POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: alanblunder on May 26, 2014, 05:04:39 am
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Hi guys!
I need some help as I am really really depressed right now. 5 month ago, I committed a series of blunders which mainly included having sex with CSWs in Manchester, UK. They were not street girls but CSW nonetheless. Here are the details; I had a total of 8 encounters with 6 different WGs. In each of these encounters, I received protected oral. I performed cunnilingus on only one of the girls. In all these encounters, I performed inner thigh kissing (very close to vagina) and in one case some serious nipple sucking. None of the girls were lactating as I did not taste any sweet liquid. Additionally, I never fingered anyone but I did rub all of them. I did not see any open sores on any of the girls.
The vaginal sex was always protected and the condoms did not break to the best of my knowledge. Now here is the part that I am really really worried about. After my last encounter I developed what I believe to be a sore of Herpetic Whitlow on one of my fingers. The sore cleared on its own after a week. I have heard that the risk of catching HIV increases if you contact other STDs. My question is did it increase my risk of contacting HIV?
I must also mention that at that time I had bleeding gums and case of dry lips. Finally, the reason why I have become so paranoid now is the fact that I have gastritis for the last three months. I read on the internet that HIV is one of the causes of gastritis and other abdominal issues.
As I said earlier I am extremely depressed and as a result unable to sleep properly. Any help or advise will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Alan
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HIV is sexually transmitted from unprotected anal and vaginal sex and not from any of the things you engaged in . In order for an STD to be a factor in transmission you must also have a risk and you did not . Also ... fingering is not a risk nor is a lesion on your finger, so your fear of a sore on the finger as a route for HIV is not a concern .
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 did not have a risk and do not need to test for 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. 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!
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Thanks a lot for the reply. It really put my mind at ease. Thanks again. :)
Regards,
Alan