Aa
Risk Assessment
Dr.
I've been very worried HIV infection and Im certainly looking for some advice.
I'm a 25 year old, white hetero male. I tested negative for HIV on July 11th after not having any sort of sexual contact for 3.5 months and I was very careful before that. On August 8th I met a 26 year old white female at a bar and had unprotected sex with her. I highly doubt she was a drug user and she claimed that she was tested regularly. I was drunk and made a mistake and now I'm really worried.
On August 18th I received protected oral sex and very brief protected vaginal sex from a worker in a massage parlour in san francisco. I didn't ejaculate and the condom didn't break or slip off.
Around September 10th I started to feel ill. I got a headache and slight fever. I also had a scratchy throat and there was some redness in the back of my throat. I didn't experience any glandular swelling that I could notice.
1. Could these symptoms be ARS from the first incident or is appearing after 30 days too long?
2. Does the condom use in the second incident pretty much eliminate risk from it.
3. Is testing necessary other than to relieve my own anxiety.
4. I've read the female to male transmission is rare even if the woman is infected...do you think a test six weeks out is sufficient.
I feel like everything I feel is due to ARS and I've been very anxious and even maybe depressed for the past two weesks. I know you probably get a lot of questions like this but Im really anxious and appreciate your help.
Thanks
I've been very worried HIV infection and Im certainly looking for some advice.
I'm a 25 year old, white hetero male. I tested negative for HIV on July 11th after not having any sort of sexual contact for 3.5 months and I was very careful before that. On August 8th I met a 26 year old white female at a bar and had unprotected sex with her. I highly doubt she was a drug user and she claimed that she was tested regularly. I was drunk and made a mistake and now I'm really worried.
On August 18th I received protected oral sex and very brief protected vaginal sex from a worker in a massage parlour in san francisco. I didn't ejaculate and the condom didn't break or slip off.
Around September 10th I started to feel ill. I got a headache and slight fever. I also had a scratchy throat and there was some redness in the back of my throat. I didn't experience any glandular swelling that I could notice.
1. Could these symptoms be ARS from the first incident or is appearing after 30 days too long?
2. Does the condom use in the second incident pretty much eliminate risk from it.
3. Is testing necessary other than to relieve my own anxiety.
4. I've read the female to male transmission is rare even if the woman is infected...do you think a test six weeks out is sufficient.
I feel like everything I feel is due to ARS and I've been very anxious and even maybe depressed for the past two weesks. I know you probably get a lot of questions like this but Im really anxious and appreciate your help.
Thanks
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Having read your reply, I can only assume that your anxiety is at a level where either you did not read my reply or if you read it, you did not comprehend it. Each of the questions you just asked was already answered. Nothing more to say and, even if I did, your inapropriate anxiety appears to be "speaking" to you far more loudly than I can. EWH
Dr.
I still have a slight fever and scratchy throat almost 12 days after the symptoms started. I usually feel better in the morning and it seems to get worse throughout the day. Im terrified these symptoms are due to ARS. I plan on taking a test at the six week mark from the second incident which wouldn't be till the 29th of this month.
1. How often have you seen a hetero male become infected from one incident?
2. Can anxiety cause these symptoms or prolong the symptoms of an unrelated illness?
3. How confident are you that ARS would present itself before 30 days?
Im not sure what other illnesses would cause these symptoms for that duration of time and everything i read seems to point to ARS. Sorry I know you get a lot of posts like this but Im going through mental hell right to the point where it is affecting my everyday life.
I still have a slight fever and scratchy throat almost 12 days after the symptoms started. I usually feel better in the morning and it seems to get worse throughout the day. Im terrified these symptoms are due to ARS. I plan on taking a test at the six week mark from the second incident which wouldn't be till the 29th of this month.
1. How often have you seen a hetero male become infected from one incident?
2. Can anxiety cause these symptoms or prolong the symptoms of an unrelated illness?
3. How confident are you that ARS would present itself before 30 days?
Im not sure what other illnesses would cause these symptoms for that duration of time and everything i read seems to point to ARS. Sorry I know you get a lot of posts like this but Im going through mental hell right to the point where it is affecting my everyday life.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Your risk is very low. The only behavior you have described that carries any risk for HIV with it is the unprotected encounter on August 18. On that occasion, your partner was not obviously in a risk group for HIV, she stated she is checked regularly and most people do tell the truth, and even if she had HIV your risk for infection from a single encounter would be less than 1 in 1000. There is no risk from the protected oral encounter. Now, on to your specific questions:
1. Symptoms after 30 days is outside the window for "typical ARS". I use quotation marks because 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.
2. Yes, it takes the risk to zero
3. That is your call. Your risk is very, very low. A the same time, periodic testing is reasonable.
4. You are correct. AT six weeks, 95% of all tests that are going to become positive will be. Given the particulars of your situation, at that time I would accept the result as definitive.
Hope these comments are helpful. You have very, very little to be concerned about. EWH
1. Symptoms after 30 days is outside the window for "typical ARS". I use quotation marks because 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.
2. Yes, it takes the risk to zero
3. That is your call. Your risk is very, very low. A the same time, periodic testing is reasonable.
4. You are correct. AT six weeks, 95% of all tests that are going to become positive will be. Given the particulars of your situation, at that time I would accept the result as definitive.
Hope these comments are helpful. You have very, very little to be concerned about. EWH
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