POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: worried1234 on November 22, 2011, 01:25:41 pm
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Hey,
I know the only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested. I was just curious as to how many days on average does it usually take to show sypmtoms of acute HIV? I was dumb and had unprotected sex with a girl and about 4 days later I started gettting a sore throat and by the 5th day i had white patches on my tonsils. I went to the doctor and tested neg for strep, but it kept getting worse so I went back about 7 days later and was diagnosed with tonsillitis and was givin antibiotics...The sore throat started getting better after I took the antibiotics and dissapeared within two days of taking the antibiotics medicine. During this time i also had a low fever. I didn't really have any other symptoms, I am just worried because sore throats with white patches is a symptom. Would the antibioitics have helped if the sore throat was caused by HIV? Is 4-5 days pretty early for symptoms to show? It was a one time experience and I asked the girl and she said she did not have HIV, but i'm worried she may have contracted it after she was last tested.
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Worried,
Antibiotics only work on bacterial infections, not viral infections including hiv.
Nothing you describe sounds anything like primary hiv infection. It sounds like what you were diagnosed with and nothing else.
Neither symptoms nor the lack of symptoms will ever tell you a single thing about your hiv status. ONLY testing will and yes, you need to test.
The earliest you should test is at six weeks, as the vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert by this time, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days. A six week negative must be confirmed at the three month point, but is highly unlikely to change.
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.
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!
Ann
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I am just curious...I read that most people show symptoms between 2-4 weeks....since I started showing symptoms around 4-5 days, that is really below the average time....I was just curious as to why does it take 2-4 weeks to show symptoms? Or am I wrong?
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Worried,
The symptoms that sometimes (not always) accompany seroconversion are not due to the virus itself. They are due to the process your body goes through while producing antibodies and it takes time for the body to do this. Several chemicals are produced during this time and one of them is called interferon. Interferon is notorious for causing flu-like symptoms and it is the presence of interferon that gives the hiv seroconversion illness the label of being flu-like.
You're just going to have to test. I bet you wouldn't be so worried if you hadn't had any symptoms, but are you aware that many, many people never notice a single symptom? This is why we don't like to discuss symptoms here. People who engage in risky behaviour but feel fine afterwards might be tempted to not test - and yet have been infected. Symptoms - or even the lack of symptoms - are meaningless.
GO TEST and stop symptom surfing the internet.
Ann
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Hello,
I just wanted to update whats been going on. Well I was worried sick for the past 3.5 months, and even though you told me not to symptom surf the internet, I couldn't help but do just that. It seemed like every little symptom that related to HIV I felt like I had it. I was 100% sure I had HIV and I had many sleepless, anxiety and stress filled nights knowing I had it. I was too scared to test, but I finally got the courage to test and I found out today that I am negative. Its been almost 4 months since i had unprotected sex and had my sickness, so I am taking that as a for sure negative, however I will prob test again after 6 months. I am very glad that I tested because now I can sleep without this haunting me constantly, and I encourage everybody to test and not hold off on doing so. If i didn't get the courage to test, I would still be searching HIV forums finding reasons why I am HIV negative, and I would still be severely stressing out. I am going to use this as a lesson learned and I am always going to use a condom when sleeping with girls I just meet
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Worried,
You hit the nail on the head when you said "worried sick". The worry and stress that so many people put themselves through will actually cause symptoms.
You do not need re-testing at six months - unless you've engaged in unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse - with anyone - since the incident that brought you here. Hopefully you carefully read and took on board reply #1 and have stopped having unprotected intercourse.
You are conclusively hiv negative.
You do NOT have hiv!!!
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!
Ann
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Yes, I definitely have stopped having unprotected sex...I have learned my lesson!..thanks for your responses