POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: rafaelito on August 24, 2013, 02:42:53 am
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Hello everyone. First off, I'd like to say I've been reading so many of the posts all over the forum, and I'm so happy I found this site, because many of us need help and sometimes consolation and can only find it in a place like this. As so many others, I have a burning question, here's my case: I'm a 24 years old guy; on an trip I recently made to the USA, I made the very stupid and irresponsible decision of just signing up to a random gay meeting website, and basically just went to a guy's hotel room and let him perform oral sex on me. Nothing but that happened. I didn't blow him. So, evidently I didn't know this guy, I barely got his name, he seemed like a normal healthy guy, but we never really know these things. I did not ejaculate in his mouth.
It's been exactly 23 days since this, and I've been worried sick I may have caught something, the worst worries come from HIV of course, but also from any other possible disease I may have caught. I feel horribly sad for having being so irresponsible, and having to go through this now, specially because I have a boyfriend and I'm also terribly guilt ridden. So I'd like to know what is my chance of getting HIV and/or any other STD from this incident? Also, when is the soonest I can get checked and what's the name of the test (for HIV and others)? I'm trying to wait until after 31 days go by, but I don't know if that would be enough to get the antibodies for any viruses.
I am freaking out over any small indication of a symptom, and I've read that it can take even months for any symptom to show up, so I don't know. Since the encounter I've had a constant sore throat and intermittent diarrhea, and last night (24 hours ago) I got around 15 little red/pink marks on the left side of my chest, coming down a little bit from the shoulder down to the nipple. And this is a symptom I was fearing the most to appear. They were a bit far from each other, and were not inflamed, it seems like it was only red coloring on the skin, little dots but only colored, not bumps. I went to bed so worried last night, today in the morning I checked them, they had vanished almost entirely back to my white skin color. So could this be an HIV rash? If it is, could it possibly vanish from 1 day to the other? Does the HIV rash itch? Mine was not itchy. And does it appear in just one area? Or does it always appear on at least two places like chest and face? I'm just very concerned. Also today a runny nose started. I don't know if I'm causing myself these symptoms from over worrying or what.
Please help me out. I'm really worried, until now I had had a very safe and responsible sex life and now I don't know what to do with myself. Thanks a lot.
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Hello!
I am so glad you took the time to read this forum before aaking your question!
As you are probably aware, saliva is not an infectious fluid. As a matter of fact, saliva contains over a dozen elements identified as rendering HIV inert and incapable of infection.
You absolutely had NO risk in that situation. Not at all, no matter the caveats. Not if he had a high viral load, not if he had a cut in his mouth, not if his teeth were rotten or even if he had another STD like syphilis!
Though you can still get syphilis and other STDs from receiving oral sex. HIV is a rare blessing in that regard.
So whatever your symptoms, they cannot possibly be HIV related. This news means that you need to keep searching for the cause of your symptoms. None of them seem related to any sexually transmitted disease I have heard of, but then again vague symptoms are called "vague" for a reason.
I certainly hope you find yourself in a better place! I am happy to re-iterate that you have no reason whatsoever to think that this is an HIV situation.