HIV worry after an encounter with unknown woman in bleeding cycle

[brainstorm900]

Dear Dr.,

I am aware that oral sex is said to be either very low or no-risk. However, my encounter is a little bit more complicated:

I had a body-to-body naked massage from a white girl. She performed oral on me, and there was rubbing involved. Specifically, I never penetrated but rubbed my penis on her vagina. By the end of our session she performed a hand job. These would never have concerned me, up until she told me that she was in her bleeding cycle.

After this encounter, I had the following tests all negative:

19th day: HIV1 DNA-PCR & HIV1-2 ICMA Antibody (Labcorp)
28th day: HIV1 DNA-PCR & HIV1-2 ICMA Antibody (Labcorp)
8th week: HIV1-2 ICMA Antibody (Labcorp)
10th week: HIV1-2 ICMA Antibody (Labcorp)
12th week: HIV1-2 ICMA Antibody (Labcorp)
13th week(91 days): HIV1-2 ICMA Antibody (Labcorp)

I also tested negative for Syphilis at 16 weeks.

At week 4 I had a brief cold (no fever, mild sore throat). Between weeks 6 and 11, I had tingling and burning sensations in my right hand and left foot, and the tingling in my right hand and (pain & tingling) in my both feet returned after 13 weeks. I am connecting these to the peripheral neuropathy related to ars or seroconversion. I am still concerned because I am not sure whether or not her being in the bleeding cycle places me in a risky encounter. Because there was quite a bit of rubbing and body-to-body interaction. What if she had blood around her vagina and/or hands?

Specifically my questions are:
1- How accurate is the combination of my tests? 4 week PCR-DNA and 13 week ICMA antibody?
2- What was my risk in this encounter given the women actively being in her bleeding cycle?
3- What is the relation of nerve related symptoms in HIV? Is tingling in hand and feet something people get early or late in the infection period?
4- Should I stop testing and worrying about HIV?

Thank you for your time.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Glad to help.  Take care.   EWH

[brainstorm900]

Thank you very much Dr.Hook.

I appreciate all the years of work you, Dr.Handsfield, and people over the community forum is putting into this.

Best wishes with health.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Tingling in your hands and feet is certainly not at all suggestive of recently acquired HIV.  There are many possible causes of such symptoms including just breathing too quickly.  EWH

[brainstorm900]

Thank you for your fast and reassuring response Dr.Hook.

Without taking your time more, I would like to ask one last question, I know tests overrule symptoms but:

what are your thoughts about the tingling in one hand and feet?

the tingling in feet is not in toes, but near mid bottom, sometimes with pain in heel.

the tingling in hand is varying fingers and palm.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I'll be happy to comment, agreeing with what Teak has already said on the HIV Prevention Community site.  This was a no risk event for you.  I say this both because of the nature of the event and your test results.  

First the event.  As Teak has told you, without genital or ano-genital penetration there is no known risk.  You do not know that this women had HIV and in fact, it is statistically quite unlikely that she was- fewer than 1 in 10,000 American women have HIV.  Further, there are no instances in which HIV has been documented to have been transmitted through masturbation or through receipt of oral sex.  That your partner was menstruating does not change this.   There is no more HIV in blood than in genital secretions and in some instances, there is actually more blood in the genital secretions than circulating in the blood.  

As for your tests, your combined tests at 28 days, as well as your subsequent tests at 8,10, 12, and 13 weeks are all definitive and prove that you were not infected.

There is absolutely no reason to worry further about the event you describe and no reason for further testing.  I hope that these comments are helpful and will let you move forward.   EWH