POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: Helmes on June 19, 2009, 12:27:36 am
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:'( Hello, I am from El Salvador, Central America and I'm so afraid of being infected. I had vaginal intercourse with a prostitute in my country, exactly a month ago. I haven't experienced symptoms like flu, fever or swollen glands, but sometimes I get so terrified when I feel some muscle aches (I work out regularly). The problem is that the flipping condom broke down and I immediately withdrew my penis, but I did not wash it. The prostitute told me she had got her blood tested because she had had a similar accident with a client four months ago....I haven't been able to sleep and I even have nightmares night in, night out. I'll get my blood tested within two months now...but I'm so glum and terrified. Anyway, the prostitute told me she tested negative for HIV, but please, I'm in desperate need of help. Thank you beforehand.
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Helmes,
While you are correct in thinking you need to get tested, the likelihood of being infected due to a condom break is next to nothing. Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus and more so from a woman to a man. You were protected up until the condom broke and you withdrew immediately. Your risk is VERY small.
I've never seen the insertive partner (that's you) end up positive following a condom break and I don't expect you to be the first. Unless you've been having unprotected intercourse that you haven't told us about, I fully expect you to test negative.
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 all three 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.
The earliest you can test for hiv is six weeks as the vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks. A six week negative is unlikely to change, but must be confirmed at the three month point.
Ann
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I am very grateful to you to have replied my message so swift and accurately. Let me tell you that I haven't had intercouse without protection because I have always been aware of the terrible risk of not using a condom. But let me tell you that I have a little problem: My foreskin is rather long and as far as I know, it makes one's condom slip. Does it actually represent a factor for condom breakage?
Thank you so much Annie...your know-how about the matter reassures me a lot, albeit I must get my blood tested.
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The size of your foreskin is not going to make a condom break. When you put the condom on make sure your foreskin has been pulled back first. If you need to, practice doing it by yourself before you are with someone again.
Like Ann I do expect you will test negative. Your risk was minimal. The condom protected you until it broke and this was a single incident. It is also significantly more difficult to transmit from female to male than the other way around.
I expect you to come out of this ok. Meantime during the waiting period get productively busy with other things in your life. It will help to pass the time much more easily.
Cheers.
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Thanks so much Andy for answering my question. There is no doubt that you lot are very professional indeed!!! You're right, I'll get busy with my usual duties. I'm actually preparing my thesis on linguistic barriers which hinder oral communication because I'm about to become a Bachelor in English in my country. I just can't get enough of saying thank you Annie and thank you Andy. Now I feel reassured.
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You're welcome. Good luck with your studies and your tests.
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:) thank you Andy
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:( Hello...unfortunately, once again I am terribly afraid because of a doctor's remarks in my country about ELISA.
The situation is that today it was the national day for AIDS testing in my country and by chance, I heard a doctor saying that in the U.S people have to wait just three months to get their blood tested and hence, get a reliable result because you use ELISA fourth generation test. "That's why in El Salvador, people have to wait six months to get their blood tested and get a reliable result, because we still haven't got those medical breakthroughs in our country. We are still using ELISA first or second generation test" The doctor says. We still live in the age of stone in El Salvador...blimey!!!!! :'(
Please Andy or Annie, give me an answer...your answer will be conclusive for me. My whole self shakes at the dreadful idea of waiting six months to get a reliable result. Thank you beforehand my dear friends.
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Helmes,
Even a first or second generation test will detect hiv antibodies as early as six WEEKS. Three months is conclusive for any antibody test. You do not need to test out to six months.
You are highly unlikely to end up positive over this incident, as you've already been told.
Ann
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Thank you very much Annie for replying that fast!!! Your expertise about the matter knocks me sideways. I'll get my blood tested on August 18th, since I had that incident on May 18th. I would have had a dreadful nervous breakdown without your valuable help. Thank your for your admirable labour my dear friends and take care!!
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In the future make sure you have condoms which fit you properly. Test a couple of them out so you get comfortable with putting them on and taking them off.
And again, I expect you will come out of this ok.
Cheers.
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I will follow your advice Andy. I'm so grateful to you once more. I haven't experienced any symptoms and I'm very confident of a good result. Thank you for your reply and encouragement!!! Take care my friend!!
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Good. Glad you found the exchanges to be helpful.
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Good evening. I hope you're quite fine. I would like to ask you something regarding HIV symptoms and it is because I have read several articles about it over the years, but I would like to consult it with you. Is it true that a person, who is infected with HIV, can remain up to several years without experiencing any symptoms??? Thank you beforehand my dear friends...one learns a lot of compelling things with your helpful answers and information.
