Symptoms questions

[symptomsstill]

Dear Doctor

I have suffered from a wide range of symptoms up to 3 months after an unprotected exposure which went like this:

fever for 2 weeks
headached for 6 weeks
lymph pain after 6 weeks lasting for 4 weeks
pimples on back after 6 weeks including itchy skin
hives after 8 weeks
fungal infections after 4 weeks
i still have symptoms today including joint pain, sore jaw, dry mouth

i tested neg for stds and hiv after 3 months

my questions are:
1. are these symptoms typical of hiv?
2. do symptoms usually come and go at once or do they come and go as in my case?
3. in light of my result do you consider me safe to have sexual relations with a new partner?
4. how common is it for someone who is hiv to still have symptoms such as mine after 6 months?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Some of the symptoms you describe are also included in the so-called acute retroviral syndrome (ARS) which accompanies acquisition of HIV in some persons.  However the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection.  When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes. In contrast, over a given year, there is almost no one who has not had a viral illness, night sweats or both (sometimes on multiple occasions).  In addition, it is also important to realize that many persons who acquire HIV do not experience the ARS.  For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time.  In your case, further evidence that your symptoms are not the ARS include their duration (the ARS lasts only a week or two at the longest), and, most importantly, your negative HIV test at three months which proves that you do not have HIV.  

My advice would be to work with a health care provider to sort out the cause of your symptoms.  They are not due to HIV.  EWH

[symptomsstill]

5. I also have a white thick coating on my tongue which lasts to this day   - i have read this to be typical of hiv infection - is this true?

[symptomsstill]

Thank you   could you please answer the specific points just so I can understand a bit more

Thank you

[Edward W Hook, MD]

You can see the answers in my text.  I will end this thread with the specific answers you request.  No questions after that:

1. No
2. No
3. Yes
4. Virtually never

EWH