[Question #662] hiv scared

107 months ago

Dear sir

10 days before i had 2 sex encounters with African csw in Dubai from Ughanda , it was condom protected , i was worried about a scratch in my middle finger near to the nail that i had it 2 or 3 hours before the relationship with her , the scratch bleeded for a minute then stopped , i used a perfume to clean it and it wasn't bleeding at all while i was with her , i fingered the girl with this finger for about 4 minutes or less , any way i read a lot of your answers about fingering with cuts on medhelp and i believe that it is no risk as per your answers on many questions about fingering , but sir what worries me is these symptoms that i had as below :

6 days post exposure i started to have sore throat.

7th day sore throat became stronger with fever about 38 and swollen tonsillitis , i also had a not painful swollen lymph nodes in my neck (tonsilar & submental ) i had also night sweets & diarrhea for this night only , i saw a doc and he gave me Augmentin & Adol , i used it for 2 days and today is 10th day every thing is almost ok ( no fever although i stopped the medicines , tonsillitis getting back to normal size , no sore throat ) but my lymph nodes still a little swollen .

i need to mention that i asked the girl about her hiv status before the encounter and she said that she is safe ,but by the end of the night i kept asking her many times about her hiv status again because i was very worried and she started to get angry specially after a small fight about her money and finally she changed her answer about her hiv status to ( may be i have , i never get tested ) then she left very angry .

my questions is

1- my symptoms looks like acute ARS ? and if it was ARS how long should fever stay ?

2- for scientific reasons ,do i need hiv test ?

3- do you think i had hiv from this relationship if the girl is really infected ?

4- doctor ran an excrement test and said that i have some blood in it , is this related to any acute ARS ?

forgive my language , realy confused and sc

Edward W. Hook M.D.

107 months ago

Welcome to our Forum. I will be happy to comment. The exposure that you describe was safe sex. As you have seen from other posts that we have made, there are no recorded cases of HIV being acquired as the result of contamination of a cut on their finger while masturbating (fingering) an HIV infected partner. You are not going to be the first. At the same time however, I can understand your concerns. Your symptoms occurred at about the right time for the ARS to occur (perhaps a little early- most ARS occurs 2-4 weeks after exposure) and the ARS is a flu-like illness which often includes a sore throat, swollen glands and a severe flu-like illness. When it occurs, persons with the ARS are virtually always febrile and the illness typically lasts just a few days. In addition, when it has been studied in persons at risk, these symptoms are far more often (more than 98% of the time) caused by the sorts of typical viral illnesses that most people get from time to time ("the flu") than by HIV. From the sound of things, you are quite worried about this and, for that reason, I would suggest that you get a 4th generation DUO test for HIV antigen and antibodies. If this illness was the ARS, the test would be positive! The test, which I predict will be negative, will give you peace of mind

As for your specific questions:

1- my symptoms looks like acute ARS ? and if it was ARS how long should fever stay ?

Typically the symptoms of the ARS are quite severe (many people call it the "worst flu they have ever had") but last only a few (4-5) days in most cases.

2- for scientific reasons ,do i need hiv test ?

I suggested you get tested to give yourself peace of mind. I am confident you did not get HIV from the exposure you have described.

3- do you think i had hiv from this relationship if the girl is really infected ?

see above. I do not think you have HIV.

4- doctor ran an excrement test and said that i have some blood in it , is this related to any acute ARS ?

No, blood in the stool is not part of the ARS.

I hope these comments are helpful. As I said, I am confident that you did not get HIV form the exposure you have described. EWH

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107 months ago

Dear Dr. As per your advice I had duo test yesterday . It was negative also as you predicted. I had a little peace of mind until I feel today a little kind of sore throat . I really worried that it may be a start of a new season of illness that may attack me again and if this happens it will be in accurate typical time (2weaks) . Shall I be worry sir . Confusion and my fears really makes my mind stop thinking correctly .

