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What are my chances...
Dear Doc,
I am a single male in my mid-30's, and over the course of last couple of years I have used female escort services 10 times. All in the US, not streetwalkers but rather expensive call girls. Never had any unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse, condoms never broke. As far as I could tell none of the escorts were IVDU, nor have I ever done that. On 4 of those occasions I have received unprotected oral and performed cunnilingus once. I had the blood work done once just over a year ago by my PCP, all clean. Since that test I have seen 3 escorts, my last sexual encounter with an escort was about 3 months ago.
Last week I have come down with flu-like symptoms, dry cough, mild fever about 37.4 stuffy nose (may be my chronic condition, had it for years), lightly swollen lymph nodes in my neck, upset stomach, and incredible stiffness of arms and legs muscles. It just feels like I can't relax, my body just tenses up uncontrollably. Is my fear of HIV completely over-rated or should I go get tested? I couldn't find a conclusive answer on the oral sex subject. I've been driving myself up the wall reading all I can on the internet about HIV, and I'm at a loss here. My heart beats like a ten-ton hammer, and I'm feeling so stressed. I am uncircumcised, and I have read that this increases my chances of contracting HIV.
Does my story warrant an HIV test, or can I let go and get this out of my head? What are my chances of catching HIV based on the story above?
Thank you for your time,
HeartBeats
I am a single male in my mid-30's, and over the course of last couple of years I have used female escort services 10 times. All in the US, not streetwalkers but rather expensive call girls. Never had any unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse, condoms never broke. As far as I could tell none of the escorts were IVDU, nor have I ever done that. On 4 of those occasions I have received unprotected oral and performed cunnilingus once. I had the blood work done once just over a year ago by my PCP, all clean. Since that test I have seen 3 escorts, my last sexual encounter with an escort was about 3 months ago.
Last week I have come down with flu-like symptoms, dry cough, mild fever about 37.4 stuffy nose (may be my chronic condition, had it for years), lightly swollen lymph nodes in my neck, upset stomach, and incredible stiffness of arms and legs muscles. It just feels like I can't relax, my body just tenses up uncontrollably. Is my fear of HIV completely over-rated or should I go get tested? I couldn't find a conclusive answer on the oral sex subject. I've been driving myself up the wall reading all I can on the internet about HIV, and I'm at a loss here. My heart beats like a ten-ton hammer, and I'm feeling so stressed. I am uncircumcised, and I have read that this increases my chances of contracting HIV.
Does my story warrant an HIV test, or can I let go and get this out of my head? What are my chances of catching HIV based on the story above?
Thank you for your time,
HeartBeats
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
All people who are sexually active outside long-term, mutually monogamous relationships should be tested for HIV and common STDs from time to time, like every 1-2 years. On that basis, it probably is reasonable for you to be tested now, if you haven't been tested recently. But the specific exposures you describe are not particularly risky, especially since you apparently are using condoms consistently for vaginal sex. Receiving oral sex is no risk at all, for practical purposes. The average risk has been calcuated at 1 per 20,000 episodes, if the oral partner is infected-- and the odds are that none of your escorts has HIV. (One in 20,000 is equivalent to receiving a BJ by an infected partner once a day for 50 years, with HIV infection perhaps never occurring.)
All symptoms that are caused by HIV are identical to those caused by many other conditions, most of which are much more common than HIV. And yours don't sound much like HIV anyway (which doesn't cause cough, for example). Sounds like you have a cold.
Since it's on your mind, have an HIV test. You can expect a negative result and it's probably the key to getting over your anxiety about it. Then feel free to continue your current sexual lifestyle without worry about HIV.
You can find innumerable discussions on all these points by browsing this forum. But I suggest you lay off the internet, except for sites run by professional organizations (e.g., health departments, NIH, CDC) or that have professional moderators, like this one. Most other sites have as much BS as truth. Caveat emptor.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
All symptoms that are caused by HIV are identical to those caused by many other conditions, most of which are much more common than HIV. And yours don't sound much like HIV anyway (which doesn't cause cough, for example). Sounds like you have a cold.
Since it's on your mind, have an HIV test. You can expect a negative result and it's probably the key to getting over your anxiety about it. Then feel free to continue your current sexual lifestyle without worry about HIV.
