help

[chrissyp1212]

Hi there
I slept with a prostitute in the congo west Africa 12 days ago and the condom slipped off as I came. She told me after she gas HIV.

2 days later I felt weak and fatigue and had diarrhoea, 2 days after that I had muscle and joint aches and pains and thrush in the mouth. A day later I started getting lower abdominal pain and night sweats, all of which are getting worse by the day leading me to today, day 12. I have all of the above symptoms on a more severe scale along with a rash on my chest.

I am currently on a vessel and can't return home to be tested until 28th feb

Advice needed please, thank you so kindly

[Ann]

Chris,

Having a condom slip off as you withdraw is NOT a risk for hiv infection. What's important is that you used a condom and the head of your penis remained covered by it until you withdrew.

In future, hang on to the condom when you withdraw. It's all part of correct condom usage.

You have NOT had a risk. 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.

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 FOLLOWING PROTECTED INTERCOURSE, 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

[chrissyp1212]

Hi ann
Firstly thank you very much for the kind words and info. Sorry I have worded that wrong, when I pulled out the condom was inside of her and there was seamen dripping out of her, im not sure if I came out of the condom or not.

I'm after some info to see if the time periods of my symptoms coincide with the time frame of HIV symptoms. Thank you kindly

[Jeff G]

HI Chris . Since you are not sure of the incident then testing is in order . You can test at 6 weeks past any possible exposure and again at 3 months to confirm it .

Just look at this as if you need to get your regular sexual healthcare checkup and expect the best .