-How could I be sure that it was safe and that my illness( if new illness happen this weak) is not because of ars? Is there any signs to make the difference ?

-Do I need any more tests?

- can I come back unprotected sex with my wife?

- does prescence of hpv at me changes anything?

-Was the test I made enough to forget all my fears?

My dear doc I know my questions are very confused. But I know who I am talking to . I am seaking your experience & wisdom sir . Please help

107 months ago

Also sir I had a question . In your 1st reply to me you mentioned that ars and fever in acute infection stay only for few days . I read many answers on medhelp for you and Dr hhh confirming that it lasts for more than a week .that confused me a little also .

Edward W. Hook M.D.

107 months ago

DUO test results are not definitive until 4 weeks (28 days) after an exposure. Thus, IF you had been meaningfully exposed, while you could be sure that any symptoms present at the time you were tested were not due to HIV, you could not be 100% sure that you did not get HIV until 28 days had passed. In your case, as I told you above, your exposure was no risk for HIV. If I were you I would not be worried further and would move forward without concern. I would not worry about unprotected sex with my regular partner and I would not test further.

HPV does not change my assessment or my advice to you. I believe you misread an earlier post. The fever and signs of acute HIV last for only a few days. EWH

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107 months ago

Dear Dr . Thank you for your help .

I am trying to move on but everytime I take this decision something appears stops me for thinking again and that's why I come back to ask again .

A) Last Thursday( 2 weeks after exposure ) I slept in almost open place .in the morning I found some of body rash . It is round red dots .1 or 2 mm . A very little prominent . No iching . No pain . It also disappears when I stretch the skin around it.

I found it on my arms (4to 5 ) pcs for each arm including the hands .

And on my 2 feet about 2 or 3 dots for each foot .

B) saturay night I noticed another strange thing on my right shoulder it was a red big spot 2 to 3 cm and in the middle of it a thin line like a scratch with little darker color . No pain and no ich . In the morning it became smaller and left only the the scratch line with a little red stroke around it .

During these 2 things I don't have any fever . I feel only a very mild sore throat and a little cough .

My questions is

1) could my rash be hiv body rash ? It appeard at 2 weeks post exposure

2) could hiv rash be presented as a few dots like that or it should be more than this? And how many days it lasts ?

3) can hiv rash come alone without anyother symptoms. Or with Only mild sore throat ?

107 months ago

Dr I just need to add that rash no. A is still there for 2 days now .

But rash no. B on my right shoulder started yesterday night and it is on her way to disappear because it is getting smaller

Edward W. Hook M.D.

107 months ago

As I have said before, the activities that you describe all fall into the category of safe sex with no appreciable risk for HIV. When a rash occurs as part of early HIV infection it occurs as part of a generalized, flu-like illness that included high fever, muscle and joint aches, sore throat, sometimes diarrhea and a rash. The rashes you describe, along with the accompanying symptoms are not suggestive of recently acquired HIV. Rather, it appears that you remain quite worried about this exposure and are looking for symptoms and attributing what symptoms you experience to HIV when that is virtually certain that this is not the case. You are worrying too much. If the rash persists, seek the evaluation and guidance of a doctor but I would not worry that it is related to the experience two weeks ago which you have described.

Our Forum guidelines call for up to three responses to each question. This will be my third and, therefore, final response. If you have further questions, you will need to pay again to start a new questions. EWH

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107 months ago

OK doctor

As a final response . Would you kindly answer my questions that I asked in my last questions . Thanks

Edward W. Hook M.D.

107 months ago

The questions were answered: Read my reply.

1) could my rash be hiv body rash ? It appeard at 2 weeks post exposure

NO!

2) could hiv rash be presented as a few dots like that or it should be more than this? And how many days it lasts ?

NO!

3) can hiv rash come alone without anyother symptoms. Or with Only mild sore throat ?

This would not be the ARS.

EWH

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