HIV from covid test

[vikram69]

Hi - a couple weeks ago I did a covid test whereby samples were collected from my nose and mouth using a long q-tip. the next day I got approx. 10-12 small red pimples all over my body (scattered in the abdomen, chest and sides). They were not itchy and went away on their own after 2-3 days. A week later I also got a mouth ulcer. In retrospect, the health worker that performed the test brought the q-tips in a plastic bag instead of the sealed packages that they normally come in so this got me worried that I could have been infected somehow (since the q-tip touched my mucous membranes) . Thoughts about the event and my symptoms? I've googled what an ARS rash looks and feels like but I find conflicting information online..thanks

[GuitarRox]

You won't get hiv from a q tip.  HIV is spread in very specific ways including having unprotected vaginal or anal sex (penis in vagina or anus without condom) or sharing IV drug needles to inject drugs.  That's it.  Air and saliva inactivate the virus. So, even a q tip touching your membrane of your nose or inside your mouth will NOT transmit the virus.  You do not have ARS from this issue of the covid test.  If you have worry where this fear pops into your head often, that is health anxiety.  if that is the case, that is a treatable disorder.