Hi Dr.

Months back I had an exposure with a woman who is not a worker but by her admission very promisquous. On the surface, according to both Doctors here, there was no HIV risk from what I did (lots mutual masturbation (exchange of fluids but no penile penetration).

I've noticed some small lymph nodes in my neck and even had them checked out by a Doctor who said they weren't swollen and wasn't concerned. I kind of put it out of my mind.

However, I now recall that I had a small shaving incident that morning (say 7am). I was shaving my pubic region which was bad luck because this wasn't a planned rendezvous and had some cuts. Due to the fact that I was in the shower they bled a decent amount. I washed them with soap but didn't cover with any bandaids or anything. I continued my day. The 'exposure' occurred between 7-8pm later that night. If her fluids touched the region that was cut (above the pe nis), would their be any risk to contracting? I'm hoping that the 10-11 hours was long enough that the cuts would have sealed? Of course I noticed no bleeding and I'm sure I went to the bathroom throughout the day and noticed nothing, but it was very dark where we were so I can't be sure.

Hoping for your reassurance. Thank you.

Dr.,

Thanks for getting back to me within 2 hours. THat's pretty quick for someone who I assume is very busy. I was refreshing every 5 minutes because the second you ask a question like this your anxiety starts going a mile a minute, if that makes sense. I went from thinking my risk was low to thinking I had HIV just waiting for your reply.

Anyway, would it be possible to get a little more info so I can try to put this to bed in my mind? IE why is it not a risk? I had a decent amount of small cuts (lets say 5) and they all bled. 10 hours later her fluids are on my hands OR hers and they touch those cuts. No risk?

A few more questions now that I got anxious.

1. I'm not married but have a small boy. A month ago, I was putting together a toy house for him and cut myself decently while I was hammering it (he was with me). I cleaned myself up but didn't realize until I got back that some blood was on his hands. I think that's really when I started thinking about this incident. He still sucks his thumb a lot. I quickly cleaned his hands off but I wasn't with him for a few minutes. If he had some of my blood on his thumb and sucked it off, would he be at risk (of course if I was infected, if you don't mind)?

2. The lymph nodes. I don't really know when they first appeared I just know when I felt them. I already mentioned the Dr. wasn't concerned about them but when I google their location they seem to be very consistent with where HIV lymph nodes are located (posterior triangle?). I have about 4 on my right side and 2 on left. I've read through a lot of posts about how they would be generalized and not just in neck which is relatively reassuring, but my question is if they were related to HIV would they persist for 4/5 months as these have? They've had no change in that time.

3. I took 2 oraquicks this week since I read about false negatives I wanted to take 2. ONe at 173 days post exposure and one at 175. Would them being negative be enough, despite these lymph nodes?

Thanks VERY much.

Sorry - I hope this can count towards the third reply and part of #3. I forgot to add:

My dr. said they're not a sign of any disease or infection. Do you agree that's possible? Again, according to dr. google, lymph nodes shouldn't be 'palpable' unless there is some kind of infection. There's one of the 5 or 6 that is clearly bigger than the rest, but he says it's under 10mm and still not a concern.