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HIV symptoms, protected sex with a female escort
Dear Doctor,
I am deeply afraid that I was exposed to HIV by a female sex worker in mid-September 2010, and that I may have infected my girlfriend.
The sexual relations I had with the female escort involved oral sex and vaginal sex with a condom (the same condom was used for both acts). The escort also performed oral sex on my testicles as well. After about 10-15 minutes total exposure, I had orgasm and subsequently removed the condom and washed up with a towel and soap with water. Later that evening I scrubbed my penis with rubbing alcohol and soap and water due to fear of an STD.
Within a week's time I began having symptoms which seemed like an STD. I had burning with urination, itching, and redness on the penis. I went to a doctor who tested for UTI, chlamydia, and gonorrhea, all of which came back negative. After a week or so worth of anti-biotic the symptoms subsided.
However, in the last week of October I began having terrible symptoms.The symptoms began with swelling of the lymph nodes in my neck, which were painful. In addition I was having terrible sore throat. I went to the doctor, who prescribed me with amoxcicillan for ten days.
Yet the symptoms have not subsided. Rather they got worse. I have had chills, night sweats, low temperature loss of appetite, weight loss (5-8 lbs), abdominal pain, swelling of hands, pain in my armpits, etc.
Having consulted with several more doctors, and taking a week's worth of oral prednisolone, the symptoms have slowly started to subside. However, the neck pain and underarm pain remain.
Now my major concern is that my girlfriend is having flu like symptoms as well, including hives, headache, sinus pain, muscle ache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
Given all this, I decided to get an oral HIV test done the other day. The test came back negative, but I am still worried. What should I do? Should I get another test?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
I am deeply afraid that I was exposed to HIV by a female sex worker in mid-September 2010, and that I may have infected my girlfriend.
The sexual relations I had with the female escort involved oral sex and vaginal sex with a condom (the same condom was used for both acts). The escort also performed oral sex on my testicles as well. After about 10-15 minutes total exposure, I had orgasm and subsequently removed the condom and washed up with a towel and soap with water. Later that evening I scrubbed my penis with rubbing alcohol and soap and water due to fear of an STD.
Within a week's time I began having symptoms which seemed like an STD. I had burning with urination, itching, and redness on the penis. I went to a doctor who tested for UTI, chlamydia, and gonorrhea, all of which came back negative. After a week or so worth of anti-biotic the symptoms subsided.
However, in the last week of October I began having terrible symptoms.The symptoms began with swelling of the lymph nodes in my neck, which were painful. In addition I was having terrible sore throat. I went to the doctor, who prescribed me with amoxcicillan for ten days.
Yet the symptoms have not subsided. Rather they got worse. I have had chills, night sweats, low temperature loss of appetite, weight loss (5-8 lbs), abdominal pain, swelling of hands, pain in my armpits, etc.
Having consulted with several more doctors, and taking a week's worth of oral prednisolone, the symptoms have slowly started to subside. However, the neck pain and underarm pain remain.
Now my major concern is that my girlfriend is having flu like symptoms as well, including hives, headache, sinus pain, muscle ache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
Given all this, I decided to get an oral HIV test done the other day. The test came back negative, but I am still worried. What should I do? Should I get another test?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
This information does not change my opinion or advice.
Dear Doctor:
I would like to respond to your questions and raise a few more of my own.
I was tested for strep and mono, and the results were negative. However, as of yesterday, one of my tonsils is swollen and red. My pain in my neck is persistent, including under the chin, and the back of my neck as well. I still suffer from some chills and loss of appetite as well.
While I am glad that HIV tests do not lie, I always worry about being one of those statistics which falls below the norm. The health worker told me to be retested just in case in another month or so, which I will undoubtedly do to ease my crazed nerves.
In regards to the sex worker, I never asked if she had any STDs, nor have I been able to contact her for unknown reasons.
I would not be so fearful if I and my girlfriend were not so ill, and it is the presence of those symptoms described before which is my chief concern.
Thank you very much for your help.
I would like to respond to your questions and raise a few more of my own.
I was tested for strep and mono, and the results were negative. However, as of yesterday, one of my tonsils is swollen and red. My pain in my neck is persistent, including under the chin, and the back of my neck as well. I still suffer from some chills and loss of appetite as well.
While I am glad that HIV tests do not lie, I always worry about being one of those statistics which falls below the norm. The health worker told me to be retested just in case in another month or so, which I will undoubtedly do to ease my crazed nerves.
In regards to the sex worker, I never asked if she had any STDs, nor have I been able to contact her for unknown reasons.
I would not be so fearful if I and my girlfriend were not so ill, and it is the presence of those symptoms described before which is my chief concern.
Thank you very much for your help.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Bottom line: For sure you didn't catch HIV. Something else explains your symptoms.
You had an essentially zero risk exposure; it is statistically unlikely your partner had HIV (probably around 1 chance in 1,000) and if she was infected, it is not realistically possible the virus was transmitted during condom-protected vaginal and oral sex. As for your symptoms, what did your doctor say about it? Apparently s/he suspected a strep throat, mononucleosis, or both -- based on his prescription for an antibiotic (for strep) and prednisolone (often used in mono). Or it could be just a garden variety respiratory virus, e.g. adenovirus. Your girlfriend probably caught it from you -- there simply is no reason to be suspicious it's HIV in either of you.
But most important, the HIV tests never lie, as long as testing is done more than a few weeks after the last possible exposure, i.e. 6-8 weeks. The oral test is just as reliable as the laboratory-based tests and the negative result proves you didn't catch HIV. Test results beyond 6-8 weeks always outweigh symptoms and exposure history.
So continue to work with your doctor if either your or your partner's symptoms persist, or you otherwise remain concerned. It isn't HIV or any STD from your September encounter. You need not say anything about that to your girlfriend.
Regards-- HHH, MD
You had an essentially zero risk exposure; it is statistically unlikely your partner had HIV (probably around 1 chance in 1,000) and if she was infected, it is not realistically possible the virus was transmitted during condom-protected vaginal and oral sex. As for your symptoms, what did your doctor say about it? Apparently s/he suspected a strep throat, mononucleosis, or both -- based on his prescription for an antibiotic (for strep) and prednisolone (often used in mono). Or it could be just a garden variety respiratory virus, e.g. adenovirus. Your girlfriend probably caught it from you -- there simply is no reason to be suspicious it's HIV in either of you.
But most important, the HIV tests never lie, as long as testing is done more than a few weeks after the last possible exposure, i.e. 6-8 weeks. The oral test is just as reliable as the laboratory-based tests and the negative result proves you didn't catch HIV. Test results beyond 6-8 weeks always outweigh symptoms and exposure history.
So continue to work with your doctor if either your or your partner's symptoms persist, or you otherwise remain concerned. It isn't HIV or any STD from your September encounter. You need not say anything about that to your girlfriend.
Regards-- HHH, MD
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