POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: scaredandconfused on September 14, 2006, 10:37:39 pm
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About 3 weeks ago.. i started feeling a little weird.. I had muscle aches.. and swollen glands.. feeling fatigue..dry mouth...and a cough which i still have.. Until about 2 days ago.. I woke up finding my self itching my leg... I looked at it.. and it was bumpy.. kind of like a pimple.. So i tried ignoring it.. but its still here.. I was just wondering how HIV rashes look like.. Now I can't remember when i could have been at risk.. because i'm still a virgin.. and havent done anything with a girl.. So right now im just scared outta my mind.. I developed a canker sore on my gums.. and i have a small canker sore on in side the side of my mouth.. Could anyone give me some insight? PLEASE! thanks!
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Scaredandconfused,
The rash associated with ars does not itch and is found mainly on the trunk.
Hiv is contracted through unprotected vaginal or anal sex and sharing needles. You have had no risk for hiv infection.
See your doctor about your symptoms.
Morgan
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The only thing that worries me is I do go clubbing and raving alot.. so maybe someone poked me with a needle.. How about dry skin.. Canker on the gums.. How exactly do HIV rashes look like? Thanks so much for the prompt reply
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The only thing that worries me is I do go clubbing and raving alot.. so maybe someone poked me with a needle.. How about dry skin.. Canker on the gums.. How exactly do HIV rashes look like? Thanks so much for the prompt reply
Scared,
Nothing you describe is indicative of primary hiv infection. The needle poking thing is an urban myth. And forget about the rash.... it's not anything you need to worry about as you were never at risk for hiv infection.
Morgan
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nothing i indicated up there is a sign of a primary hiv symptom? so itchy rashes are NOT a sign of an hiv infection? as well as a big canker sore on my gums? These are symptoms i'm having now.. anybody else have an input on this? Thanks Guys!
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scared,
The ARS rash is flat and does not itch. It normally appears on the trunk of the body, not the limbs.
Like Morgan told you, the needle-stick-in-a-public-place method of being infected with hiv is nothing more than an urban myth. It has never happened to anyone, except in the fevered imaginations of people with nothing better to worry about.
If you continue to have wild, anxious thoughts about being randomly infected with hiv, please seek some support in the form of face-to-face counseling. We cannot do that for you here.
So how DO you avoid hiv infection? Start by reading our Welcome Thread (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=220.0) and following the Transmission Lesson link found there.
Then read the following and commit to it:
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 STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection.
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 are sexually active but 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.
If you are not yet sexually active, keep the above advice in mind for the future. Use condoms and avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple.
Ann
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Well.. a few weeks ago.. i felt like crap.. i had a body aches.. fatigue.. swollen glands.. head aches.. dry skin.. dry mouth.. that went away after a week and a bit.. but now im starting to develop rashes on my chest they are itchy sometimes.. but my question is.. are the rashes affiliated with HIV persistant? like do they stay there? or do they go away.. and come back... i just noticed that i have developed a rash right under my neck.. and above my chest that does not itch.. and im just afraid that the fact it may be something to do with hiv.. now my situation is.. im not sexually active.. havent had sex.. nor do i do injection drugs.. but i do go clubbing and raving.. so maybe i could have been pricked with a needle or something of that nature..
My symptoms that i have now include... dry skin.. dry mouth.. non-itchy/itchy rashes.. persistant cough.. and fatigue... any insight please?! I have read the post on HIV.. but i just want to hear what some people think.. thanks alot!
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And the reason this requires a new thread is?
MtD
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whoops.. sorry.. i totally forgot I posted this a thread on this forum.. i did develop new symptoms though..
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Whoops. Go back into your other thread and don't start a new one everytime you have something else to say or to ask.
I am locking this one before it goes any further.
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scared,
I've merged your new thread into your original thread - where you should post all your additional thoughts or questions. It helps us to help you when you keep all your additional thoughts or questions in one thread.
If you need help finding your thread when you come here, click on the "Show own posts" link under your name in the left-hand column of any forum page.
Please also read through the Welcome Thread (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=220.0) so you can familiarize yourself with our Forum Posting Guidelines. Thank you for your cooperation.
Symptoms or the lack of symptoms mean nothing when it comes to hiv infection - but guess what, you have to have had a risk of infection to get infected. You haven't. You can't become infected through an urban legend. Go read my first reply to you earlier in this thread. Keep reading it until it sinks in.
You didn't have a risk.
Ann
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Alright.. so about 2 weeks ago or so.. i developed 2 patches of 3 pimple like rashes near my inner thigh and knee.. I woke up at night itching it like hell.. and it raised.. i thought it could be molluscum contagiosum.. so to bring it to the present.. those dots just wont disappear.. it isnt itching much anymore.. they look just like pimples.. not too raised.. but its raised.. now ive seen a couple dots my face that dont itch.. they dont really look like pimples.. but just a tiny dot white filled...
My current symptoms include..
Dry and persistant cough
random cases of body/muscle aches throughout the day.
fatigue..
rashes on the chest.. especially right after i wake up or right after i shower (i usually take hot showers)
those pimply dots on my leg/face
Anyways.. it may be my anxiety thats killing me.. but i shouldnt have a reason to be scared cause I havent had any sexual encounters at all.. but i've decided to make an appointment next wednesday to go and get a Blood test.. gonna ask for a full STD screen.. this will detect all cases of HIV correct?
Thanks for all the help and info guys,.\
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No it doesn't. You have to ask for an HIV test and sign a waiver to have the test done. You didn't have a risk and have been told that several times and you want to persist that everything you have is HIV related, which none of it is.
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A full STD panel includes but is not exclusively about HIV. It also includes tests for several other STDs.
Of course there is no need for you to be tested for HIV, but I don't think that is something you are listening to right now. Hopefully when you collect the inevitable negative HIV test result you will be willing to let go of this totally unwarranted concern.
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but i shouldnt have a reason to be scared cause I havent had any sexual encounters at all.. but i've decided to make an appointment next wednesday to go and get a Blood test.. gonna ask for a full STD screen.. this will detect all cases of HIV correct?
scared,
STD stands for Sexually Transmitted Disease. You might also see it written as STI - Sexually Transmitted Infection. They are thus named because they are transmitted during sexual acts. If you haven't had sex, how do you reckon you have been infected with an STD? You can't get one from toilet seats or going to dance clubs. You can't. Hiv is also not transmitted via surfaces, it is primarily transmitted during unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse. That scenario you brought up about being stabbed with a needle in a nightclub just doesn't cut it either. This does not happen in real life. Seriously.
You would be doing yourself a greater service by booking an appointment with a mental health care provider (a counselor or therapist) than you would be by submitting to a sexual health check up.
This is not an hiv situation, nor is it an STD situation. Please contact your doctor for a referral to the appropriate counseling service in your area. There is nothing more we can do for you here and you will be given a time out if you chose to pursue this matter in these forums.
Ann