Prostitute

[help125]

Hi, writing from sunny South Africa!

I recently had sex with a prostitute from a local brothal.  Its a quite a common place and well known in our city.

I had protected sex which lasted give or take an hour.  I have to add that this is the first time I have ever done something like this, and she was only the second partner I have EVER been with.  I am a 23 year old male.

Immedietly after the incident I started feeling the regret and guilt.  I haven't slept a full night since this has happended.

Two days after the event I started developing a cold.  It is winter here now, and colds are quite common, to me this just seems like a very big coincidence.  I started itching over my whole body, and slight tingle in my anal area.  I'm at day 5 now and I'm going crazy! The stress and anxiety has really taken its toll on me and I'm worried to death that I might have contracted an STD like Herpes or worse, HIV.  I know my odds are slim, but how slim are they?

I will get tested as soon as the testing window approaches.  When is the best time to get tested?

Please can someone tell me the risks I have for contracting an STD?  Are my flew like symptons and constant itching a sign of herpes?  Please melp me!

Thank you so much for what you are doing on this site!

[gracefromHHP]

no you shouldn't be worried. as you already said - it's winter there.

[help125]

Hi, thank you so much for the quick response.

Cold might not the the correct discription: fever, headache, fatigue and chills at night.

Do you think I have any reason to be worried?

[gracefromHHP]

colds are not symptoms of std's. they are very common and can be transmitted through touching surfaces as well as just being within 3 feet of other people.  A cold is not a flu like symptom.

no std causes itching all over your whole body either.

a tingle in your anal area can be very many things. no real reason if you are just calling it a tingle to think that it's std related either.

we recommend protected sexual contact because it works!  syphilis, herpes and hpv are the main risks from protected sex and the risks of those are very low in general. if you really feel the need to test, you need to wait at least 6 weeks post encounter to test for syphilis and 3 months for herpes igg blood testing.  we don't have commercially available hpv tests for males here in the US, not sure what is available to you in your country.

grace