Oral & Glans Contact?

[SunnyFlorida]

First off, I would like to say that I really appreciate the total honesty and straightforwardness that the admins here have in this forum. I was looking through the other threads and while I still feel slightly better about my case, my OCD is still going big-time, I cannot stop thinking that I might have been infected. Whatever you tell me, I won't argue and I will get myself tested at the 13 week point. I guess I think it'll make me feel a tad better if I just talk about it, if you know what I mean?

On January 30th, 2011 I went on a date with another man. It went pretty well, we had a great time eating dinner, watching a movie and just talking until 4am the next day. Things got a little heated, eventually we performed fellatio on each other and during masturbation, the glans of our penises touched more than once.

Shortly after that, he informed me that he tested a very light positive with one of the 15-20 minute HIV tests. That worried me greatly. He sent out for an ELISA and Western Blot sometime in the beginning of February. The ELISA came back negative, but the Western Blot was inconclusive. He just sent out for another ELISA/Western Blot a few days ago.

On February 28th, I had a whole battery of STD testing done, and won't get the results until the end of this month. I did take the 15-minute HIV test and it came out negative, but it's still well within the window period. In the meantime... I've been ridiculously sick. During the week of February 21, approx three weeks from initial contact, one of my lymph nodes started swelling and has been hurting, and it's only the node in the right side of my neck, no other lymph nodes are swollen. It comes and goes, usually will hurt for 3-4 days, then dissipate, and then come back. The first week, my doctor gave me a Z-pack thinking it was another case of strep. The second week, I got a shot because another doctor thought it might have been gonorrhea. This week, I didn't get any antibiotics and it went away by itself. It'll probably come back in a few days. Also, I've been exhausted and my mouth has been so dry for the past few days. I have had little appetite as well. I don't know if the exhaustion is due to the stress and worry. I've been checking my body for rashes, monitoring my weight, but I see no difference.

Do you think there's a chance it might have been transmitted to me? I know it's only "theoretically possible" via oral, but what about glans-to-glans contact? Thanks for your time!

[RapidRod]

You never had a risk of contracting HIV. HIV is not transmitted outside its host.

[SunnyFlorida]

You never had a risk of contracting HIV. HIV is not transmitted outside its host.

Thank you... That's exactly what I needed to hear. I feel better now... hugs to you all!

[Ann]

Sunny,

Your friend's test result indicate he is hiv negative.

But that doesn't actually matter as nothing you two did was a risk for hiv infection.

Here's what you need to know in order to remain hiv negative:

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.

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.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Ann

[SunnyFlorida]

Ann,

Thank you! You are absolutely correct. I have not had intercourse in over two years now; the last time I did it was an experience I shared with somebody I loved at the time and I intend on keeping it that way. If I meet somebody new and fall in love with him, then I will do it - protected, of course. I've had regular checkups every six months since last year when I became a bit more "active".

My friend's situation is a bit more confusing... I forgot to mention that he did the quick HIV test last week and it was reactive in a couple minutes so I'm not really sure what's going on with him. However, I'm not worried about myself now that I know I wasn't at risk at all. I've told my friend that whatever happens, if he ends up being positive, or the both of us being positive I will continue to stick by him.

I got myself tested at Project Response, an organization in the East Central Florida area. The people were fantastic and I'm considering volunteering my time with them in order to learn more about HIV/AIDS and help out those in need. There are still so many people who are completely clueless about these things (me included!) so I would really like to help spread the word in my local LGBT community.

This seems like a wonderful community and I'm learning quite a bit from reading the forums on the "other side". Thank you, Ann and RapidRod, for the peace of mind and information you've given me. I was tested for all possible STIs and the results should arrive at the end of this month. I'll let you know what they are when they arrive.

