POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: St39 on May 02, 2011, 09:26:49 am
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Hello,
I do not know where to begin so I will start from here: I am a lesbian, never been with men.
About nine weeks ago I slept with another woman, who has been with men before. We performed oral sex on eachother and fingered eachother, that is all. At the time I was drunk and I am worried because I may have had a cut on the roof of my mouth from brushing my teeth too hard. I remember checking for blood before the encounter and I did not see any on my finger, but I am not sure. ABout four weeks after the encounter I developed a sinus infection, and was prescribed antibiotics which gave me a yeast infection.
Needless to say, at six weeks I got a rapid test, finger prick done and it was negative. At eight weeks I went to my gyno and had a pap smear, which I am still waiting for the results on. A few days later I got my period, really heavy and I am still on it now, not as heavy but it is wiping me out. I am so tired all the time, it is hard to wake up and it makes me feel ill. I have always had funny acting periods, but I guess I am worried because I keep thinking, why now? I really need advice here..am I worrying for nothing or something? Please Help!
Thank you
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St,
Going down on a woman is absolutely not a risk for hiv infection. 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.
Hiv transmission doesn't stand a chance of happening via female genitals to mouth - there are just too many obstacles on the oral route.
The first obstacle is the mouth itself. The mouth is a veritable fortress, standing against all sorts of pathogens we come into contact with every minute of our lives. It's a very hostile environment and saliva has been shown to contain over a dozen different proteins and enzymes that damage hiv.
Hiv is a very fragile virus - literally. Its outer surface doesn't take kindly to changes in its preferred environment; slight changes in temperature, moisture content and pH levels all damage the outer surface. Importantly, it needs this outer surface to be intact before it can latch onto a few, very specific cell types and infect.
Which leads to the second obstacle. Hiv can only latch onto certain types of cells, cells which are not found in abundance in the mouth.
The third obstacle to transmission this way is having hiv present in the first place. The female secretion where hiv has been shown to be present is the cervicovaginal fluid. This fluid is actually a thick mucus that covers and protects the cervix.
The fluid a woman produces when sexually excited comes from the Bartholin's glands, located on either side of the vaginal opening. I have yet to discover one shred of evidence (and believe me, I've looked) that shows this lubricating fluid to have any more hiv present than other bodily secretions such as saliva, sweat or tears. Saliva, sweat and tears are NOT infectious fluids.
So there you have it. Once the results of the serodiscordant studies started rolling in, what we know about hiv transmission on the cellular level was validated. The only people who were getting infected were those who had unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse. Period. One of the three studies went on for ten years and involved hundreds of couples. That's a lot of nookie.
You do not need further testing as you did not have a risk. If you continue to feel unwell, see your doctor. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with hiv. You do not have hiv.
Ann
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Ann,
Thank you for your response..I just kept reading information on the web that says some crazy stuff! Why is it that some sites and even the CDC are still posting outdated information? I mean I thought by now there would be more knowledge and studies behind statistics that are being recorded. Idk..thanks again.
St39
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Do yourself a big favor and stop surfing the net. All that will come out of that is finding misinformation that will feed your worst fears. And we are not responsible for what others are giving out. We focus on being careful and accurate here based on science and decades of experience in the epidemic.
Ann has given you the real deal about your non-risk experience.
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St,
You're welcome.
It certainly is a mystery why some sites - including sites that should know better - continue to pump out wrong, scaremongering information. You get the truth here from people who are actually living with hiv.
Ann
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Hi Anne and everyone,
I wrote in a few weeks ago about my low or no risk situation. I know I got my six week negative result, however I went to get a ten week test as well just to ease my mind. It was also negative.
While at the clinic the man kept insisting I come back at six months because I am not letting it take its course..I guess what I am getting at is can I be satisfied with my ten week results? This whole situation is so taxing on my nerves and mind..I just want someone who knows their stuff to tell me to stop being a moron or something.
Thanks, St39
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Whoever told you to come back and test again at 6 months is full of hooey.
Yes, your negative result is reliable because you never needed to test at all. You didn't have a risk. If you had a risk testing at 13 weeks would give you a reliable result.
In any case you are HIV negative. Take a breath and get on with your life.
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Hi Ann,
I had a question and I hope I am posting where I should be. So I read this forum often since my no risk exposure because I want to gain as much knowledge on prevention and make my friends and family aware of the truths so to speak. In short here is my question:
I notice you say often that you have never seen someone become infected over a condom break...does that go for the guy and the girl? Or just the guy?
I ask because my close friend is going through alot of anxiety after she slept with this guy and the condom broke. I just don't know how to help her or answer this question.
Any help is appreciated,
St39
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First of all, you are posting in the right place. The rule of the site is for members to use only their same thread for any entries in this section.
Although the woman is at greater risk when a condom breaks and especially if ejaculation has taken place, both partners are protected at least until the condom breaks. And that lessens the likelihood of transmssion. In incidents when a condom has failed it's always a good idea to get tested. Testing can be done initially at 6 weeks. If a negative comes up then, it is likely it will be a negative again at 13 weeks.
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St,
When I say I've never known someone to be infected following a condom break, I ALWAYS qualify that with "I've never seen the insertive partner end up positive". As women usually do not have penises, they cannot be the insertive partner.
As Andy says, it's always a good idea to get tested following a condom break even if you're the insertive partner. It's good practice to get tested anyway - at least once a year when you're sexually active - regardless of whether or not you're always using condoms. Don't forget to always check for all the other, much more easily transmitted STIs as well.
If you're now having sex with men, just make sure he's wearing a condom and you'll be protected where hiv is concerned. Read through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use them correctly and with confidence.
Ann