symptoms and risk - am I being neurotic?

[rick_lecava]

Hi - About 3 weeks ago, I had sex with an escort. While the vaginal intercourse was protected with a condom, oral sex wasn't, but what really worries me is a cut that I had on the front of my scrotum/testicles. From my memory, saliva didn't come in contact with my testicles during oral, but I could be wrong and of course there's the chance that vaginal fluid could have come in contact with the cut during intercourse.

Right at about the two week mark, I had a sore throat and the next day a stuffy/runny nose. This has lasted roughly three days and is beginning to subside (I've been taking cold medicine). I also haven't had any other symptoms like swollen lymph nodes (at least that I can notice), fever, soreness or even a headache. Still, this doesn't stop me from worrying.

SO...am I just being paranoid and neurotic, or is there a real chance of something wrong?

Thanks!

[RapidRod]

At no time were you ever at risk of contracting HIV in the situations you've provided.

[Ann]

Rick,

You have not had a risk for hiv infection so if you feel unwell, see a doctor. It's nothing to do with hiv.

The blowjob was not a risk. Not only is saliva not infectious, but it also contains over a dozen different proteins and enzymes that damage hiv and render it unable to infect.

Protected intercourse is just that - protected. There have been long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.

You're worrying needlessly about the cut on your sac. Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus that is primarily transmitted INSIDE the human body as in unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse where the virus never leaves the confines of the two bodies.

Once outside the body, small changes in temperature, and pH and moisture levels all quickly damage the virus and render it unable to infect.

Here's what you need to know in order to remain hiv 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 the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOT NEED TO TEST 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.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Ann