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Some people never have symptoms period.
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Just so.
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:'( Good morning. I'm once again grieving for something that has ocurred to me lately. Last night when I was about to brush my teeth I realised a kind of bleb or dark red rounded lesion had erupted in my left inner cheek and I'm so terrified it might be Kaposi's sarcoma for the lesion is painless at the moment and it doesn't turn white when pressure is applied. Nine weeks have passed since I suffered that ruddy accident...Do you think it appropriate for me to get my blood tested immediately to find out if my lesion has something do to with Kaposi's sarcoma????? Thank you very much beforehand. I'm so terrified once again.
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Man, you sure are making yourself crazy by practicing medicine on yourself without a license. Whatever is going on in your mouth is not KS.
You can do a preliminary test now that you are past 6 weeks, at which point all but the very smallest number of those who are going to seroconvert will have done so. Assuming you test negative, which is what I expect will happen, you still need to re-test at 13 weeks for a final result. A negative at 6 weeks is extremely unlikely to change to positive at 13 weeks.
As for whatever is going on in your mouth, you should discuss that with your doctor.
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You're right Andy, thank you very much. I've just checked my mouth and the bleb disappeared. I had forgotten to tell you that this is not the first time I have suffered a condom breakage. Unfortunately, it has occurred to me twice and the first time was in 2003. I tested negative six months afterwards and perhaps I'm torturing myself with that fear of testing positive this time, which is something unlikely as you lot say, but my mind is just playing a dirty trick on me. I haven't told my relatives about this incident because it would be the second time for them and I don't know how they would react towards me this time. Perhaps that's bothering me so much and that's why I can't easily focus upon my studies. I'll better wait until August 18th (13th week) to get my blood tested. Thus, I will be 100% sure I'm not HIV positive. Thank you so much again Andy and take care my friend!!!!
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You're welcome. I expect you to come out of this ok. In the meantime while waiting to test, get busy with other things in your life.
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Good afternoon Andy. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to get my blood tested tomorrow, inasmuch as 84 days have passed since my incident (week 12th) and I just can't stand it any longer. I just have a question...Can I have water a couple of hours before I get my blood tested? Does it interfere with the test???? The problem is that when I get restless and terribly nervous I can't help being thirsty. Thank you beforehand once again. I hope tomorrow I drop that terribly worry once and for all and I'm counting the hours. I'll let you know about my results. Thank you so much.
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Helmes,
There is nothing you can do or eat or drink that is going to interfere with your hiv antibody test.
Go get tested and get it over with. Your result will be conclusive and you will not need further testing. And yes, I do fully expect you to test negative.
Ann
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Thank you very much Ann. I'm very grateful to you, Andy and Rapid Rod for your well-aimed and accurate answers. I'll try to get some sleep, although it's going to be difficult for me to get a wink of sleep, but I must try to relax for tomorrow. Good night.
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:) Good afternoon you lot!!!! I'm feel over the moon because I tested negative for HIV!!!!! I also got my blood tested for syphilis because I received unprotected oral sex from a girl two months ago and I also tested negative. I'll be forever in your debt my dear friends, you don't know how I grieved for this and when I opened the envelope with my results I felt so relieved. I just want to THANK YOU ANDY, ANN a million times for all you have done for me and for other people. Without your help I would still be terrified waiting for other three months, but knowing that my test is conclusive now I feel like jumping for joy!!!!! I also want to become an activist and fight for the rights of people living with AIDS in my country. My real name is Angel and I will always be grateful with you my dear friends. Thank you so much.
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You're welcome, Angel.
Get on with your life, making sure you're using condoms correctly as correcty used condoms rarely break. Make sure you read the condom and lube links in my signature line.
Ann
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Good afternoon. It's me again. I hope you have been doing well. Last time I committed the brutality of having sex with a sex worker again, but this time there wasn't an overt condom breakage. I committed the mistake of using two condoms at the same time because I couldn't stop thinking of the dreadful experience I underwent last time...the first condom was a retardant and the second over the retardant was a normal one, but after 40 minutes of being penetrating her vagina I noticed the retardant condom was broken, nevertheless, the normal one seemed to be intact and that's why it didn't worry me so much. A week after I started thinking about a possibility of a small fissure in the normal condom, because I read Ann's information about correct condom usage and I realised that using two condoms at the same time can increase condom breakage. I'll be expecting for your professional reply, thank you so much!!!!
