Dear Doctor,
I am a female and after an unprotected episode with a male I was tested 5 weeks, 2 months and 4 months after the exposure, all negative ELISA. This is my concern. It is now a year and a half after I had unprotected vaginal intercourse with this guy and I recently came down with an illness that left me with a 100.5 degree fever and a horrible cough that hurt my chest badly (felt like bronchitis) but my doctor told me it was a viral infection but gave me an antibiotic anyway called Biaxin. Well, I felt better within 3 days but then I noticed a red throat with small red blotches on my soft palate. It didn't hurt at all, they just felt bumpy when I touched them with my tongue. I had the nurse at my college look at them and she told me that it didn't look like anything serious and it did not look like thrush either. There were no white spots at all, only red blotches. She said it probably had to do with the Biaxin I was taking. I am scared that it can be a symptom of HIV even though I had negative tests out to 4 months.
1.) Does this sound like it can be a symptom of HIV?
2.) I know there are stages of HIV where people get different symptoms, so does a year and a half after an exposure sound like I would have symptoms at this time?
3.) Also, I have a weird habit of searching for lymph nodes in my neck. If I press hard enough, can I feel them even if they're not swollen? (its about the size of an eraser tip from a pencil)
4.) Do you think I have any reason to believe the red dots on my soft palate are from my antibiotic or HIV? Thank you doctor.