Scared

[cupes]

I am a heterosexual, 27 years old man, have never used drugs or had any homosexual relationships, back in october i was in dominican republic and had unprotected vaginal sex with a friend, after i came back to the states, I asked her when was the last time she tested for hiv and she said it was around 2 months before our intercourse, she also tested again according to her on dec 20th. I am very scared now since my wife is pregnant and almost giving birth and I am scared of passing hiv to my child or her. Also I have been searching for hiv symptoms and I started having cough and I feel like i have diarrhea but every time i use the bathroom is not liquid, so I think is something psychological.  I am waiting for the 3 months to do my hiv test but in the mean time I have no excuses for my wife on why not to have sex and I am really scared cuz this can end up my marriage and my life. Thanks in advance for your response. My wife also developed pink eye and is coughing regularly lately. I am scared that might be seroconversion.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Conclusive.  Move on.

[cupes]

I just had a hiv rapid test and it came out negative. I sincerely thank you dr for your time and support on this matter. Do you believe I need any more testing or should I consider this one as conclusive?

[cupes]

Thank you doctor for your time and response.

[portnoy30]

chance that either your or girlfrinds test after 6 weeks are false negatives is atronomically low, right doctor HHH?

You are in the clear my friend

Sorry for disturbing

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You describe your October partner as a friend.  Friends don't lie to friends about HIV status in this situation.  In addition, friends don't ask friends for written proof of their health status, whether for HIV or anything else.  Why would you not believe her?  Do you imagine people with HIV are hoping or trying to infect their partners?  Or that your friend would behave that way?  If the situation were reversed, would you??  

I already said that new HIV infections do not cause cough.  And whenever a person suggests his or her own symptoms have a psychological origin, usually s/he is correct.

Your mind is working overtime out of anxiety and guilt.  Deal with that as you must -- but I have given you a very reasoned, rational, and considered analysis why HIV is not a realistic possibility.  Accept it or not, but this isn't a debate and I'm not going to discuss it further.

[cupes]

I don't know if you received my previous comment. But I expressed that my main concern is if she didn't test herself, since maybe she just said that to keep me relaxed since I haven't seen any proof about the testing. However, can anxiety and stress cause the hiv kind of symptoms because I am really scared about this cough, even though its winter.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

By the way, although the HIV risk is zero, the chance of another STD -- especially chlamydia or chlamydia -- may be substantial.  It's more important that you have a urine test for those STDs than a blood test for HIV.

Acute HIV doesn't cause either conjunctivitis (pinkeye) or cough.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the HIV forum.  Bottom line:  You are at virtually no risk for HIV and can expect a negative test result.

Your Domincan Republic "friend" obviously did not have HIV when you had sex with her in October; if she did, her December test would be positive.  So for sure you weren't exposed.  And even if she had HIV, the transmission risk for a single episode of unprotected vaginal sex averages about 1 in 2,000.  Her testing history plus the low chance of transmission add up to essentially no chance you were infected.

Please do not search for HIV symptoms, which are almost never helpful in sorting out the chance someone is infected.  Most symptoms caused by HIV are also caused by garden variety, minor viruses -- even if you had typical symptoms (you do not), it wouldn't necessarily mean you were infected.

If I were in your situation, I would not have felt a need to be HIV tested, and I would have continued unprotected sex with my wife (whether pregnant or not) with no fear for her health.  But since you're anxious about it, I agree it's a good idea for you to be tested -- not because there is any risk, but for the additional reassurance you will gain from the negative test result.

Finally, you don't need to wait 3 months after the last exposure for accurate HIV testing.  With a standard antibody test, 6 weeks is sufficient.  (That's why your DR partner's negative test in December shoes she didn't have HIV in October.)  And if you search out a clinic or doctor that does the Duo test, which checks for both HIV antibody and the p24 antigen, the test is 100% reliable at 4 weeks.

Feel free to return with a follow-up comment to let me know your test result.  In the meantime, stop worrying about it.  It will be negative.

I hope this helps.  Best regards--  HHH, MD