Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 18, 2024, 10:24:22 pm

Login with username, password and session length


Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772781
  • Total Topics: 66296
  • Online Today: 328
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 0
Guests: 222
Total: 222

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Welcome to Do I Have HIV?

Welcome to the "Do I Have HIV?" POZ forum.

This special section of the POZ forum is for individuals who have concerns about whether or not they are HIV positive. Individuals are permitted to post up to three questions or responses in this forum.

Ongoing participation in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum (posting more than three questions or responses) requires a paid subscription, with secure payments made via PayPal.

A seven-day subscription is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

There is no charge to read threads in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating in any of the other POZ forums. In addition, the POZ Basics "HIV Transmission and Risks" and "HIV Testing" basics, will remain accessible to all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account to participate beyond three posts in the "Do I Have HIV?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and future support of the best online support service for people living with, affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author Topic: an unusual incident. should i get tested?  (Read 2884 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline digitchip

  • New Member
  • Posts: 2
an unusual incident. should i get tested?
« on: January 29, 2009, 07:08:31 am »
first of all let me thank you guys for this wonderful website/forum...please bear with me as my english is not so good.

also sorry for the long post.

ok so here is the incident--on oct15th of 2008 i was travelling by train to a nearby place.in one of the stations an elderly man entered the compartment but as he was crossing my seat he suddenly slipped and grabbed my hand(upper palm)..then he quickly got up & left the compartment..after he was gone i noticed avery tiny cut on my palm..as small as a needle prick..there was also a drop of blood..a small drop that might ooze out of a syringe(very small drop).it didn't even seem like a cut.it seemed like a very tiny layer of skin had come off.now my question's--
1.)if the man was +ve, could i be infected?
2.)what if the man was +ve & he too had a cut & his blood mixed with mine?then is it possible to be infected?its been three months now since the incident & i have not tested yet(i am scared).

after this incident i was healthy for two months except for some minor sinus infections(they have been with me since a long time as i have sinusitis problems)..i never caught a cold or flu..no thrush or swollen lymph nodes etc.
then on 22/23rd of dec 2008 i suffered from the common cold that lasted till 28th/29th.,,after that on the 15th of jan 2009, my sinus infections were greater..i felt my nose was blocked & due to post nasal drip i also had a cough..these got worse but after an week the nose began to clear..but i could feel a lump in my throat..the lumpiness also disappeared(rather slowly) & now i do not feel a lump but my throat does not feel very clear.though my nose has cleared.
on the 27th of this month after taking a shower, i noticed i had some red small lumps on the inner palm of my hand..i scratched them & they were itchy.but the itch went away quite soon.my palm was all red & the skin was dry & chapped...peeling off at the tip of the fingers.the lumps have almost disappeared now but the skin is still dry.

at the same time as the above i also noticed my tongue was a lot whiter,there was no itch or burning however,but it has cleared now.

just this morning i also noticed a pea sized lump on my outer thigh, not exactly my thigh but a little lower than my waist ,between the outer thigh & buttocks.it is really hard & immovable but it doesnot hurt or itch.if i squeeze it.
,it feels the same as squeezing any other part of the body.i do not know how long it has been there.is it alymph node?are lymph nodes present on the outer lower limbs?

now my final question --Should i get tested?what are my chances that i am infected?

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: an unusual incident. should i get tested?
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2009, 07:40:32 am »
Digit, essentially your concern is all about what ifs. What if the man in the train was HIV+, what if somehow HIV was transmitted, etc. HIV is a fragile virus which requires very specific and receptive settings to be transmitted. The scenario you have created is absolutely not such a setting.

None of your so-called symptoms are in anyway HIV specific. You have just pasted together a lot of different bodily events to come up with something to feed your fears. I don't see any grounds whatsoever for being concerned about HIV nor any need for testing.

If your symptoms continue you should discuss them with your doctor.

You also need to read our lesson about transmission. You can find a link to it in the welcome thread which opens this section. This epidemic is going to be around for a longtime to come and you need to be aware of the REAL risks for transmission, not the kind of ill-founded story you have cooked up for yourself.

Cheers.
Andy Velez

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: an unusual incident. should i get tested?
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2009, 07:50:33 am »
digit,

Unless you had unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with the guy on the train, you don't need to test for hiv over this incident. Bumping into people is not a risk for hiv infection.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline digitchip

  • New Member
  • Posts: 2
Re: an unusual incident. should i get tested?
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2009, 08:24:36 am »
thank you so very much....i am still a virgin & so there is no other way of transmission..i am sorry i was so afraid..its just that hiv & aids are still not given due importance in india...not many people here receive any sort of sex education which is the need of the hour.sex is also not discussed openly here.anyway i will see a doctor for all my symptoms..particularly the hard lump on my outer buttocks area(wonder what's causing that ???)...but i have decided not to take the hiv test...i do not wish to spend money for a -ve result.

thanx a lot....MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL & MAY YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY LIFE.

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: an unusual incident. should i get tested?
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2009, 08:52:04 am »
You're welcome. We're glad to have been of help.

If and when you do start becoming sexually active, just make sure that you always without exception use latex condoms for both vaginal and anal intercourse. Then you will be well protected against HIV transmission no matter what the HIV status of your partner(s) might be.
Andy Velez

 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.