You can find innumerable discussions on all these points by browsing this forum. But I suggest you lay off the internet, except for sites run by professional organizations (e.g., health departments, NIH, CDC) or that have professional moderators, like this one. Most other sites have as much BS as truth. Caveat emptor.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
See my original reply: "Since it's on your mind, have an HIV test. You can expect a negative result and it's probably the key to getting over your anxiety about it."
Everybody's tempperature can reach 99.5 from time to time; 98.6 is the average, not the top of the normal range.
You are right, that's your last question. Don't post any more comments or questions unless you want to returnyou have been tested.
Everybody's tempperature can reach 99.5 from time to time; 98.6 is the average, not the top of the normal range.
You are right, that's your last question. Don't post any more comments or questions unless you want to returnyou have been tested.
Dr. HHH,
I've been measuring my oral temperature, it's been climbing up to 99.5 in the evenings. Is it high enough to be considered a fever that could be associated with ARS? My face feels hot, and my palms and feet are sweaty, they never normally are. I've been checking my body out for rashes and thankfully I can't see any. 1 year ago I got tested for everything, including CMP liver tests and I was clean. I know I'm a nutcase, but I've been thinking about all possible exposures, and the only thing I didn't mention in my original messages is the fact that I shave my testies. I don't think I've ever done it on the same day I had sex though. Can micro-cuts from regular shaving expose me to a higher risk or am I trying to pull risks out of thin air?
I promise, this will be my last question :)
HeartBeats
I've been measuring my oral temperature, it's been climbing up to 99.5 in the evenings. Is it high enough to be considered a fever that could be associated with ARS? My face feels hot, and my palms and feet are sweaty, they never normally are. I've been checking my body out for rashes and thankfully I can't see any. 1 year ago I got tested for everything, including CMP liver tests and I was clean. I know I'm a nutcase, but I've been thinking about all possible exposures, and the only thing I didn't mention in my original messages is the fact that I shave my testies. I don't think I've ever done it on the same day I had sex though. Can micro-cuts from regular shaving expose me to a higher risk or am I trying to pull risks out of thin air?
I promise, this will be my last question :)
HeartBeats
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Although you make some a valid point about HIV and stigma, but I don't think I agree about some of your comments. Surveys show that 90% of people know the basics about HIV transmission risks, i.e. how it is and isn't transmitted. Admittedly many don't distinguish between risks from oral versus genital or anal sex, but I don't think there is "a veil of scare and nation-wide fear of unimaginable proportions". It seems to be a fairly small minority who are as fearful of HIV as the people who dominate this forum.
But enough; I'm not inviting an ongoing discussion of it. I'm glad you have achieved some peace of mind. Thanks for the thanks.
But enough; I'm not inviting an ongoing discussion of it. I'm glad you have achieved some peace of mind. Thanks for the thanks.
Dear HHH,
Thank you for helping me regain a piece of mind. I am not advocating unprotected oral sex, nor am I very proud of the encounters I have described. It was the time in my life when I desperately needed some personal human contact and I resorted to the easy way of paying for it. Sometimes uneducated fears take the best of us, and I think you're doing a fantastic service to society by running this site. HIV infection carries a bad stigma in our society, and the lack of proper education of the masses on the subject is frightening. From all the "research" I have done last week, it seems that HIV problem has been a money pit for a lot of agencies in health care, advertising, public media, and even academic research. Instead of targeting primary risk groups that deserve our undivided attention and working directly with them, we have pulled a veil of scare and nation-wide fear of unimaginable proportions.
Continue doing what you're doing, and thank you for your time and dedication.
HeartBeat
Thank you for helping me regain a piece of mind. I am not advocating unprotected oral sex, nor am I very proud of the encounters I have described. It was the time in my life when I desperately needed some personal human contact and I resorted to the easy way of paying for it. Sometimes uneducated fears take the best of us, and I think you're doing a fantastic service to society by running this site. HIV infection carries a bad stigma in our society, and the lack of proper education of the masses on the subject is frightening. From all the "research" I have done last week, it seems that HIV problem has been a money pit for a lot of agencies in health care, advertising, public media, and even academic research. Instead of targeting primary risk groups that deserve our undivided attention and working directly with them, we have pulled a veil of scare and nation-wide fear of unimaginable proportions.
Continue doing what you're doing, and thank you for your time and dedication.
HeartBeat
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