POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: gettingscared on December 02, 2012, 07:52:28 pm
-
Hello,
I am a male. About 4 weeks ago I had unprotecetd vaginal intercourse with a girl of unknown status. 2 days after the encounter I went to doctor and was given two types of antibiotics to prevent bacterial stds. I asked about HIV and he said it wasn't a big concern but I should get tested at 6 weeks. I wasn't really too worried about my exposure but after two weeks I develped diarhea and I still have it. Because of the diarhea I started reading about HIV on the internet and have become very concerned and very confused. Some articles say in the absence of other stds my chances of getting infected with HIV are less than getting struck by lightening, others put my chances at 10%. I did not have any cuts or sores or stds at the time of my encounter. Could you elaborate on my odds of having been infected assuming this woman was HIV+. Also, I know symptoms are irrelevant, but is it likely that my diarhea is a result of the antibiotics combined with my nerves. Tomorrow marks the 4 week mark and I'm considering getting a rapid result screening. Thanks in advance.
-
Scared,
Maybe you should have read about antibiotics and diarrhea instead. It's a common side effect.
While you have had a risk and you do need to test, you have a good chance of coming out of this hiv negative. Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus and more so from a woman to a man - particularly after only one time.
The earliest you should test is at six weeks (not four). The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days.
A six week negative is highly unlikely to change (a four week might), but must be confirmed at the three month point.
You need to wise up and stop having unprotected intercourse with ANYONE.
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