please some help

[quitescared]

Dr,

I am sure you have checked my previous posts and you will see that i have put myself in the same stupid position again after finally elaying my previous fears. I am addressing this behaviour with a psychologist but for the time being this is again my situation.

Massage parlour - Female masseuse - massage turned happy and i foolishly touched the female. (inserted finger into V for about 1-3 secs. I then realised what i had done and stopped the entire bahviour. Got dressed and left!! At this point saw small cuts around nail where i had picked earlier in the day (aroundf cuticle area) Female was thai/filipino and i was in the Middle East region.

I have read posts and have asked this question previouosly myself but find i am needing your guidance once more. This occurred 3 days ago. two days after it occured my neck is feeling like it is filling with water. It is quite stiff and sore down the sides. My back is also aching. Not sure if this is anxiety feeling or early symptoms of glands swelling. My appetite is also gone and i feel quite tired.

I do suffer from anxiety quite badly but i have the following questions that i would really like you to find the patience to answer.

* Can you contract HIV from this type of incident??
* Have there been recorded cases of this type of transmission??
* Are these symptoms anything to go by?
* What would you do in my circumstances?

Secondly, I think i will get a DNA/PCR test done early to alleviate my anxieties if your answer does not fullfil this. i have read that the best time fram is 9 - 18 days post incident for this type of test, is that correct? If not what is the best time frame.

I hope you find the patience to answer my questions as i am working myself into a state of real panic. My apologies Dr for what you may deem an unnecessary question. Thankyou

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Thanks Lizzie Lou.

Last response.  HIV does not pass through intact skin.  When it enters the body by means other than sex is must be INJECTED, no land on a cut which has begun to heal.  Healing of cuts starts almost immediately after a cut occurs preventing virus from penetrating.

As I said, no further answers.  EWH

[LIZZIE LOU]

try actually READING AND LISTENING to what dr.hook has stated.  you were never at risk for hiv.  any symptoms that you are having...or better yet, THINK YOU ARE HAVING...are in NO WAY hiv related.

PERIOD...END OF STORY

[quitescared]

Sorry Doc, just cant find explanation in the archives either. Apologies

[quitescared]

OK Dr Hook i am very appreciative of your advice but was wondering if you are able to give me a quick scientific synopsis as to why this is a no risk situation. I accept your comments but the rational side of me is asking why. I have researched both here and other sites and am yet to find a reasonable explanantion why HIV can not be transmitted this way. (sorry for pushing my luck!!) Thankyou.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Nope.  If you  are concerned that you have swollen nodes in your neck you should first have this verified by your doctor.  If they are, the doctor will then decide what might be causing them and what tests to do.  There are many thngs that can cause swollen lypmph nodes.  This is not HIV.  EWH

[quitescared]

Sorry Doc, just a quick point, I am concerned about this feeling within my neck. It is right within the area of my glands and like i said it feels like they are filling water. Not sore to touch but i am just concerned (uneducated) about the onset of early symptoms. Sorry to ask a perhaps benine follow up question. Is this in any way related? Perhaps an anxiety stiffness.....apologies...

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Correct.  EWH

[quitescared]

Thankyou for your reassurance. It has helped greatly. I am still concerned about the feeling in my neck but am sure it is anxiety and my focus on this area of my body.

Bottom line there is no risk from HIV transmission in this case. and no testing is required.

Thanks for the work both of you do on this site.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Straight to your questions.  My answers will indeed repeat the answers that you have already received at the HIV Prevention Community.  

No one has ever gotten HIV from masturbation of a partner, even if they did have cuts on their fingers or cuticles - you are not going to be the first.  In your case, chances are that you partner did not have HIV and even if she did, the exposure you describe is zero risk.  

In addition,  as we have said repeatedly, the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection.  When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes. In contrast, over a given year, there is almost no one who has not had a viral illness, night sweats or both (sometimes on multiple occasions).  For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time.  In your case, the onset of your symptoms two days following the exposure you describe is far too soon to even suggest the ARS even if you had a risky exposure and the symptoms you describe in no way suggest the ARS.  

Any HIV testing you do out of concern from this exposure is a waste of time and money and is being done only to address your anxiety, not for any reasonable medical reason.  I would specifically advise against PCR testing in your case as the chance that you will have a false positive test result is much higher than the likelihood that you will find you have HIV from this exposure.

I hope my comments help.  Keep working with your psychologist to get over these unwarranted fears.  Take care.  EWH