ARS symptoms?

[filippo69]

Hi Doctor,

I'm a 44 year old Italian male, sorry for the bad English. I need your suggestion and clarification.
I had unprotected anal sex (receiving) with a Trans the day 13 October and I know that is a high risk activity for HIV. I have a wife and a small son (ten months) in the breastfeeding phase. I had with her two unprotected sexual love after the accident and also for this reason I am really worried.

After one month I started to have some symptoms (even now existing).
- Complaint to the lips
- White spot on the tongue and burning sensation

Then, approximately after another mouth lymph nodes (legs, neck and armpit) started to become swollen and painful (a doctor visiting me certified it). Today, they are still there and some red blot appeared on my chest.

I did two blood tests into two different Hospitals. The first (signed on the report as HIV AB) 56 days after the accident and the second 76 day after (Anti-HIV1-2/AGp24) both negative. The day 16 January I will do another test.

Are they signs of acute retroviral syndrome? Is it possible having a negative test with swollen lymph nodes (when I did the second test lymph nodes were already swollen) in case of HIV infection? What is the probability that I have infected my wife and my son?

I am really scared … Thank you very much for your service!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Reptetivie questions:

1) To recap, do you think that if my synthoms were due to HIV the test would be positive 76 days after the accident?

Yes

2) do you think Is it possible having a negative test with swollen lymph nodes in case of HIV infection?

No

EWH

[filippo69]

Dear Doctor,

thank you for the quick reply and thank you for your advice.

1) To recap, do you think that if my synthoms were due to HIV the test would be positive 76 days after the accident? and

2) do you think Is it possible having a negative test with swollen lymph nodes in case of HIV infection?

all the best

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum.  I'll be happy to try to help. you are right, the exposure you describe in October was high risk for HIV.  Some of the symptoms you describe are similar to those that as associated with HIV however your test results prove that you were not infected.  

The signs of recently acquired HIV (the ARS) are a flu-like illness occurring about 2-6 weeks after exposure and presenting with high fever (your fever was not very high), swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, sore throat, and sometimes a rash and/or diarrhea.  These however are also the same symptoms that are caused by many other, non-HIV, non- STI viral infections such as influenza and when persons with this set of symptoms has been studied, less than 1% of them turn out to have HIV.

The ARS is a syndrome which can be mimicked by many other illnesses. That is the reason we have tests.  If your current symptoms were due to HIV, an HIV test would be positive at this time.  You have now had two HIV tests which are negative, proving that your symptoms were not HIV. there is really no reason for further concern or for further testing.  You were lucky however and my strong advice is to use condoms regularly in the future for all such exposures.  

Take care.  EWH