ARS like symptoms please guide me

[tjansz]

Hi Dr Jose/Sean/anyone,


I'll try to keep this short. I was worried about a low risk incident and have tested for 11 weeks ruling out HIV from that exposure. During my last tests there was a suspicious needle prick incident from the nurse before drawing my blood and the only other incident I could relate is a bruise on my neck during  a hair cut a couple of days later. I disregarded all these incidents until I started experiencing some severe symptoms.

I'll list the set of symptoms

(7 Days after the needle prick incident which is 3 days after the bruise): Got a severe fever over 38 C with a drenching night sweat , The fever continued for another 3 to 4 days accompanied by a severe blood burning sensation in almost every organ and hot flushes. Had watery Diarrhea only for 2 episodes on the 8th day and no more afterwards.

9 Days post the needle prick & which is 5 Days post the haircut: Started developing swollen lymph nodes in neck groin while having low grade fever ranging (37.5-38.2) along with burning sensations. The swelling in the groin area was sore and painful on pressure. Most of the swollen areas at the side of my neck, groin and biceps are sore and sensitive to pressure.  However there is one node under my left jaw which is totally painless. Last night  (18 days after the prick 14 days after the bruise) developed swelling on the right side of my neck which is very sore and painful on touch.

Body Rash: Developed a slightly itchy rash on my entire body while having a low grade fever from 14 days post the needle prick which is 10 days post hair cut.The rash can be categorized as mild to Itchy and the area turns flat red and disappears in a time like 15 minutes and the redness does not last in one place for more than 15 to 20 minues. Sometimes no signs of a rash but it appears during the day time with a mild itchiness. The fever fluctuates during the day sometimes no fever to medium grade.

What should I do? its only 18 days now

Thanks

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

Hello,
Thank you very much for your post and welcome to our forum.  Apologies for not having been able to reply sooner.
I honestly do not beleive that none of these incidents would have posed any significant risk of HIV infection, and the symptoms cannot have anything to do with ARS.  I simply say this because it is impossible for symptoms to occur that quickly after an exposure.  Symptoms are not relevant because they are not specific.  It is much more important to assess the possible risk and in your case I would estimate is zero.
No need to worry; no need to get tested.
If your symptoms persist, I would advise you to consult with your doctor as it would be something totally not related.
Best wishes,
Dr José

[tjansz]

Hi Dr Jose,


Thanks for the feedback and assurance.You simply don't have to apologize for the delay, we know you must have been quite busy.

It's over 26 & 23 Days from the mentioned incidents.Most of my symptoms have gone away. The last symptom to develop was a bad sore throat which I didn't have during the first two weeks of symptoms . It started after 14 days of on set of other symptoms and went away in 2 to 3 days.

Just to give you a background on my health, I've been having a garden variety of symptoms over past 15 weeks after a very low risk exposure
as shown in the below link which was a question I asked from you based on that illness during that time.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV---International/Suffering-from-very-close-ARS-Symptoms-and-clueless---please-guide-me/show/1681260#post_7683324

I've conclusively tested negative for that exposure after 14 weeks . However the  new set of symptoms which came up with a new severe fever and sweats were after 7 days and 3.5 days post suspicious incidents.


My questions are,

1.could this be anyhow a continuation of my 1st illness?
I'm not worried about my 1st illness as it looked like something totally different to ARS but being a bit curious.

2. Since you said the new symptoms are way too early from the recent most incidents to cause ARS, could it be because I was already weak from a different illness ARS process got accelerated?

Finally, I tested from a 4th gen duo test after 19 and 16 days respectively (after 12 days of onset of symptoms)  from mentioned new incidents and it's negative. I know it's not conclusive, how accurate is the antigen part after 2 weeks?

Apologies for the long set of questions and I won't ask anymore after your next reply.

Thank you very much and GOD Bless you!

[tjansz]

I'm pretty much concerned about the hair cut injury I had. it was a mild skin break but can't recall bleeding.

The fever and night sweat came up in 3 days. Is it possible for ARS symptoms to start after 3 days?

I'm waiting for an answer