Cunnilingus exposure,tested,but can't shake it.

[wangdoufu]

hello :
       It's one year plus two months after the exposure now.
      
      My exposure last year was that i cunnilingused on a girl in the massage club,it was very breif maybe just 20 seconds and i was sure she was dry there before i went down. I also didnot put my tongue inside,only licked the lips and clitoris ,i was not sure whether i may lick some fluids.Since my gum sometimes get bleed,like after a tooth brushing.So i went to test for HIV.

       Last week i got my sixth time antibody tests for HIV,negative.But only one day passed,i became worried again.I can't stop thinking that i may not produce enough antibody for test  after 1 more year, or just not produce antibody at all , or  the virus may lurk in my body now and would be positive after 6(or X) years kind of things.You may ask why?because i've read some articles which refered to some this kind of cases.
          
       I was and i am a healthy person.I had full body routine check every year(includes blood routine ,HBV test) and all things were fine.From childhood till now i had no serious illness,no surgery history,seldom get cold or fever.I like climbing and running,like outdoor sports,so i think i could consider myself a normal healthy people.
      
      For myself i don't know the reason how could these people do not or delayed produce antibody,maybe they lied or they had some healthy problem and i really don't care. But all i care is if i am really fine now.
      
     So now , i came here to ask that as my normal healthy status whether i could produce antibody normally and if i can be sure i am fine and i would not turn to positive or aids one day?
                                                        
                                                                                          Really thanks
                                                                                               Alex
                                    

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No, this does not happen.  Believe your test results.  EWH

[wangdoufu]

dr,i have one last question:

could HIV lurk or keep dormant inside a person,and can't be tested out with tests,then 10 years later the virus become active and the person suddenly become positive at that time?

[wangdoufu]

Thank you dorctor, i give you my best wishes and also hope i could conquer my fear and be healthy.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I'll try to provide some facts but I anticipate that you have already heard much or even all of what I have to say.  With the testing you have had, you can be completely sure that you did not get HIV from the exposure you describe.  I suspect that your persistent concerns would be better addressed through consultation with a counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist who can help you to address your unwarranted anxieties and perhaps guilt than through more testing.  Let me do my part first however and provide the answers to your questions that I can.

For starters. the exposure you describe did not put you at risk for acquisition of HIV.  Few dancers or commercial sex workers have HIV.  Even if the one you were in contact did, the quoted figure for HIV risk, if one has oral sex with an infected partner is less than 1 in 10,000 and, in my estimation that is too high. Some experts state there is no risk at all from oral sex.  Neither of us on this site have ever seen or reading the medical literature of a convincing instance in which HIV was passed by oral sex.  This includes by all of the people who had gum disease, mouth sores, etc.  Thus, from a statistical and scientific perspective you were not at risk, particularly given how brief your exposure was.

Finally, you have proven that you did not get HIV through repeated testing.  Based upon science and the experience with thousands of persons who have actually been exposed to partners with HIV (as opposed to your situation where you think you MIGHT have been exposed but probably weren't) and the timing of their seroconversion, we can say with confidence that late seroconversion does not occur.  "Late seroconversion" is about as close to an urban myth for you as it gets.  Believe the science, put your illogical anxiety that you might be one of the first persons to experience the so called "late seroconversion" and move on.   The so-called reports available on the internet are poorly documented and unlikely.   In a few  reports from years ago, the reports may also reflect older, less sensitive tests than those currently in you.

Again, I would like you to not worry. Given that you have now carried these concerns for over a year, I suspect you cannot do that without some sort of professional help.  Thus I repeat, I think you would be best served by consultation with a counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist who can help you to address your unwarranted anxieties and perhaps guilt than through more testing.

I you find my comments helpful.  EWH