Aa
HIV worry
4 weeks ago I had unprotected drunk sex with a girl that I don't know very well.We're both in college and I'm 19.I've been worrying about HIV.During sex,I only inserted my penis inside of the girl's vagina for about 5 seconds and then pulled out and stopped.She gave me oral sex first.I really started to worry about 2 weeks later when 2 lymph nodes in my right armpit and 1 lymph node in my left armpit were swollen but they went down in about a week.I noticed some weird bugbite looking marks on my arms and legs that were red and almost like pimples.The marks were spread around and not close to one another.There wasn't a lot of marks but they have persisted.I have had some abdominal and chest pains but not too bad.I have had headaches and felt tired but I have also had bad anxiety and felt depressed.I asked the girl about her sex life.Shes only had sex w/ white people and we're both white.She said shes never shared needles and is not a drug user. She told me that she has had sex w/ 4 people not including me.The first person she had sex w/ was a virgin.She sometimes had sex unprotected w/ this person and last had sex w/ this person in mid-January,the last time she had sex before me.That person has had sex w/ another girl after first having sex w/ the girl i had sex w/.She had sex w/ 3 other people but says she was protected every time,but gave oral sex to these people.She donated blood in late February and her blood was fine.She got tested for HIV a week ago w/ a rapid test and the results came back negative.She then got tested using another test and is waiting to hear back for the results of this test.I'm scared that she may have HIV and not be positive yet for it and passed it on to me.I've developed a little cough too.Please let me know if I am really at risk for HIV or not and if I could really have it.And have vaginal fluids ever transmitted HIV?I heard its possible but has it really ever happened?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Of course HIV has been transmitted by vaginal fluids. It's called sex.
For you however, there is virtually no risk that you have HIV. Not only was your partner low risk but she has had multiple recent HIV tests and is negative. You cannot get HIV from someone who does not have HIV and her recent rapid HIV test tells you that she does not have HIV.
As for your symptoms, they really are not suggestive of early HIV (ARS). The rash if ARS is different than what you describe and transient lymph nodes swelling, if that is what you had are non-specific. Even if they were, the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection. When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes. In contrast, over a given year, there is almost no one who has not had a viral illness, night sweats or both (sometimes on multiple occasions). In addition, it is also important to realize that many persons who acquire HIV do not experience the ARS. For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time.
The risk from the exposure you describe is so low that you do not even have a medical indication for testing. If you choose to get tested, wait until 4 weeks after your exposure. the test will be negative, proving that you did not get HIV from this exposure.
Hope this helps. You can relax. EWH
For you however, there is virtually no risk that you have HIV. Not only was your partner low risk but she has had multiple recent HIV tests and is negative. You cannot get HIV from someone who does not have HIV and her recent rapid HIV test tells you that she does not have HIV.
As for your symptoms, they really are not suggestive of early HIV (ARS). The rash if ARS is different than what you describe and transient lymph nodes swelling, if that is what you had are non-specific. Even if they were, the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection. When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes. In contrast, over a given year, there is almost no one who has not had a viral illness, night sweats or both (sometimes on multiple occasions). In addition, it is also important to realize that many persons who acquire HIV do not experience the ARS. For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time.
The risk from the exposure you describe is so low that you do not even have a medical indication for testing. If you choose to get tested, wait until 4 weeks after your exposure. the test will be negative, proving that you did not get HIV from this exposure.
Hope this helps. You can relax. EWH
i've heard that sometimes it takes up to 3 months to show up positive for an HIV test which is why i've worried so much. the girl i had sex with said the last time she had sex was a little less than 3 months ago since she's been tested. do you think in this situation it is still safe to say she doesn't have HIV? i've really worried a lot about this lately and felt like i've ruined my entire life. and also are rapid HIV tests as conclusive as other tests? please help
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