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shingles - early sign of HIV
Hello Doctor, I am a 34yr old male. My sex life is on average very very limited due to my extreme work schedule however about two months ago I had oral sex with a guy but never swallowed, a week later i had protected sex with a condom with a female prostitute. After these two experiences, i had no signs or symptoms of anything out of the ordinary however i've been under extreme emotional stress for several weeks at a time due to work. Now about two weeks ago i was diagnosed with Shingles. I started my medication within the 72hr window, after i began the prescription the blisters and pain began to disappear after only two days and within 4 days after i began the prescription i had no blisters or pain. The blisters i did have did not burst and i have no scaring either. Its now been a little over two weeks and all i have is a little bit of itchy skin where the rash was the worse. My biggest fear is that everything i read on Shingles states that it is often the first sign of HIV in young adults and i'm extremely afraid that my two experiences may have lead to a possible acute collapse in my immune system that caused the Shingles or worse i am in the late stage of HIV and these shingles may have been a result of an OI (Opportunity Infection). At the moment i still feel physically fine however all i can think of is the worse and i'm afraid that my life is going to come to an end very soon, can you please help with some advise??
I just got my results back, and i'm happy to say that it all came back Negative!! Thanks for all the support!
In that case what are the possibility that the shingles was the result of a possible Oppertunity Infection?? By the way thank you very much for all the responses!
At no time were you at risk of contracting HIV in the situations you provide. Oral Sex does not transmit HIV and you had protected sex.
thats what i was thinking at first, but i'm just afraid that maybe from pre-semen i may have been infected... Its just scary and i so regret the bloody experience now. Wish i could go back in time and change everything......
I'm not a medical professional but from these occurances Hiv is unlikely. Oral is a rare route to transmit HIV & the condom was a substantial barrier.
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