Am I ok?

[HopeForMe]

Hello,

I am a 40 year old male. I had unprotected oral sex, without ejaculation, several months ago with another man whom I suspect to be HIV+. I had the HIV test done about month and half after this episode, which came back negative.

Should I be tested again? Am I ok?

Thank you very much.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Sorry, no new questions in existing threads.  I would have deleted it, except I can't figure out how to do it with the new software.  You have to use the Post a Question link to start a new thread.

[lordliem2]

hi. i had protected sex with a girl back in april 10. I have felt fine and have not had head aches, fevers, or any colds. Although about 10 days ago there were some sort of purplish, dark spots growing around my elbow. I have one below my elbow that is not really exposed to the sun, another spot is on the other side of my arm is darker because i went to the beach and got tanned. I read about kaposi sarcoma and now i have become very stressed out and have felt very anxious. I am going to get tested this thursday and i know that is the only right way to find out, but what do u hink about my spots?

[Confused about HIV risk]

I apologize, I realize your statement did not indicate there was even a risk.  After reviewing your credentials on this site along with the University of Washington website, I realize you are a foremost expert on the subject and take your words as the Bible concerning the issue.  Once again, I apologize, I did not mean to second guess your statement.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Good grief.  That's an irrelevant hair split.  My reply says nothing one way or the other about whether testing is necessary or not.  He didn't ask about risk, he asked about testing; and he has already been tested, whether he needed it or not.

[Confused about HIV risk]

I was under the impression he didn't even need an HIV test for unprotected oral sex?  Or is that just receiving unprotected oral sex, not performing unprotected oral sex?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

A negative test at 6 weeks is nearly 100% assurance you weren't infected, but some experts recommend waiting until 3 months to be absolutely certain.  You really don't need another test, but it's fine with me.

Variations on this theme are the single most frequently asked questions on this forum.  For more detail, use the search link to look for threads on 'time to positive HIV test'. Or just choose almost any 10-20 threads at random.

Good luck--  HHH, MD