Who knows if he's telling the truth.

A couple of weeks after the event I developed a sore throat and my temperature has fluctuated between normal and 99.5. I haven't had a rash or any noticeably swollen glands or anything like that, but then again I'm not really sure what a swollen gland feels like.

What are the chances that I got HIV from this event? Should I get tested? Does the eye thing make any difference?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No, no effect of the eye exposure. EWH

[lollerpoplad]

Thanks, doctor. Is the risk modified by the eye exposure, or is that negligible?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum. You should not be worried.  For starters, most (but admittedly not all) persons do tell the truth.  You did  the right thing by asking and should continue to do this in the future.  Second, the quoted figure for HIV risk, if one performs oral sex with an infected partner is less than 1 in 10,000 and, in my estimation that is too high. Some experts state there is no risk at all from oral sex.  Neither of us on this site have ever seen or reading the medical literature of a convincing instance in which HIV was passed by oral sex.  Finally, the symptoms you describe are not suggestive of early HIV infection. While share some characteristics (the sore throat) your fever is not high, and you don't report the other symptoms of early HIV, i.e. muscle aches, diarrhea, rash, etc.  I would urge you not to worry.  EWH

[lollerpoplad]

Also, I tested negative about six months ago.