[Question #9307] HIV test

34 months ago

I apologize for the bad English

Hello doctor, I am writing from Italy, I am married and have 2 children aged 9 and 4. I have never had any concerns about HIV because I believe I have never taken any particular risks as I have only ever had sexual relations with my current wife.

However, a series of events and coincidences made me question whether I should have an HIV test. I ask you if it is a series of coincidences that can suggest a possible contagion.

I try to summarize.

1 - I have been on treatment for about three years for a plantar mosaic wart that is struggling to heal. For this reason, the dermatologist had hypothesized an HIV test to check if the failure to cure could be related to a problem related to the immune system. Then he didn't find it useful to test as I told him I don't have casual intercourse .;

2 - In 2019 I was operated on for a perianal abscess

3- I am carrying out investigations for visual discomfort that lead to discomfort in the right eye and lower visual acuity in poor light

4- for about 10 years my wife has had a very low value of lymphocytes (last analysis = 484 mmc) which tend to remain the same over time. The gynecologist who followed my wife in the two pregnancies never had an HIV test (I don't understand why!).

I try to be rational, but the dermatologist's hypothesis and the coincidences I have described remind me of problems concerning my and my wife's immune systems.

I know that HIV transmission occurs through unprotected sex. However, my only doubt dates back to about 12/13 years ago when I frequented the normal wellness centers with sauna and Turkish bath several times. Access to these (very crowded) places is in nudity and my doubt is that he may have contracted HIV by accidentally coming into contact with infected secretions left on the surfaces (for example sitting naked on a bench with vaginal secretions or other example).

I ask for your opinion on letting go of these thoughts or considering an HIV test.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

34 months ago

Welcome to the forum. Thank you for your confidence in our services.

It is extremely unlikely you or your wife has HIV. None of the medical conditions you describe suggests a likely HIV infection and you really shouldn't worry. That said, it would make sense for you to be tested anyway. More details below.

I'm surprised you and your wife never have been tested for HIV. In the United States, guidelines are that everybody should be tested at least once, regardless of known risk; and all pregnant women are routinely tested for HIV. I assumed it is the same in all or most EU countries -- if it is, your doctors have not been following the guidelines. As for the medical conditions you describe, some of them indeed could be related to immune deficiency caused by HIV. However, these are very weak indicators. Also, if you had been infected with HIV for 10+ years, probably you would have many more symptoms and might be quite ill. Same for your wife.

Nobody in the world ever caught HIV because of visiting a crowded Turkish bath or similar environment, and never from contaminated surfaces of any kind. Without sex itself or injection drug use (with shared equipment), there is no risk.

However, because you are worried, and various doctors have raised the question in your mind because of your various symptoms, you should be tested. The negative results in both you and your wife will be much more reassuring than anything I can say. As all this implies, you definitely can expect negative results. If you do it soon, feel free to post the results in a follow-up comment.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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34 months ago

doctor, it's all clear. surely we will do the test but I realize that if it were positive it would be a real tragedy. my wife and I in the final stages of the disease and my children with a high risk of having HIV. I'm having a nightmare.

34 months ago

Excuse me doctor I would like to ask for clarification.

In the first part of her answer she says:

"None of the medical conditions you describe suggests a likely HIV infection and you really shouldn't worry."

Later instead she says:

"As for the medical conditions you describe, some of them indeed could be related to immune deficiency caused by HIV."

I cannot understand how the medical conditions I have described should be framed. I am very worried about the results of the test I will take.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

34 months ago

You are overthinking all this. Individually, some of the conditions you mention might appear in HIV infected people. However, 99.999% of people with those conditions DO NOT have HIV. It doesn't matter how the medical conditions mentioned should be "framed"; probably they are entirely unrelated to each other. Your HIV tests will be negative.

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and should end this thread. However, I will leave it open for you to post the result after you have been tested, but only if you do so within a week. I will have no further comments until then. Stay relaxed in the meantime. There is absolutely no reason for you to be concerned you or your wife has HIV.

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