[Question #10783] HIV exposure and ARS.
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19 months ago
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Hello Doctors, I am a 24 year old female. Back in July I started dating someone who was from Venezuela (I am from the US). At first we were using condoms. Once we were dating for awhile we stopped using condoms and he did not ejaculate in me. However, on October 4th he did ejaculate inside of me and a week later on October 11th I started developing a wide variety of symptoms. Started out with swollen neck lymph nodes and one swollen groin lymph node, then I noticed on my right tonsil it was bleeding and was starting to become sore, I had extreme body aches that night with fever. Next morning I went into the Urgent Care to be screened for ALL STD's. They also did a throat culture, flu, strep, covid test, and mono spot. All came back negative. My throat was getting worse, it looked like sores on the tonsils and uvula, and then gradually white/greyish pus covered both sides of my tonsils. I ended up in the hospital due to not being able to swallow and low grade fevers lasting for 4-5 days. While in the hospital they ran a full CBC panel and it showed elevated white blood cells, high monocytes and neutrophils. They also did another mono spot test which came back negative. on November 27th I went back to Urgent Care and had another full STD panel. I would say this was about 6-7 weeks after that last exposure back on October 4th. Everything came back negative again, including HIV. I had my previous partner tested on December 21st and those came back negative. What should I do? Can I be confident that I do not have HIV?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
19 months ago
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Welcome to our Forum. Thanks for your thoughtful questions. I'll be glad to comment and explain. Let's start with the big question- you DO NOT have HIV. This is a sure thing. I say this for several reasons. Most importantly, your partner tested negative following your encounters of concern and persons with negative tests for HIV cannot transmit HIV to others. In addition, your negative tests in November also prove that you do not have an STI including HIV. You can confidently put your concerns beside you.
So, that raises the question of what might be going on. I The signs and symptoms you suggest are typical of mononucleosis. Monospot tests are negative in up to 30% of persons with mono. I suspect you are one of those persons.
Bottom line, be confident that you do not have HIV, You can be confident of this. The mono symptoms have no treatment- your symptoms should gradually resolve over time.
I hope this assessment is helpful. Please continue to work through this challenging situation with your doctor. EWH
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19 months ago
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Im just scared that the lab test weren’t accurate and my family doctor suggested to test again after 3 months. So that made me even more concerned. I did see with my eyes his tests results and it was a 4th gen HIV test and mine were too. I also asked him to do an Oraquick when I was sick because I was so scared. (I know Oraquick isn’t the test of choice, but I just wanted to see if his would turn up positive. I appreciate your response and reassurance. Would you recommend me get another test or just move on with my life? Can I trust the two 4th gen HIV tests I took in October and November?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
19 months ago
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Your doctor's suggestion is, I'm sure, intended for purposes of reassurance. There is no reason to wait to re-test however. No matter when you re-test, nor no matter what test you use, the results will be the same, proving you do not have HIV.
A single 4th generation test for HIV is conclusive- the 2nd test with the same result confirms that you do not have HIV. EWH
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19 months ago
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Ok, sorry last question… if HIV was causing “mono” would the test I took on October 15th be positive and the one of the 27th of November? I guess I just get worried thinking that I didn’t have detectable antigens or antibodies due to antigens going down and then not having enough antibodies for the test to detect. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions and reassuring me. I’m going to put this behind me and make better choices moving forward. Thank you!
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
19 months ago
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If you had symptoms or physical findings which were due to HIV, your test would be positive. Symptoms and positive physical findings, including swollen glands/lymph nodes are due to the presence of the virus (antigens) and antibodies. For that reason in symptomatic persons, tests are always positive. I urge you to believe your tests. Having negative mononucleosis is a far, far more likely diagnosis.
As you know, we provide up to three responses to each clients questions. This will be my final response and the thread will be closed shortly. Take care. Please don’t worry. EWH.
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