POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: Whoknows3 on April 15, 2013, 09:59:41 am
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Hi guys.
I'm here to tell you my story, please forgive me if I'm being naive. Basically, three weeks ago, I went out with some friends and stupidly shared snorting equipment for drugs. My nose bled. I know the status of my friends, but we were with some people who I didn't know, and obviously not their status either.
A few days after, I came down with a flu like illness: chills, muscle aches and a bad fever. It went away the next day, but the three days after I had explosive diarrhea (sorry if it's tmi lol). I'm worried I've contracted HIV, and have booked a docs appointment, but I have to wait, and the wait is killing me. My lymph nodes are still swollen and painful all over (neck, around head, armpits, groin) even though it's been 3 weeks now.
Thanks in advance if anyone can reply.
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Hi Who . You need not worry that you have contracted HIV from snorting equipment , HIV isn't contracted that way . There have been cases reported of HEP C being contracted in this manner but not HIV .
ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOT NEED HIV TESTING AT THIS TIME, anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care checkup, 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 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!
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Thanks for the quick response Jeff G! I'm responsible when it comes to protected sex and getting tested :) I had my last check up late January and it was all clear, and I haven't had any unprotected intercourse since.
I guess I've just been googling and put myself into a frenzy. Because my nose bled I was thinking about points of contacts and all sorts lol. I'm still worried about my lymph nodes, but I will try and put the HIV fears to rest. Do you think it could have just been some other illness which I caught?
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I guess I've just been googling and put myself into a frenzy. Because my nose bled I was thinking about points of contacts and all sorts lol. I'm still worried about my lymph nodes, but I will try and put the HIV fears to rest. Do you think it could have just been some other illness which I caught?
We hear from people all the time who keep putting their fingers in their lymph nodes and pressing to see if they are tender and swollen ... and that makes them tender and swollen . You are correct , the symptoms you are having are not specific to HIV and could be anything , so if you are unwell , go see your doc . You can put your fears about getting HIV in this manner behind you , I'm wishing you the best of luck .
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Okay, so I'm trying to put out of my mind but I just have a few more questions if you don't mind. I'm not saying what I experienced was ARS, but I've read conflicting information about it. I was wondering how long it takes after exposure for the symptoms to come? Most places say 2-4 weeks but some sources state 'within days' & finally, is it possible for it to last 24 hours? Thanks again, this'll be my last post :)
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The truth is ARS is something that some people never experience so I go back and reiterate that the only way to know your HIV status is to test at the appropriate time and that's 6 weeks after any possible exposure and again at 3 months to confirm the results .
You didn't have a risk for HIV .