Hope you are doing well.

I have a question related to an exposure . I am a gay man.

Since the last 2 nights i have been getting a fever of upto 99.6 F . The fever isn’t there in the day . I have no other symtoms as such . I read that this can be a symptom of hiv and have been worried since .

1. My exposure includes kissing 4 people in the last 2 years

2. Getting  one blowjob 3 months back .

3. Kissed a guy 15 days back not sure of his status and it was a deep kiss .

4. I met someone for coffee 2 months back and he told me his positive and on medication . I hugged him and i’m worried he somehow may have passed on the infection to me or poked me with a needle to infect me .

I have Never had anal sex . Neither have i given oral sex (given a blowjob) in the last 3 years . I am very worried . Request if you to please advise 

You should look for other causes of your fever.  None of the activities you describe- kissing including deep kissing, receipt of oral sex, or hugging an HIV infected person, whether or not they are on treatment, is associated with any risk for HIV.  From what  you say I see no need for concern that your fever might be due to HIV, nor any reason for testing.

Please don't worry.  EWH

Thanks for your reply .

On another post , I read that Dr Handsfield had mentioned that receiving oral sex (getting a blowjob) is low risk for the penile partner . You here mentioned it as no risk . Request if you could confirm this please .

Also is kissing a risk in case someone had bleeding gums or cuts and I didn’t notice ?

I read that night fevers can be the only symptom of HIV . Is this true ?

Request your help on the above please . Thanks 

Similarly no one is known to have acquired HIV from kissing.

Nightly fevers are nonspecific and not suggestive of HIV infection 

Please don’t worry.  EWH

Thanks for the revert .

A few follow up questions :

1: Can I kiss freely or do I need to get tested regularly if my exposures are just getting a blowjob and kissing ? What if someone has bleeding gums and i don’t notice ? Is it safe to kiss. ?

2. I would want to indulge in giving oral sex too. I was considering prep . How effective is prep for prevention against hiv ?

3. Does prep have any long term side effects ? Can it be taken daily for a long time ?

4. Does minoxidil tablets or finesteride or any other drug have an effect on the efficacy of prep ?

5. Have you seen any cases where people took prep and still got positive for hiv ?

Thanks again for you help :)

1.  Correct, there is virtually no risk of HIV from kissing or receiving oral sex.

2.  The risk of getting HIV from giving oral sex is very low, less than 1 infection in more than 10,000 encounters with untreated infected persons.  I would suggest asking potential partners if they have HIV and when they were last tested rather that PrEP.

3. Few side effects.  It can be taken for a long time 

4.  No

5.  No, not if they take PrEP regularly as directed 

This completes this thread.  Take care. EWH