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If the condom had failed it would have been apparent to you. So there's no need for further concern about this latest incident.
But you do have to stop doubling up your condoms with this gobbledegook idea of "retardant" condoms. What nonsense that is. Ironically doing that can cause the very problem you want to avoid -- having your condoms break.
If you can't have sex without this kind of hysteria everytime, maybe you should spend some time with a therapist or other professional to talk about the whole subject.
All you need is one latex condom everytime you have intercourse. That will do the job of protecting you. Keep it simple and stop all this self-indulgent drama about the issue.
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I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you go spare and I didn't mean to bother you with this witless question...now I realise that doubling my condoms is a proper idiocy. I'll bother you no more, but thank you very much for the help you have provided throughout this time and you're bang-on, perhaps I should visit a psychologist because there's something that is not working out properly in my mind. Ta
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OK. Good luck to you.
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Good evening everybody. Last time I was rather rude when I said I wouldn't bother again. I really want to apologise. The thing is that two days ago I had sex with a girl and I just performed cunnilingus on her over her clitoris and labia but not inserting my tongue inside of her vagina. Afterwards when we had vaginal intercourse she noticed she bled a bit after 10 minutes of penetration. She's not virgin though. I know Andy was right when he told me about my self-indulgent drama and to stop it.. you are right Andy and I totally respect it and respect you lot. She said the blood was not because of menstruation but because of a vaginal cream she had been using for a while. I've got my doubts about it. The question is: Do I have to get my blood tested over this incident because of vaginal bleeding afterwards? My condom did not break. Is it a risk to accidentally perform oral sex on a girl when blood in her vagina doesn't show? I'm not terrified, I'm just not sure. I need your professional point of view, which is utterly conclusive to me. Thank you beforehand!! P.S The blood over my condom was evident.
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Helms,
Nothing you report was a risk for hiv infection. Going down on a woman is not a risk. Protected intercourse is not a risk regardless of the presence or absence of blood. Condoms have been proven to prevent hiv infection. 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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Thank you very much Ann, I really appreciate it!!! Moreover, I was concerned that going down on a woman with possible menstrual blood was a risk, but now the penny drops. I was nervous last time and I forgot to tell you that my condom was not completely but considerably covered by her blood. Now I'm not concerned about it any longer. In regard of oral sex, I understand that one's salive contains many elements which damage the virus, but my query is...does saliva damage the virus even when we're talking about small amounts or drops of blood? Thanks a million for your answers!!!
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Her blood being present as you have described would not change the effectiveness of your saliva in preventing the transmission of viable HIV.
This was not a risky incident. Let it go and get on with your life. No testing is necessary.
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I wish to thank you so much for your answers Ann and Andy. Now my doubts have flown away and I have learnt something new about oral sex and the effectiveness of saliva to prevent viable HIV transmission. I'm so thankful to you. I admire you and I respect you deeply and forever!!!!!!!!!!
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You're welcome. Now, get on with your life and make sure to keep those condoms handy which you will use everytime you have intercourse.
Cheers.
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Sorry!!! I didn't log out and accidentaly my cousin wanted to consult something but when I read the new thread I told him not to begin other threads or posting without my permission. Sorry
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I've merged this thread with your previous one. It's not clear to me if there is some other thread your cousin is using. Please clarify and only use this thread as our rule requests.
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Yes, the thread you've just merged is the one my cousin created. This won't happen again. As for me, there's something else I had forgotten to tell you about the last incident. First, let me apologise to you because of my bad memory, my problem is that I barely sleep 3 or 4 hours daily and due to those sleep disorders it's difficult to remember certain details about the things I do. When I was removing my condom last time, I noticed that my testicles and penile shaft had traces of her blood. Afterwards I quickly took a glimpse at my penis glans looking for traces of blood over it but I just couldn't notice anything. If a drop of blood or little trace of it had reached my penis glans, does it represent a certain risk? I'm not terrified, I just doubtful and I'll really appreciate your answer. This is the last thing I've got to ask about the last incident. I have remembered everything. Thank you once more!!
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No there isn't any risk.
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Thank you for your reply Rapid Rod!!! I'll try to sleep more in order to avoid being so nervous. Keep up with the good work and congrats.
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Forget about these what ifs like if a drop of blood reached your glans. The important thing is the condom covered your glans. The other details did not put you at risk. As Rod has correctly told you, there is no cause for concern.
