[Question #10316] All ARS symtoms - tests negative

24 months ago

Hello,

Sorry in advance for my English. I am from Poland and I am not a native speaker. I am a woman.

On 23.06.2023 I have protected vaginal sex and unprotected oral sex with a polish man. I do not know his HIV status but he had several sexual partners before me. I found out later that during oral sex I had bitten his penis and there was a lot of blood.

Now I am pretty sure I have HIV. 6 days after exposure a rash began to appear on my chest, which later spread to my back and arms.

Other symptoms:

night sweats, swollen lymph nodes, high temperature (31,1-37,1), body aches, sting under my arms and groins, extend sweating, dry and ugly skin, mild recurrent sore throat, diarrhea, decreased vision, itchy skin, depression, brown stripe on my nail.

Some of the symptoms still persist (8 weeks after exposure).

My tests:

Ag/AB iv generation test: 12, 21, 38, 41, 46, 48, 53 days after exposure - all negatives.

What should I do? Should I test more? Should I use RNA test? Is it possible that I am seronegative or it is HIV2 and that is why my antibodies are not found in the tests? What is the window period for HIV2? I've heard that it is 90 days. Is it true?

My life is a nightmare now. How can I check if that is hiv 2?

Edward W. Hook M.D.

24 months ago

Welcome to our forum. Thanks for your questions. I’ll be glad to comment. I can assure you that the illness and symptoms you were suffering from are not due to HIV. There are several reasons I say this which I will list below.

1. You do not know that your partner has HIV. Statistically it is unlikely. Even men who have had many sexual partners, particularly if those sexual partners are of the opposite sex, typically do not have HIV. Statistically, there is a less than 1% chance that he has HIV.

2. Your vaginal sex was condom protected, and therefore safe. Although your oral sex was unprotected, the estimates are that only one in every 10,000 episodes of oral sex with an untreated, HIV, infected person lead to acquisition of HIV infection. Even if his blood entered your mouth during oral sex, this would not change the low risk of this exposure.

3. You have been tested many times with fourth generation, combination HIV, antigen/antibody tests. The results of these tests are absolutely conclusive at all times more than 42 days (six weeks) following exposure. Your tests are already conclusive for HIV-2. Believe your test results.

4. The rash which began at six days following your exposure was too soon to be due to HIV. In addition, the other flu like symptoms that you report are most often caused by many other possible illnesses, including influenza, COVID-19, and many many viruses, which are not transmitted through sexual contact, but are common in communities.

There is no medical or scientific reason for additional testing. You can be entirely confident that you did not acquire HIV from the exposure you have described. I hope my reassurance is helpful to you. Please don’t worry. EWH.

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24 months ago

I forgot to add that my rash later spread also to my neck and face. It is sometimes itchy, particularly at night. Does it change anything?

I would like to ask also

1)Assuming my symptoms are due to ARS (rash, temperature, swollen and painful lymph nodes etc) - can they that long - 6 weeks?

2) Can autoimmune disease like Hashimoto delay production of antibodies?

3) I heard that blood contact with mucous membranes is dangerous. It is not true? I am also not sure if I hadn't any in bleeding wound in my mouth

4) If someone is seronegative -how can he check if he has hiv, especially hiv 2?

5) I take antidepressants, sedatives and thyroid hormones - can such medicines delay production of antibodies or falsify test results?

Edward W. Hook M.D.

24 months ago

That your rash spread does not change my assessment.

1. No, ARS symptoms typically last 7-10 days. Further, if you had the ARS, your tests would have been positive. Persons with ARS always have positive tests.

2. No

3. As I said, blood in your mouth is no more likely to cause infection than genital secretions

4. Tests are always positive in persons with symptoms due to HIV. Believe your tests.

5. These medicines have no effects on the accuracy of HIV tests.

I urge you to believe your tests. You have one more follow up question. EWH

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24 months ago

Thank you very much for your help and calming me.

Some last questions

1) I know that this forums concerns only sexually transmitted diseases - but are there any other illness which causes chronically swollen lymph nodes? I have heard that that is specific for HIV virus. My lymph nodes have been swollen for 6 weeks now....

2)I also didn't mentioned that about 12 days after exposure I noticed an oral thrush which has persisted to this day... Could it be (theretically) due to ARS for such a long time?

3) Is sting under arms a symptom of HIV?

4) Is a nail fungus a symptom of ARS?

5) Are there any blood counts that could indicate acute HIV infection?

24 months ago

One more thing:

I saw that in some threads that you indicated that window period for HIV 2 is 12 weeks. Now you stated that it is 6 weeks. Should I retest at 12 weeks in order to exclude hiv 2?

Edward W. Hook M.D.

24 months ago

Final Responses:

Chronically swollen lymph nodes can be caused by a long list of possible causes including past, resolved infections, non-STI viral infections, systemic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, and even cancer. The presence of swollen lymph nodes may or may not represent an active problem. If you feel you have swollen lymph nodes I suggest you bring this to the attention of your doctor who can evaluate if they are present or not as well as whether or not they indicate something serious. In your case however, you can be sure that they are NOT due to HIV.

2)I also didn't mentioned that about 12 days after exposure I noticed an oral thrush which has persisted to this day... Could it be (theretically) due to ARS for such a long time?

This may or may not be thrush. Many persons mistake normal discoloration of the tongue for thrush. You should verify whether or not this is thrush with your doctor.. As mentioned above, the ARS would not last this long

3) Is sting under arms a symptom of HIV?

Absolutely not

4) Is a nail fungus a symptom of ARS?

No!!

5) Are there any blood counts that could indicate acute HIV infection?

The test for HIV are the blood tests which you have already had, not blood counts. You need to believe your test results.

HIV-2 is most unlikely and statements that the window period for testing is 12 weeks are overly conservative. Again, believe your test results

This completes this thread which will be closed shortly. You need to see your doctor and address the problems that you feel you have- they are NOT due to HIV. In addition, I urge you to stay of the internet. It will only mislead you. EWH

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