[SunnyFlorida]

Just wanted to add, it's the end of the day and I feel much better now than I have in days. It seems that most of the "symptoms" I've been having were stress-related - exhaustion, dry mouth and lack of appetite. I just kept psyching myself into thinking that I had a good chance of being infected that my body must have pretty much believed it. After reading this forum and a few others, such as "Living with HIV", "Someone I Care About Has HIV", etc. and hearing what Ann and RapidRod had to say, it's like it just went away. This site is an amazing resource and I'm learning quite a lot about HIV/AIDS and I'm hoping to use that knowledge to help my friend in case his ELISA/WB tests come back positive. Thanks, again!

[Ann]

Sunny,

Yep, stress can cause all sorts of physical symptoms. We see it here all the time.

Keep up with the regular testing and condom use and you'll be just fine where hiv is concerned.

Ann

[SunnyFlorida]

My friend got his official ELISA/WB test results today and is conclusively positive for HIV. He will be doing a screening for VL & CD4 soon. As always, I will be there for him for support. I've already told him about this forum.

As for me, I have not gotten retested but I 100% expect to come out of this negative.

[SunnyFlorida]

Quick update. Got myself tested at the 10 week point to be sure, and it came back negative as expected. I shall not do any further testing until six months from now. Once again, thank you all for your patience and well-informed answers to my questions. I'll be sticking around in support of my friend!

[RapidRod]

Quick update. Got myself tested at the 10 week point to be sure, and it came back negative as expected. I shall not do any further testing until six months from now. Once again, thank you all for your patience and well-informed answers to my questions. I'll be sticking around in support of my friend!

You didn't have an exposure and don't need further testing. Had you had an exposure 3 months post exposure is conclusive and has been since 2004.

[SunnyFlorida]

You didn't have an exposure and don't need further testing. Had you had an exposure 3 months post exposure is conclusive and has been since 2004.

Of course, but it's good practice to test myself every six months, isn't it? That's what I meant - sorry if I wasn't clear!

[Andy Velez]

If you are sexually active it's a good idea to have a full STD panel done regularly. Other STDs are much easier to acquire than HIV. That means having them done at least annually although if you choose to them every 6 months that's not a bad idea, depending on how active you are sexually.

Ann has clearly explained to you how to protect yourself against the sexual transmission of HIV. It's not complicated. Just make sure condoms are used everytime for vaginal and anal intercourse. It really is that simple.

[SunnyFlorida]

If you are sexually active it's a good idea to have a full STD panel done regularly. Other STDs are much easier to acquire than HIV. That means having them done at least annually although if you choose to them every 6 months that's not a bad idea, depending on how active you are sexually.

Ann has clearly explained to you how to protect yourself against the sexual transmission of HIV. It's not complicated. Just make sure condoms are used everytime for vaginal and anal intercourse. It really is that simple.

Yup. Already noted. I got a small supply of condoms just in case, though I'm not really all that active. I've already taken Ann's advice to heart.

[SunnyFlorida]

Hi, hope you're doing well. Thought I'd give y'all an update. As everyone in this thread said, I definitely did not have a risky situation in terms of HIV, and I now have a concrete diagnosis for my symptoms and illness. At first I thought it was because of an abscess in my tooth causing problems including oral thrush. I was wrong. I was officially diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and secondary Fibromyalgia, caused by my body's abnormal immune response to specific childhood viruses. I tested positive for Epstein-Barr Virus, Cytomegalovirus, Human Herpesvirus-6 and Human Parvovirus B19 where my numbers were at least four times the minimum required for a positive result, with HHV-6 being 13 times the minimum. I'm on Acyclovir now, 400g 4x a day for 5 months to treat it. I'm not quite sure what caused my immune system to crash like that, but it's likely because of all the unnecessary stress I put myself through with this damned HIV "tunnel vision" among other things.

Thank you to everyone on here. Definitely some good people on this site. Listen to them... they know what they're talking about. You guys have a good one!

Signing off for the last time!

~C

[Andy Velez]

OK. Good luck with getting your problems cleared up satisfactorily.

Cheers.