Get on with your life.
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Thank you so much Andy. You're right, I must go on with my life which is only one and I must enjoy it responsibly.
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Exactly.
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Hello once again my dear friends. It's been a long since I consulted you something. I've been doing well but unfortunately this time it's not me but my dear brother. I've read your explanations and I have understood them but there's always a small doubt. My brother suffered a condom breakage this time and I somewhat regret because I didn't tell him not to visit a brothel but he did :( I was cooking very quietly when he revealed me that his condom broke and he kept penetrating the female sex worker for two minutes when he finally found out and instantly withdrew his penis. We trust your scientific work and studies and we know they're completely updated. I just wanted to share this with you and then I can show it to my brother so that he doesn't feel so restless and I suffer when I see him down in the dumps :( Thank you beforehand once again my friends. I've described you the incident as it really was because I've talked to him in a very meticulous manner about details. I know the risk is low but I want to reassure him and have him reading your reply so I can wipe his sad visage into an optimistic one. Thank you beforehand!!
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You've already answered his question.
The risk of your brother contracting HIV from a condom breakage during vaginal intercourse is very slight. He should be tested 13 weeks from the date of the incident but he should expect the result to be negative.
He might consider reviewing his condom use technique. Properly used, condoms should almost never break. He should also consider being screened for other STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea.
MtD
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Thank you very much for the answer mate!!! I'll have my brother reading this!! Unfortunately I've suffered the same incident with female sex workers two times some time ago but I tested negative. Thank you and take care! cheerio
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Hello everybody
I have to write again about the same old problem unfortunately. I had vaginal intercourse with a sex worker, and unfotunately this time the sex worker had no lubricant and I also forgot to ask her about the lube. We had sex for approximately one hour. After thirty minutes, I noticed a strange sensation in my glans penis and I thought it was because of the amount of time this prostitute had spent performing a fellatio on me but ten minutes later I realised the condom was broken. I wasn't looking at the condom while penetrating her and the question is the following : If I spent 15 minutes penetrating her with a damaged condom, does it mean that my risk is much higher than in the last incidents ?? I'll appreciate your answer please, and thank you beforehand :( once again this thing happens to me, but it was my fault
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There's nothing new to say about this situation. Yes, you had a risk but it would be a relatively low level one since the condom protected you until it broke. As you have been told before it is harder to transmit HIV from female to male so that is in your favor.
You can test initially at 6 weeks. A negative result then is a strong indication that you will test negative again at 13 weeks.
People often mistakenly assume a sex worker is a higher risk. That's not so. They want to stay healthy as well and often take better precautions than civilians.
In any case the odds remain in your favor that you will come out of this ok again. Learn from this and in the future be prepared with your own condoms and water-based lube when you are planiing to have intercourse.
Good luck with your test.
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Thank you very much for your reply Andy. You're very kind. I'll get tested again
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OK. Good luck to you. I'm betting on a negative test result for you.
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Sorry I hadn't replied. I got tested three months after the incident. I tested negative. Thank you very much for the way in which you help people around the world. Thank you so much and I wish you the very best in this fight against HIV
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Well that negative result is not a surprise here, but it is of course always a happy result to receive.
Get on with your life and always use condoms for vaginal and anal intercourse to make sure you are well protected against HIV transmission.
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I just wanted to say hello to you Andy, Ann and the rest of the wonderful people who help a lot here :) Have a nice day!!!!
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Angel,
Whew! When I saw your thread come up I thought "oh no, here we go again!" I'm glad you're only popping into say hello.
Hello to you too.
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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Hello!!! I just have a question. Two weeks ago I was with a female sexual worker and I inserted two fingers in her anus and around three minutes later I touched my penis glans with the same fingers. Was there any risk? thanks in advance.
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Please do not start a new thread every time you have another question or thought - regardless if you think your questions are related to each other or not. It helps us to help you when you keep all your thoughts or questions in one thread and it helps other readers to follow the discussion. Additional threads will be merged.
If you cannot find your thread, click on the "Show own posts" link in the left-hand column of any forum page, under your name.
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Oh, Sorry about that
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Helmes,
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 everything in one thread. It doesn't matter how long it has been since you last posted in your thread or if the subject matter is different.
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.
You've been coming here long enough now that you should know that fingering is absolutely NOT a risk for hiv infection. NO, not even if you touch your penis after your finger has been in someone's anus or vagina.
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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Thank you Ann and sorry I had completely forgotten about following the same thread.