HIV

[lacti]

I have had one unprotected sex with a partner only hours before she got a phone call from a doctor that she is HIV positive. After the sex which was very brief I quickly washed myself and passed urine to cleanse myself of her body fluid. Would this have helped reduced the risk of contracting the disease?

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[info1965]

Please will you tell me the outcome of your final test so far after your exposure to the virginal sex with a hiv+ woman. Thank you

[Teak]

nPEP, is not given unless one had an exposure with someone known to be HIV positive. Why? The drugs are very toxic. They can cause damage to the liver and kidneys. They can cause severe allergic reactions and death.

[lacti]

It is now 2 weeks after my HIV exposure and PEP treatment. I am doing fine with the PEP with only very slight feeling of nausea and feeling a bit cold at times but nothing really serious or stopping me from getting on with my daily activities. In terms of any possible HIV symptoms, I have noticed about 5 tiny rashes from looking hard around my body but I am not concerned about them as I wouldn't have noticed them if I wasn't looking. I had some pain on my left wisdom tooth last week but that has now gone away. My health is still very good overall and so the wait goes on. I guess the next 2 weeks will be critical. The PEP has 2 weeks to run and would any firm HIV viral infection simptoms appear on me?

I will keep you posted and would really appreciate your comments so far.

[lacti]

It is now 5 days of taking the PEP medication and 7 days since my HIV exposure.

I am still feeling fit and well but I have had 2 small pimples, one on my head and another around the lower groin area. These have burst and gone away nicely but are not unusual. My wisdom tooth on one side is also slightly inflamed but again not unusual. I am really worried about the PEP and its possible effect on my kidneys and liver.

So at day 7 the state of my health is still very good.

I am due to play my regular soccer game on Thursday evening. I am worried that being on PEP may be affecting my fitness level and engaging in such as high intensity game may not be wise. Any advise please?

[lacti]

Thanks all for your comments. It is nice to have a forum like this where you can share your experience and progress. I have not talked to my family yet about this situation.

I am comforted to know that the chances of getting this infection from a woman are low. But the risk is there in my case as the exposure is known. I also tried washing myself and peeing straightaway to reduce the risk of infection as I was uncertain at the time. This is a non scientific approach but it makes logical sense to remove the fluid from your body and urethra track ASAP. In the case of women this is more difficult if a load of sticky semen enters deep into the vagina.

When the bad news came the next day on the women involved, I was so worries about this that I consulted with a sexual health doctor same day. He did a baseline test which showed that I was negative the next day. He then put me on PEP (2 combinations, AZT and 3TC) which I went on say 2 to 3 days after the exposure. I also saw my family doctor who told me the side effects of PEP are quite devastating. I have been taking the drugs for nearly 3 days now and still not feeling it yet. I don’t know if my fitness level which is very good will be helpful to me here.

I think PEP is not talked about as it is still not understood. It is one of those very logical approaches which has been retrospectively studied by looking at medical staff who where exposed and went on PEP. The biggest flaw with PEP is that the probability of infection in a given case is still low given exposure e.g. 0.1% in my case as HIV888 indicated. So it is still not known if PEP works definitively, in particular if I tested negative (God willing) in 6 months times would it be due to 99.9% luck say or the impact of PEP?

I asked my doctor for PEP as I read somewhere that known exposure can be dealt with by taking some immediate treatment in order to stem the progression of infection. I am listening to my body now for any red flag signs of the infection getting hold such as flu like illness, swellings on glands, rashes etc, but there is also the side effects of PEP such as vomiting, nausea (my doc said I may become too ill from PEP that I may not be able to go to work or complete the 28 days course).  

I will be doing another test in 6 weeks and will keep you all posted on my progress on both PEP and tracking of possible infection. I have said good bye to sex for now until this is resolved. I will never put anyone else at risk, as for the woman who did this to me I still need to consider a response (not knowing your status is no excuse). Despite leading an active sexual life she never bothered to check her status until I asked her to do so. She even told me after, the event, that she had an ex who passed away from possibly the disease but she only had a brief relationship and that was very many years earlier. She is also devastated and confused about her situation which is now a certainty. I feel sorry for her but worried about me for now.

[Vance2335]

PEP is reserved for people who have knowingly been exposed to HIV. People who have unprotected sex with some who is HIV positive.

[hoes]

Why dont you guys tell people to seek pep... when i first looked up hiv stuff because of my scare i didnt learn about pep until a few days later... and by then it was too late

[Teak]

3 months post exposure is when you can obtain a conclusive negative test result.

[HIV888]

to make you feel better, acquiring HIV from a woman to a man is less than 0.1% which is less than the chance of a woman acquiring it from a man...


it is not 0% chance, and you need to get tested.....hope that you are negative on your result, goodluck and God bless....

[kumar007]

you might not get hiv by a single exposure,at the same time the chances are also there
what i am saying is its not 100% u might have got it
just hope you'll be a lucky person..
have faith
a negative test at 6-8 weeks will ease the anxiety that you are goin through
but test again at 3 mths for a conclusive result..

[lacti]

Thanks for your comments. I have learned a hash lesson. Would never do this again because I have sleepless nights of how a moment of madness may have destroyed my life. I have been careful throughout. As you can imagine, I ran straight to the doctor who is doing the first test to get a baseline but as you said it would be 3 months before i know my fate. For now I am just running through the various theories as to chances of escape after just 2 days of this event.

[kumar007]

you can only know by testing..
test at 6-8 weeks for a fair indication of your status..
a test at 3 mths will be conclusive..
always practice safe sex in the future