help... plz evaluate my encounter and symptoms...

[help87]

about two and a half weeks ago (march 8 ) i hooked up with another gay guy. there was no penetration. he masturbated himself and me. he ended up ejaculating on me, and i used some of his semen that landed on my penis and i used it as lubricant to masturbate. some of the semen probably got into my urethra. (this is the transmission possibility im afraid of)

for the past two weeks i have felt kind of off, with a persistent cough (worse at night) and occasional sore throat and tingling in my left leg. the symptoms seem to have gotten worse two and a half weeks later , and i feel very feverish with a stiff neck. my temperature is variable, from 97.6 in the morning to around 100F in the late afternoon/evenings. i guess i feel much worse than the thermometer reads

im worried, because of the fact that my symptoms are worsening after two weeks, that i may have gotten his hiv infected semen into my urethra  (i dont know his hiv status).... i know initial hiv symptoms generally start after 2 weeks..

any input? im pretty scared and am hoping to get a the 28-day test as soon as i can...

[RapidRod]

At no time was you ever at risk. HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (unlike many bacteria or fungi, which may do so under suitable conditions), except under laboratory conditions; therefore, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host.

[help87]

At no time was you ever at risk. HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (unlike many bacteria or fungi, which may do so under suitable conditions), except under laboratory conditions; therefore, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host.

thanks, i just saw my doctor who said i should be tested at 6 weeks because there was a potential exchange of fluids... im not sure who to believe, the doctor or you. you seem to be more knowledge on hiv in particular (doctor practices general medicine )

but the fact is that my symptoms remain real, so the doctor did a urine and blood test to test for other stuff even if hiv wouldnt show up. if nothing else shows up, do you not recommend getting any further hiv tests?

[RapidRod]

Your doctor is incorrect.

[help87]

Thanks I just read online that once the virus is exposed to air the protein shell degrades and the virus becomes unable to infect (It uses the protein shell to latch onto the host cell)

Hopefully this is what happened and hopefully I can continue to do mutual handjobs without fear of STDs

Do you think it is safe to continue mutual handjobs without a condom ?

[RapidRod]

Of course.

[Andy Velez]

Mutual masturbation absolutely is not a risk for HIV transmission. Really.

Jerk away all you want to! No kidding.

[help87]

Just wondering, if HIV becomes unable to infect when outside the body so quickly, why is sharing needles such a common mode of HIV transmission?

[RapidRod]

1. you never shared needles
2. blood in syringes is not exposed to air and the blood is injected directly into a vein.

[help87]

1. you never shared needles
2. blood in syringes is not exposed to air and the blood is injected directly into a vein.

Was just wondering... thx

[help87]

so i forgot to mention (because i was mostly concerned with the semen on my penis which im no longer worried about - thank you) that i also gave him oral sex. he did not ejaculate in my mouth. but there may have been precum (he was uncircumcised so it was more 'juicy' than normal). does giving oral sex without ejaculation in the mouth present a risk at all ? i've heard mixed stories on this.

also, unrelated but for my peace of mind... i keep saying i have a slight fever, but it's only about 99.6 and it's only in the evenings. i read that the body temperature normally varies from 97.5 - 99.5 throughout the day. (lowest in the morning and highest in the evening). is this true ? i might consider 99.5 to be normal if it's in the evening...

[help87]

also i just wanted to say thank you because youre providing a great help to us... you are dealing with a lot of very scared people (especially those of us who are gay and are too scared to talk to parents)

[Ann]

Help,

Unless you have absolutely terrible oral health, you don't need to worry about oral. Not only is saliva not infectious, but it also contains over a dozen different proteins and enzymes that damage hiv and render it unable to infect.

There have been three long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.

You don't have a fever - you just have a slightly elevated temperature. It's normal.

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.

ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOT NEED TO TEST SPECIFICALLY OVER MUTUAL MASTURBATION OR ORAL, 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.

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

Ann