Fear...oral and symptoms

[panic001]

Hi guys,
I am writing to you because I am going through days of tension and anxiety over a contact that is probably at risk.
Unfortunately, during an alcoholic evening with friends we had the brilliant idea of ​​receaving a fellatio from a sex worker ... the encounter was quite short (about 30/40 seconds) and unfortunately uncovered. The girl practiced 30 seconds on my friend and after 30 seconds on me... both without even having an erection or ejaculation for the tension and alcohol...

I wouldn't be writing if from the next day I hadn't experienced strong anxiety and paranoia... 8 days later I had 4 days of diarrhea and a slight sore throat... the blood tests show slightly altered monocytes and lymphocytes, I told this to my doctor who reassures me and tells me that I could have had a banal seasonal virus... I calmed down for a few days but I continue to live between Google and various forums in search of reassurance...
in all this, perhaps due to the strong emotional stress, after 20 days I began to have a mild but daily headache which I still have (every day) and random skin itching... from few days I have a slight discomfort in the left abdomen (panic!... I think maybe it's the spleen) but what scared me most of all are two small red spots, one on my side and one on my back, which appeared two days ago and are about 1 cm in size (and i still have)... I showed them to the doctor and he tried to reassure me by saying that if it were HIV there would be a much more extensive rash and not just two spots...after this he advises me to take a test to put an end to my fears... I don't think I've ever had a fever or lymph nodes (the lymph seems the same as before the event)... at least for now...

I'm very scared and I'm starting to convince myself that I've contracted the virus... I'm now convincing myself that I no longer have a chance of a negative outcome... I'm afraid that I didn't notice if the girl had gums or oral bleeding and that I ruined my life for 30 seconds of stupidity

I know the sympthoms means nothing but i have to a strange tireness on my arms (maybe it s the stress... i woke up always in the nigth and had some night sweats too)

So my question are:
1. do i had a risk and i have to expect the worst from my test (i will test probably next week...if I have courage ...i have too many negative feelings and i m scared to death)?
2. I had been taking a cortisone treatment for two months. Is it possible that this weakened my immune system and let the virus in if i had some contact with blood during the insertive oral (i was drunk and not remember if it was blood)?
3. is it possible to have an ARS rash like mine (only two 1 cm spot)?
4. is it possible to have all this strange symptoms just from anxiety and stress (skin itching, tireness, heachache above all)?

Sorry if I went long... congratulations for the work you do

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

Receiving a blowjob lacks the conditions required for acquiring HIV; thus, it makes sense that after 40+ years of this pandemic in terms of BJs, there hasn't been a single documented case of HIV transmission to an insertive partner (the person being "sucked"), and you will not be the worlds first.

In short, what you posted here wasn't an HIV risk.  Whatever is making you feel unwell has nothing to do with HIV from this encounter.

Here's what you need to know to reduce your HIV risks:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse correctly and consistently, with no exceptions. Consider talking to your healthcare provider about PrEP as an additional layer of protection against HIV

Keep in mind that some sexual practices described as safe in terms of acquiring HIV still pose a risk for other easier-acquired STIs. So please do get tested at least yearly for STIs, including but not limited to HIV, and more frequently if condomless intercourse occurs.

Also, note that it is possible to have an STI and show no signs or symptoms; testing is the only way to know.

Kind regards

Jim

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[panic001]

Thank you Jim for your fast reply and the work you do here for panicked people like me.
What scare me most are the two red spot appeared on my skin.
Is it possible to have only two spot as i had during an ASR rash? Or as my doctor said this has nothing to do with ARS because if it were HIV it would be more widespread?

[Jim Allen]

You had no exposure to HIV, no risk of HIV from getting a blowjob and whatever is making you sick has nothing to do with HIV.

So you don't have acute retroviral syndrome from HIV as a result of getting a blowjob.
Move on with your life.

