POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: worried12 on April 13, 2013, 08:10:11 am
-
Hi, I am a male from India and I have had vaginal sex with a woman of unknown status. The condom broke towards the end but I kept going for about a minute.
Anyway, I got myself tested after 6 weeks and it turned out to be non-reactive. I am in the 7th week now and have been down with the following symptoms since yesterday:
1. High fever (101-102 degrees almost consistently, hit a peak of 104 degrees)
2. Dry cough (having clear respiratory problems since the onset of fever)
3. Running nose (which seems a bit odd at this time of the year)
Being aware that I need to wait for few more weeks before getting a definitive result, my question is not whether am infected or not, but is there any chance that this could be related to ARS?
Additional info: 1. I have a normal immune system and no other diseases.
2. I don't do drugs.
3. I have asthma but I am only sporadically affected by it and it goes away as soon as I take a dose of Asthalin.
-
Hi worried . You did the right thing by testing at 6 weeks and you can test again at 3 months for a conclusive test result . Testing negative at 6 weeks is excellent and unlikely to change .
Your symptoms are not specific to ARS or HIV and the only way to tell if you HIV is to Test and you have already done that . We do not and can not go on about symptoms because then its just a guessing game .
If you aren't already having regular, routine checkups, 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!
-
Thank you very much, Jeff G.
I have few more questions, a brief answer will be appreciated!
1. I've read somewhere that unlike Flu, ARS is not associated with respiratory ailments, is it true?
2.I find it suprising that while seroconversion is said to occur at any time before 3 months, many references says that ARS occurs between 2-4 weeks. Is the timing of ARS not directly dependent on the timing of seroconversion?
To put it into perspective, Is it possible to undergo ARS between 2-4 weeks and yet take upto 3 months to show up as positive? If not, then why is ARS usually said to occur between 2-4 weeks while seroconversion is said to take upto 3 months?
-
Let's keep this as simple as possible, Worried.
Symptoms including respiratory ailments are never the way to know your HIV status. Only an HIV specific test taken at the proper time can give you that answer. A negative at 6 weeks will strongly point towards a conclusive negative result at 3 months.
The average time to seroconversion is 22 days. Most who are infected will test positive by 6 weeks. For various reasons a small number will take longer and that is why we follow the CDC recommendation to test at 3 months for a conclusive negative result.
-
Thank you Andy.
May God bless you both and all the other active members for doing this wonderful service :)