A little scared

[carry smith]

Hello,
 I did something that I am not proud of on july 10th of this year.  I originally did not think i put myself at risk of hiv,but on jully 13th I woke up with 2 swollen lymph nodes in my armpit,2 days later a third one(same area)all the size of marbles.

My nieghbor is a nurse and i let her confirm they were lymph nodes,she then gave me some antibiotics.By july 26 they were gone.I have never had a swollen lymph node  ever,I am in my forties.

What did i do,I went to a park known as a a gay hangout.There is bathroom with a hole in the wall between stalls and i inserted myself through the hole and recieved 3 blowjobs by 3 different guys.I never came and all three were very short as in a few minutes each.

Yes i am aware that a blowjob should be a non issue as of hiv transmission,However I wonder if the person on the other side of the wall did anything besides a blowjob,I would think i would know if someone was trying to insert me into thier rectum but after these lymph nodes has me second guessing if i could have been fooled and maybe did more than i realize.

I know the soonest to test is 6 weeks and finally at 3 months,thanks

[Ann]

Carry,

It's highly unlikely that you couldn't tell the difference between an anus and a mouth. They feel totally different. You already know that blowjobs are NOT a risk for hiv infection.

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 FOR HIV OVER THIS SPECIFIC INCIDENT, 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

[carry smith]

Been staying busy to pass time to test.

The swollen lymph glands i found under my arm 3 days after i did what i did are gone but driving me mad when i think about them and or the timing of them showing up.

 The Last test i purchased was a few years ago at Walgreen's but it seems not all Walgreen's carry them or the staff is not aware they even carry them.Are there any other places known to carry them?

thanks

[Ann]

carry,

I live on an island in the middle of the Irish Sea, so I have no idea where you can buy anything in the States.

I can, however, tell you that you can find a testing center near you by putting your zip code into poz.com's Health Services Directory.

Ann