[Question #5341] ARS and HIV

75 months ago

Good morning doctors, I went to a going away party at a neighbors house on Feb 17, and after a long night of drinking I engaged in unprotected vaginal sex with a neighbor who is also married. The whole encounter lasted about 3 minutes and was over. A month after the encounter I started getting pain in my armpits and developed a rash on my head which has not gone away even after applying a medicated cream from my doctor. I also got the rash after a haircut though and have not felt any lumps or swollen lymph nodes in my armpit. I do have pain in my groin/ thigh area. I tested negative for std’s such as the clap and gonorreha. I’m just worried that it may be something worse like HIV.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

75 months ago

Welcome back to the forum. Thanks for your continuing confidence in our services.

Based on the date and the timing of your previous discussion with Dr. Hook 2 months ago, this seems to be the same sexual encounter. As Dr. Hook advised, there was no realistic change of HIV from that exposure, and your test results showed you were not infected. If I correctly recall from my quick scan of that thread, you were tested at about 5 weeks after the event. Given the 99% reliability of that test plus an exposure that was very unlikely to result in HIV, you can be absolutely certain you don't have it. But if you remain concerned, have another test, now that you're well beyond the 6 weeks needed for a conclusive result.

As for your sympotms, they are not typical for ARS: they really don/t sound at all like ARS, and they started too late. In any case, the negative test result proves the symptoms are not ARS. No other STDs cause such symptoms either. I doubt they have anything at all to do with the sexual encounter described, unless some of them are due to anxiety over the event, raising your concerns about otherwise minor symptoms or body sensations. Of course if the symptoms continue or you otherwise remain concerned, see your doctor.

I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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75 months ago

Good evening Doctor HHH,

Thank you for your reply! This encounter happened after my previous post. I made a drunken mistake and engaged in another event with my neighbor. She is married but has also stepped out in her marriage a few times. I have yet to take a test as I am overseas for work, just been feeling a little off. It may just be nerves and anxiety as you mentioned. I never had a fever or night sweats, though I have had joint pain in the knees, pain under the armpits starting about two weeks after the encounter. I noticed the rash on March 29th and the sexual encounter was on the 17th of February. I’m just worried that I may have given my wife something and feel very horrible about it( I know I need to stop drinking). Who knows it may just be the climate change here in Japan that’s throwing me off.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

75 months ago

Thanks for clariying the exposure. But I remain unconcerned about HIV or any other STD as a cause of these symptoms. You'll need to be tested again for HIV, for reassurance: almost certainly the negative result will be more reassuring than anything I can say. I also suggest you discuss things with your partner. For all you know, she may be as worried about you and your sexual safety as you are about hers. If you both were tested for HIV (and maybe for gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis as well), with all negative results as expected, you would be reassured you could not have been infected, and maybe she would as well.---

75 months ago

Thank you doctor, I’ve read about the statistics you’ve posted about the odds of contracting HIV after reading through the forum last night. I didn’t sleep with a CSW but a mom who’s married with kids. I will still get an HIV test when I get back to the states. I’ve just been very stressed and anxious about the whole situation. I appreciate your time in responding to my questions, thank you and great job on the site. We are kicky to have expertise like yours and Dr. Hooks available to us!

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

75 months ago

It sounds like you understand there is no realistic chance you have HIV. But to add to my assessment, the chance such a person has HIV is under 1 in a thousand. Odds of HIV transmission for each episode of unprotected vaginal sex averages 1 in 2,500. So the chance you caught HIV is 1 in 2.5 million. That is, zero for all practical purposes. As suggested above, you should be tested. It will be negative. (Your odds of winning the next lottery probably are higher than the chance you have HIV from this event.)

That concludes this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful.

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