I have a question. Really hope I’m overthinking! My potential exposure was oral sex, female to male. I asked my partner about testing. He says he tested negative recently. I believe him. However, it’s possible he could be in the window period. If so, that would mean he’s highly contagious right? About 18 days after the oral sex, I developed a mysterious rash. No other symptoms. The rash was on my back and looked like red scratches or streaks and along my arms and shoulder as well. It was sort of itchy. I’d been under general anesthesia for surgery just about a week prior so I’m hoping maybe a reaction to that but I’ve never had a reaction before. Is this possible? I’d never seen a rash like this before with lines. In your experience, have you ever seen an ARS rash present with redness and lines. There were some really really small bumps along a few of the lines but what was most pronounced was the redness on the inside of the crease of both arms and the streak like lines on my back and shoulder. Ofcourse I tested with Oraquick as a preliminary. 7 weeks and 4 days negative. Please let me know if this exposure warrants more testing? Lastly, could you explain a little more about the science behind symptoms and antibody production? Specifically as it relates to your position that antibody tests would be positive at anytime after symptoms occur if the symptoms were truly caused by the HIV virus? Thank you. 

I presume your partner was telling the truth about his recent test.  Most people tell the truth.  That being the case, it is unlikely that you were exposed at all.  FYI less than 0.1% of heterosexual men have HIV and the estimated rest of acquiring HIV from performing oral sex on the penis of an infected, untreated male is less than 1 infection per 10,000 exposures, on average (and that estimate is likely to be conservative. Thus mathematically, your risk of having acquired HIV is less 1 in 10 million.  This is not something I would worry about.  

As you know from prior questions the rash of recently acquired HIV tends to be generalized and not linear in nature.  Your Oraquick result provides further proof that this rash was not the ARS.

The symptoms of the ARS, including the rash, are due to the interaction of the virus with antibodies produced in response to infection.  It is for that reason that tests are always positive when persons have symptoms due to recent HIV infection.  One the test is positive, it will stay positive going forward. 

I hope this information will help you to get piece of mind.  Please don't worry.  I see no need for further testing.  EWH

I should add that the ARS syndrome typically includes a severe sore throat, high fever, muscle and joint pains and in some instances a rash or diarrhea.  Further, when persons with the classical symptoms of the ARS are tested, over 99% have something other than recently acquired HIV.  There symptoms are due to influenza, COVID, or most often one of the all too common viral illnesses that most people get from time to time.  EWH