Aa
Extremely Worried...No kidding right?
I will cut to the chase. I was in a certain south east asian country at a certain bar. Met a girl had her back to my place and had sex. Condom broke that she provided and she seems somewhat worried. She went to the bathroom and immediately washed her "lady parts."...... Fast forward about 20 days. Mind you this has been playing in my head ever since as I had consumed a fair amount of alcohol at the time of the "incident." My worries were piqued when a few days ago I felt the nodes in my next and they (in my not so professional medical opinion) felt a bit enlarged. Follow that up with a fever that lasted for the better part of the night. I also experienced diarrhea throughout the night. The following day I felt a little fatigued but was still able to work though it was a bit of a struggle. Since then (total of about 36 hours), the only lasting "symptom" is a bit of diarrhea which I have all but stopped. Stool is still loose, but I have not had a movement since this morning (10 hrs). I did not have a headache, nor have I seen signs of a rash.
I understand that with Acute HIV Syndrome, symptoms can vary from some, to all, to nothing at all. So given this scenario and outside of getting tested of course, would that fever have broke so quickly? Could it return with along with more symptoms and more vigor? I will be getting tested, but I want to make sure if I can be optimistic about the results, or simply set my self up for the inevitable, which is what I have been doing to this point. Please expand on anything that I have failed to mention with regard to this scenario.
I understand that with Acute HIV Syndrome, symptoms can vary from some, to all, to nothing at all. So given this scenario and outside of getting tested of course, would that fever have broke so quickly? Could it return with along with more symptoms and more vigor? I will be getting tested, but I want to make sure if I can be optimistic about the results, or simply set my self up for the inevitable, which is what I have been doing to this point. Please expand on anything that I have failed to mention with regard to this scenario.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No change in my assessment or advice. You need to get tested, both in practical terms and for your own peace of mind. Please let us know your test results when you do. EWH
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the Forum. This was a low risk exposure. Statistically, most women, even commercial sex workers if your partner was one, do not have HIV (even in "certain southeast Asian countries", whatever that means). Further, the risk of getting HIV from a single UNPROTECTED sexual encounter is about 1 in 1000 and your encounter was partially protected (until) the condom broke) which likely reduces your risk still further. Thus, mathematically, your risk for HIV is somewhere in the range of 1 in 20,000-100,000 and perhaps still lower. thus it is far less likely than the possibility that your symptoms are due to one of the many non-STD viruses that people acquire with great regularity.
I would add that the fact that your partner was concerned was a good sign for you since it suggests that she was worried about you giving her something. Had she been infected and known it, logically she would not have worried.
Your symptoms have some of the characteristics of the ARS but not many. You do not report fevers, severe muscle and/or joint aches or a rash. As you point out, some people who acquire HIV have no symptoms at all which is the reason we tell patients that to worry about symptoms is a complete waste of time.
finally, feeling lymph nodes, if that is what you felt is meaningless as well. Swollen lymph nodes are a non-specific response to any number of stimuli including infections due to bacteria and viruses, allergic reactions and autoimmune disease. Of all persons with swollen lymph nodes only a tiny proportion of them have HIV. If you are concerned about swollen lymph nodes, the proper place to get evaluated is with a good internal medicine physician.
My advice:
1. don't worry, your risk is small.
2. Get evaluated for other STDs which are more common and can be asymptomatic. I would focus on chlamydia, gonorrhea and NGU. At this time you could ask the clinician to check for nodes to find out if what you are feeling was really abnormal lymph nodes.
3. Get HIV tested. If you have access to a combination HIV p24 antigen/HIV antibody test (sometimes called “DUO tests), these tests provide definitive answers 4 weeks after exposure. If you can only get an HIV antibody test, as is common in the U.S. then it would be about 8 weeks before you could say that the test results were definitive, although, as I said, the risk is quite low.
I hope my comments are helpful. I understand that such exposures can be worrisome but again, your risk of infection is low for all of the reason I have mentioned. Take care. EWH
I would add that the fact that your partner was concerned was a good sign for you since it suggests that she was worried about you giving her something. Had she been infected and known it, logically she would not have worried.
Your symptoms have some of the characteristics of the ARS but not many. You do not report fevers, severe muscle and/or joint aches or a rash. As you point out, some people who acquire HIV have no symptoms at all which is the reason we tell patients that to worry about symptoms is a complete waste of time.
finally, feeling lymph nodes, if that is what you felt is meaningless as well. Swollen lymph nodes are a non-specific response to any number of stimuli including infections due to bacteria and viruses, allergic reactions and autoimmune disease. Of all persons with swollen lymph nodes only a tiny proportion of them have HIV. If you are concerned about swollen lymph nodes, the proper place to get evaluated is with a good internal medicine physician.
My advice:
1. don't worry, your risk is small.
2. Get evaluated for other STDs which are more common and can be asymptomatic. I would focus on chlamydia, gonorrhea and NGU. At this time you could ask the clinician to check for nodes to find out if what you are feeling was really abnormal lymph nodes.
3. Get HIV tested. If you have access to a combination HIV p24 antigen/HIV antibody test (sometimes called “DUO tests), these tests provide definitive answers 4 weeks after exposure. If you can only get an HIV antibody test, as is common in the U.S. then it would be about 8 weeks before you could say that the test results were definitive, although, as I said, the risk is quite low.
I hope my comments are helpful. I understand that such exposures can be worrisome but again, your risk of infection is low for all of the reason I have mentioned. Take care. EWH
Your comments are most helpful and should help to pacify my fears until I get some final resolution. I would like to point out however that I did in fact have a fever for the better part of the night along with diarrhea. I didn't mention muscle aches but they were certainly not what I would consider severe. Again, all symptoms just the same.
I would assume that had these been ARS symptoms they would have lasted at least a bit longer than a few days.
The long and short of it, I just need to get tested. Period
I would assume that had these been ARS symptoms they would have lasted at least a bit longer than a few days.
The long and short of it, I just need to get tested. Period
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