Worried of ARS

[beniesmith]

Hello

Could you please easy my mind? I was involved in a high risk exposure three weeks ago. I had unprotected vaginal with a girl of unknown HIV status on 1st March. Since 3rd March i have been checking my temperature regularly, always am getting 97.7 F. I have no headache, no swollen glands or lymph nodes, no diarrhea, no fatigue, no sore throat, no rash, no nausea, no dry cough, no  Cold sores. The only two signs i have experienced is stuffy nose in the second week and one night sweating in the third week. I have a history of chronic back pain, and also i have stomach pains which started just the day after sex. My whole back, neck, arm pits and stomach are radiating heat but with no fever. Should i throw myself in towel that i have ARS? Please help.

[RapidRod]

Hello

Could you please easy my mind? I was involved in a high risk exposure three weeks ago. I had unprotected vaginal with a girl of unknown HIV status on 1st March. Since 3rd March i have been checking my temperature regularly, always am getting 97.7 F. I have no headache, no swollen glands or lymph nodes, no diarrhea, no fatigue, no sore throat, no rash, no nausea, no dry cough, no  Cold sores. The only two signs i have experienced is stuffy nose in the second week and one night sweating in the third week. I have a history of chronic back pain, and also i have stomach pains which started just the day after sex. My whole back, neck, arm pits and stomach are radiating heat but with no fever. Should i throw myself in towel that i have ARS? Please help.

You have had an exposure and will need to test. Symptoms or lack of will not tell you anything about your status, HIV has no specific symptoms. ARS if one has it or not, comes on 2-4 weeks post exposure and lasts 1-2 weeks.

[RapidRod]

Could i take a test on my 5Th week after exposure? What are the chances that i was infected?

5 week will give you a baseline and then you'll still need your conclusive test result.

[Ann]

What are the main symptoms that ARS presents?

Benie,

I took pity on you and removed the above post and the one that Rodney quoted, so you still have TWO free posts left. USE THEM WISELY. Once your three free posts are used up, you will have to take out a subscription to ask further questions.

We do NOT discuss symptoms in any detail here and if you want to know the reasoning behind this policy, read this post. DO NOT post in that thread. Members in the Am I Infected? forum may ONLY post in their own threads.

The earliest you should test is at six weeks. The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days.

A six week negative is highly unlikely to change, but MUST be confirmed at the three month point.

You need to wise up and stop having unprotected intercourse. You're putting yourself at risk not only for hiv, but also for all of the other, MUCH more easily transmitted STIs. You will need a complete sexual health check up following this unprotected incident.

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.

To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Ann