Hiv,anxiety or something else

[Neil007]

Hi, at end of march I had anal sex both ways with another male (protected).Im sure my condon didnt fail and pretty sure his never did also as I also gave him oral with no ejaculation afterwards and his penis was clean(sorry).About 5 to 6weeks after i had balanitis on my penis which is still here even though ive tried creams and tablets,never had it before. About 12weeks after incident I had flu symptoms and white tongue but understand they were a bit late for ARS,they lasted for about 10 days and I felt ok but tongue is still yellow/white, seems to get worse when i drink coffee. After nearly 4 months my lymph glands swelled in my groin and neck and are still here now, my groin nodes give me a dull pain on occassion.

Would my glands have been up before 4 months or can they come up anytime if i were infected?
Is penile thrush common in ARS?
Im very worried and anxious with this,so could this be causing my symptoms?


Thankyou

[Edward W Hook, MD]

As you already point out, your symptoms are quite late to be ARS. Thus although the ARS can cause rash and flu symptoms, so can a huge number of other viruses.  The encounter you describe was quite low risk, even if your partner was infected which, at least on a statistical basis is unlikely.  Your anal sex was condom protected and therefore safe.  As for your oral exposure, the quoted risk of HIV from an oral exposure is less than 1 in 10,000 per exposure and some experts feel that oral sex is a no risk exposure (we are somewhat more conservative but we agree that the risk from oral sex is very, very low).  

My guess is that you have some sort of viral, non-HIV illness. It is now 4 months past your exposure, thus a HIV blood test at this time would be completely reliable.  Rather than dealing with lingering anxiety and concern, my advice is to go get tested for your own peace of mind.  Getting tested will not change whether or not you have HIV (I'm confident you do not) and it will allow you to get peace of mind.  Then, you can work with your own doctor to find out what is really causing your swollen glands and other problems. Hope this helps.  EWH

[Neil007]

Sorry, forgot to mention when I had flu symptoms had these small red flat spots on arms,fingers and neck did not itch or could not feel them,and they dissapeared when pressed.they are still here now.and I also seem to be having more moth alcers and dry skin..
thx