obsessive anxiety. need advice!

[obessedwiththoughts]

Hi, I would like to thank you for your advice you are offering here.

I am suffering from obsessive anxiety and really need help..
I had sex with a women with unknown HIV status last Saturday.

I had sexual intercourse with condom but I felt condom was being rubbed to one side so I pulled out and changed condom to new one. It wasn't broken. I could see a lot of wrinkles on the outer side of the condom but it was still in shape.
there was no issue with 2nd condom.

Next morning, I checked 1st condom and found that there was no visual tear.
I checked 2nd condom with water and it was intact too.

My concern is

1. is there any chance that 1st condom had hole on it? it was visually ok but I didn't check it with water so I am worried

2. I had fresh skin wound on my knee (bleeding). Is there any chance of contacting HIV by vaginal fluid? I am worried if vaginal fluid from on the surface of the condom could have touched my fresh skin wound on the knee

3. I just went to check urine test and blood test yesterday. Doctor said I don't have to worry too much as I wore condom. He said he cannot assure 100% but no need to worry. As far as I know, condom can prevent HIV contact 100% regardless of it's age if it was intact. Am I correct?

4. He said I don't have to worry after I get blood test result and no need to check again. Is it ok not to have blood check again after 4 weeks?

5. when nurse called me for blood test. I couldn't see where she took the needles. after she took my blood sample, she discarded needle to the trash box and I could see lot of used needles with bloods. Then I started to worry if nurse was mistaken and used old needle. I know this is crazy and total nonsense. I think I am losing my mind

Is it ok to stop worrying and move on with my life? I would like to know if I was exposed to the risk



 










 



 

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

HIV can't transmit through an intact latex or polyurethane condom. Unless a condom obviously fails during intercourse, there is no reason to be stressing or testing for HIV outside of the standard yearly routine.

Condoms also reduce the risks of other STIs. However, the protection levels for various STIs depend significantly on how these infections infect. No need to panic or test, though or test for STIs after each sexual encounter, and just test for STIs out of routine yearly.

About testing the condoms with water, stop doing it. It's not needed, not designed to be used that way and could damage the condom, mistakenly leading you to think the condom was damaged during sex when in fact you caused the damage after the intercourse by trying to "test" it with water. In short, testing the condom yourself is not a reliable way to tell you anything.

Testing condoms yourself is a step shy of paranoia if you ask me. Instead, use condoms correctly and consistently. If they don't obviously break during intercourse, there is no reason to stress about HIV from the intercourse, just move on with your life and test out of routine at least yearly.

I had fresh skin wound on my knee (bleeding). Is there any chance of contacting HIV by vaginal fluid? I am worried if vaginal fluid from on the surface of the condom could have touched my fresh skin wound on the knee

Not an HIV risk to you. Day to day wounds, scrapes and cuts are not a route for HIV to be acquired and, HIV is also extremely fragile and sexually only acquired inside the confines of the human body like during intercourse.

when nurse called me for blood test. I couldn't see where she took the needles. after she took my blood sample, she discarded needle to the trash box and I could see lot of used needles with bloods. Then I started to worry if nurse was mistaken and used old needle. I know this is crazy and total nonsense. I think I am losing my mind

It's not an HIV concern, move on with your life!

Here's what you need to know to avoid HIV infection:
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, and the only way of knowing is by testing.

Kind regards

Jim

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