[panic001]

ehi Jim... i m still super scared... i had some panik attack and i was not able to do the hiv test ... this two red spot are still here ... they are two macules not itching and here from 10 days ... i m started to think in my case the trasmission was possible via insertive oral caused by my cortisone cure and blood in the mouth of the girl... Do you still think it s impossible? i ve read a lot of guys that think catched the infection in this way

Please answer me : is it possible to have the acute rash with only two 1cm spot or it s more widespread?
Thanks again for you time

[Jim Allen]

my doctor said this has nothing to do with ARS

The rash or spots have nothing to do with HIV from the concerned encounter. There was no HIV exposure, no HIV risk, and the symptoms have nothing to do with HIV from the no HIV risk situation.

Your doctor has also already said it's not ARS related to HIV, and I am not going to pretend there was an HIV exposure and even the possibility of ARS, as that would be a disservice to you and the wider community.

You got your penis sucked; get over it already and please do not post about this again, as it will lead to a ban from the forums.

You had no exposure to HIV, no risk of HIV from getting a blowjob and whatever is making you sick has nothing to do with HIV.

So you don't have acute retroviral syndrome from HIV as a result of getting a blowjob.
Move on with your life.

i ve read a lot of guys that think catched the infection in this way

I see and get told HIV fantasy stories all the time, particularly from people new to HIV who are still coming to terms with the diagnosis. The stories include toilet seat stories, aliens from out of space, handshakes, and even a cow once , but thankfully, stories are not facts, and this is 2024, not 1984.

Now I do understand why some people need a story, and it's the old good AIDS vs bad AIDS thinking. There are many reasons why someone might rather not admit to exposure or incorrectly dismiss a real risk without realizing it, including inconsistent & incorrect condom usage. *

Factoring into stories is that being newly diagnosed is difficult enough time alone. For some, it's a time of struggling with a deep fear of HIV stigma, social judgment, legal concerns, self-stigma and things like sexuality or facing one's sexual orientation, religion, family, etc.

Those people need community support, safer sex re-education and possible therapy to help them; as for you, these stories are just stories, not facts; stop reading fantasies and mistaking them as facts.

*

2018
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.08.001

STI Risk Perception in the British Population and How It Relates to Sexual Behaviour and STI Healthcare Use: Findings From a Cross-sectional Survey (Natsal-3)

We have identified falsely optimistic views of personal STI risk among a substantial proportion of those at risk of STIs in the British population, which could have a negative impact on efforts to promote safe sex and STI testing, and the control of STIs.

Among those classed as having ‘unsafe sex’ in the past year (comprising approximately 1 in 5 sexually-active 16–44-year-olds), 39.2% of men and 51.0% of women rated themselves as not at all at risk of STIs

2018
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0032885517753163

Underreporting in HIV-Related High-Risk Behaviors: Comparing the Results of Multiple Data Collection Methods in a Behavioral Survey of Prisoners in Iran

Participants reported more sexual contact in prison for their friends than they did for themselves. In men, NSU provided lower estimates than direct questioning, whereas in women NSU estimates were higher. Different data collection methods provide different estimates and collectively offer a more comprehensive picture of HIV-related risk behaviors in prisons.

2018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5268760/

Socially desirability response bias and other factors that may influence self-reports of substance use and HIV risk behaviors: A qualitative study of drug users in Vietnam

The accuracy of self-report data may be marred by a range of cognitive and motivational biases, including social desirability response bias

2018
http://emj.bmj.com/content/35/1/46
Self-perceived risk of STIs in a population-based study of Scandinavian women

Subjective perception of risk for STI was associated with women’s current risk-taking behaviours, indicating women generally are able to assess their risks for STIs. However, a considerable proportion of women with multiple new partners in the last 6 months and no condom use still considered themselves at no/low risk for STI.

2018
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540121.2017.1384787

Social desirability bias and underreporting of HIV risk behaviors are significant challenges to the accurate evaluation of HIV prevention programs for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in sub-Saharan Africa

2018
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(18)30062-6/fulltext

Non-disclosed men who have sex with men in UK HIV transmission networks: phylogenetic analysis of surveillance data

Jim: In short they analysed the genetic code of the virus from HIV-positive people and came to the conclusion that some of the self-reported heterosexual mens HIV was more than likely actually non-disclosed MSM.

2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28509997

Social Desirability Bias and Prevalence of Sexual HIV Risk Behaviors Among People Who Use Drugs in Baltimore, Maryland: Implications for Identifying Individuals Prone to Underreporting Sexual Risk Behaviors.

