POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: Canuck on March 17, 2013, 06:49:13 pm
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Hello all I would like to say I think you are all doing great things with this forum first.
Secondly let me tell you about my scare, and tell me what you all think.
Last year in October I had sex with an escort. I was wearing a condom. As it turns out I was so drunk I couldn't stay hard very long anyway. No more than 5-10 minutes anyhow. So I asked her to leave. I have no idea if she had HIV or not.
Two days later I started to grow two warts on the inner top part of my thigh. They eventually chafed off before I could ever get them check out. I also caught what I haven't been able to confirm through a swab but herpes, never on my penis or testes but in the pubic area. I suspect this is because I had a condom on? I showed it to my Doc but he said he couldn't be sure unless there was a flare up and he swabbed.
I then developed a rash I can't recall how far down the road but a few weeks. This rash would not go away on my upper body and arms, and when I showed it to my Dr he was quite certain it was a fungal rash as it started with a single circle that stood alone for a while and then spread. He gave me some cream. When the cream didn't work he was still pretty sure it was a fungal rash and gave me some anti-fungal pills, he was sure it would be gone in 4 days when the pills were done. It turned out to take about 8-10 days but it finally left. This was March 23rd when it was gone, so I had had it for over 4 months !!!!
Now one year later I am starting to have warts grow on my body. Three on my arm one below each armpit and one on my stomach. I rarely have a flare up in my pubic area however it does appear there is one or two warts starting to grow there again. I also got what I would describe as two cyst pimples on my butt recently and one on my thigh. You know the big ass ones that come in under the skin and leave a mark for a while after there gone.
I have read that Herpes and Genital Warts are signs of ARS and I had that rash aswell. Now warts are popping up all over me? I have been in a mono relationship for about 10 months and this has only started to cross my mind lately when a friend was speaking about HIV. Would warts start popping up after only being infected for a year? Would I also be getting sick in other ways if that was the case?
How bad does this all sound? Even though I have never had the greatest skin I feel this is to many skin problems no? I have my whole life had a history of plantar warts and have had other warts on my hand before.
I appreciate any feedback I can get, and I know I need to go in and get tested.
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You never had an exposure and warts are not a sign of ARS.
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Canuck,
You did not have a risk for hiv infection with the sex worker, whether or not she was hiv positive.
You did the right thing and used a condom for (anal or vaginal) intercourse and condoms have been proven to prevent hiv infection.
There have been three 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 need to understand that it's not just sex workers with whom you need to use condoms. If you've been having unprotected intercourse with ANYONE, then you need to test. As a sexually active adult, you should be having a FULL sexual health check up at least once a year anyway, regardless of your condom use or non-use.
Regarding your warts and other concerns, you need to go to a doctor to get them taken care of. You could very well be misdiagnosing yourself, so get to a doctor!
And as Rodney said, neither your warts nor any of the other things you are worrying about are "signs" of hiv. Neither symptoms nor even the lack of symptoms will ever tell you a single thing about your hiv status. ONLY testing at the appropriate time will.
The appropriate time for you to test is at least three months following your last incident of unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with anyone whose hiv status you cannot be 100% sure of, and the only way to be 100% sure is to be in a monogamous relationship with them and have tested negative together with them.
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 SPECIFICALLY OVER THE PROTECTED INTERCOURSE YOU HAD WITH A SEX WORKER, 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