Blood Blisters in Mouth related to HIV??

[floridag03]

Dear Dr.’s,
I am a 25 year old heterosexual white female from Tampa, FL. Back at the end of February, 2010 I had unprotected sex with 25 year old heterosexual black male. I did develop a bad sore throat and diarrhea about 10 days after the event. I had an antibody test done at 1 day short of 4 weeks which was negative along with a Chlamydia and gonorrhea swab which were also negative. My concern now is that a couple of weeks ago I noticed a small blood blister on the back of my mouth where the top teeth and bottom teeth meet. I didn’t think much of it and figured it may have been from brushing my teeth, however this morning I woke up with a decent size blood blister on the right side of my lower lip. I know other sites link oral health and thrush to HIV, but I was wondering if you have ever heard of a link between blood blisters and HIV. Other than that, I have just had a scratchy throat for a little over a week which I realize could be allergies. Since I am at 9 weeks and 2 days I plan on going to get another antibody test done at the local health department, but the results will take 3 weeks! Any expert advice that you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

[floridag03]

Thank you Dr.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

I have nothing more to say.  Your tests are negative.  I would look for other reasons for loose stools and attend to the apparent guilt that you are dealing with.  EWH

[floridag03]

Dr Hook,
I do have one last concern. Since my initial 2 days of watery diarrhea back in March my bowls have not been the same. I have had either soft floating stools or unformed stool without the water. As i went to research this topic online, HIV came up again stating that HIV cells mainly affect the stomach and large intestine causing gastrointestinal issues. I am now very concerned again worried that my issues are caused by HIV and have not shown up on the antibody test yet. I do want to believe that your statement that my 9 week results were "conclusive", but for some reason I’m fighting demands. Do you have any evidence to make sure i am in fact clear of HIV and that these stomach issues are in no way related to this? I want to try to have children with my husband, and I am extremely nervous that i may have a health issue that i could pass on to my future child. You assistance is greatly appreciated.
Thanks again in advance!

[floridag03]

Thank you and God Bless!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Your results are conclusive.  You really need not worry further about HIV. EWH

[floridag03]

Hello Dr,
I just wanted to follow up with some new information.  I did go to my primary care physician who ran all types of blood work. I believe CBC, Thyroid, Cold sores/Herpes 1 & 2, and HIV. I received the results today and all were normal. For HIV it was on 9 weeks 4 days from the date of the affair. Can I take these results as conclusive and just hope that my blood blisters and such were just a weird situation that occurred? She of course did say that all of my bloodwork were 100% accurate EXCEPT the HIV which could turn positive at a later date. Unfortunaly this ruined my positive feelings against   what you have said multiple times on this site.
Thanks again for your assistance 

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Correct. HIV would not cause this.  I suggest you see your primary care provider.  

BTW, typically HIV test results should be back in a week or 10 days at the most.  Some commercial labs turn them around in a day or two  EWH

[floridag03]

Thank you Dr. Hook,

I did go to the Health Department to have the HIV test done, but the results will take 3 to 4 weeks...which is terribly long time! Just to clarify, blood blisters would not occur this early if it was to be HIV, and you suggest that I go to my primary care? My father did have Leukemia, so obviously my two main fears are HIV and Leukemia. I would just like to narrow out one big challenge before taking on another.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum. The sort of symptoms you describe are not typical of early HIV.  On the other hand, they could well be due to a viral infection related to your recent sore throat or, if you have  recently started any new medications, they may be related as well.  My advice would be to see your local doctor and get it checked out, particularly if it seems to be progressing. He or she may wish to do a blood and platelet count to screen for causes.  As for HIV, your risk for HIV from the exposure you describe is low, particularly after having a negative HIV test at 4 weeks when over 90% of all HIV infections acquired 4 weeks earlier would be detectable.  While there is no reason not to get tested at this time, I suspect the result will be negative.  

Hope this is helpful.  EWH