2017 --In regards to STI's
https://journals.lww.com/stdjournal/toc/2017/07000
Sexually Transmitted Diseases: July 2017 - Volume 44 - Issue 7 - p 390–392

Is Patient-Reported Exposure a Reliable Indicator for Anogenital Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Screening in Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men?

Among 485 young black men who have sex with men recruited in Jackson, MS, 90-day anal sexual exposure significantly predicted rectal infection, but 19.4% of rectal infections would have been missed among men denying receptive anal sex. Reports of consistent condom use were associated with lower infection rates only in men reporting insertive anal sex.

2016
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010782416305418
Could misreporting of condom use explain the observed association between injectable hormonal contraceptives and HIV acquisition risk?

Jim - Not a conclusive or in depth study but under the study participants it did find: 9 out of every 20 sex acts reported with condoms are actually unprotected

2013

Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, and the Kensington Research Institute, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14655794

"At risk" women who think that they have no chance of getting HIV: self-assessed perceived risks.

more than one-half of the "no perceived risk of HIV" sample had engaged in at least one risky practice during the preceding year and more than one-quarter had engaged in at least two such behaviors


2009
The Validity of Teens’ and Young Adults’ Self-reported Condom Use
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/articlepdf/380711/poa80067_61_64.pdf

A significant degree of discordance between self-reports of consistent condom use and YcPCR positivity was observed. Several rival explanations for the observed discordance exist, including (1) teens and young adults inaccurately reported condom use; (2) teens and young adults used condoms consistently but
used them incorrectly, resulting in user error; and (3) teens and young adults responded with socially desirable answers

BMC Public Health 2007
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-7-60

Analyses of data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, Sexual Behaviour Surveys and from other countries show a similar pattern indicating under-reporting
It is probable that as HIV campaigns encouraging delayed sexual debut and abstinence before marriage reach the population, people will report behaviour
assumed to be more socially desirable.

there are some signs of differential reporting bias in our study. We found that controlling for less risky sexual behaviour substantially reduced the association between HIV and survey time among urban men, but less so among women; this may suggest that self-reports from men about sexual behaviour are more reliable. Studies suggest that respondents, especially women, tend to under-report the number of lifetime sexual partners . Therefore, analyses of associations with, and changes in, self-reported sexual behaviour should be interpreted with caution.

2010
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957626/

Self-presentation bias (wishing to be viewed in a positive light) may result in patients underreporting behaviors they perceive to be stigmatizing

Approximately a third of the men in the sample reported that they did not disclose all of their risk behaviors to the HIV counselor during the face-to-face risk assessment. These results echo similar studies of risk disclosure to medical providers

[Jim Allen]

Anyone who continues to post excessively, questioning a conclusive negative result or no-risk situation, will be subject to a four week Time Out (a temporary ban from the Forums). If you continue to post excessively after one Time Out, you may be given a second Time Out which will last eight weeks. There is no third Time Out - it is a permanent ban. The purpose of a Time Out is to encourage you to seek the face-to-face help we cannot provide on this forum.

Last attempt to be clear with you, your left testicle and right arm could fall off, but it's not related to HIV from getting your penis sucked!

Use condoms for any intercourse, and as you are sexually active, get an STI & HIV screening yearly out of standard routine. If you can't move on with your life and get over the blowjob, then consider talking to a psychiatrist.

[panic001]

Hi Jim… I just payed the subscription to support the community and give an update of my situation … I ve done a rapid antibody test at exactly 45 days and it was negative… but today I m totally desperate because the rash is spreading and increasing… I just want to document all …. No other exposures in one year from the test except the oral received … i m totally scared now… tomorrow I will see the doctor…. I know you will say not worry you had no risk but I really don’t now what to think now…. Can i trust my test at 6 and half weeks? Need to find the courage to test myself again ….

[Jim Allen]

28-day ban

Your left testicle did not fall off, and you did not get HIV from having your penis sucked. I'm sorry to hear you have this irrational fear. I can't assist you as I am not going to pretend you have had an HIV risk from the activities posted here, as that would be a disservice to you and the community.

You don't need a HIV risk assessment; talk to a therapist.