POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: vnboards on June 12, 2013, 01:24:32 am
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Hey guys, A few weeks ago I had unprotected anal sex with an 18 year old guy. He bottomed and we fucked for quite a while. A few days later, I started getting a scratchy throat which then turned into a head cold. After 5-6 days. Does this sound like HIV? I'm really scared to get tested.
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Hey guys, A few weeks ago I had unprotected anal sex with an 18 year old guy. He bottomed and we fucked for quite a while. A few days later, I started getting a scratchy throat which then turned into a head cold. After 5-6 days. Does this sound like HIV? I'm really scared to get tested.
A scratchy throat and a cold sound nothing like HIV. Acute HIV infection is not caused by the virus, exactly. It is caused by the body's response tot he virus as it begins producing antibodies - which is why it is identical to every other pathogen that does this, from allergies to colds to the flu.
Nonetheless, you have had a risk and you need to test. A test at six weeks is almost defintive, but only a three month test is considered the Gold Standard.
Please use a condom for penetrative anal and vaginal sex to avoind HIV.
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vn,
You need to wise up and stop having unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with people of unknown hiv status. You're playing with fire and while sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, hiv is forever.
You're scared to get tested? Ask yourself this - would you rather find out you have hiv when you are deathly ill in a hospital bed, fighting for breath, or would you rather find out early on in your infection when you can take steps to preserve your immune system and health and lead a long, happy and healthy life?
Don't come back with any crap about how your life would be over if you test positive. It won't wash here. I've been poz for over fifteen years, and JK and Jeff have both been poz since, like, forever. Our lives are far from over and we're all happy and leading productive lives. So stick that in your stigma pipe and smoke it.
As the insertive partner the chances are in your favour of testing negative, as hiv is much more difficult to transmit from the receptive partner (bottom) to the insertive partner (top). More difficult, but NOT impossible.
To expand on what JK told you about the testing window period, 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.
Again, you need to wise up and stop having unprotected intercourse - and you also need to overcome your testing fears, man up, and get it done.
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