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Author Topic: Very Scared  (Read 3170 times)

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Offline hopefull

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Very Scared
« on: May 10, 2012, 02:30:00 pm »
Thank you for the wonderful work you do on this forum.

Some of the things I am asking, have been answered before, but again, I am thankful for your patience.

I went to see my skin doctor 3 weeks ago for 5 small bumps on my eyelid. She saw them for 30 seconds & said that they were Molluscom Contagiosum. (BTW I do not have any genital molluscom contagiosum). She got them extracted & cleaned.

Then she asked me when did I get my last HIV test? I got totally scared & could not think of anything. She suggested me to get tested.

I went home & looked back at my past. I had casual relations with with a few girls & escorts last couple of years. I ALWAYS USED A CONDOM. But, I did indulge in Deep French Kissing & Cunnilingus. I also remember having a very large sore on the upper hard palate of the mouth & a broken tooth filling during one of those encounters.

I also underwent a minor surgery on my lower back last in December & it was roughly 8 weeks after my last sexual encounter. Since surgery was in India they did an HIV test on me too & it was negative.

I am very scared now, especially the more I read about "molluscum on the face" on the internet.  Every minor sickness looks like a an HIV symptom: I had diarrhea for a long while which is gone now (could be anything), headache above the eyelid (could just be sinus), Longer healing period for common cold, hair follicle bumps on chest etc.

Could you advise me on my situation?

Offline jkinatl2

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  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
Re: Very Scared
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2012, 04:37:57 pm »
You really shouldn't be scared. Kissing and cunnilingus pose zero risks for HIV, and if you wore a condom for penetrative sex, you were protected.

Molluscom Contagiosum is very common, even in HIV negative people.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline Ann

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  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Very Scared
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2012, 04:50:37 am »
Hopeful,

MC is very common and it is spread by skin to skin contact and simple touch. In fact, UNlike hiv, you can get it from objects in the environment, like towels. Children commonly get it. You're only seeing references to hiv when you read about MC because if a poz person gets MC, it tends to quickly spread on their body and it can be more difficult to get rid of. But ANYONE can get MC.

It shouldn't freak you out when a health care provider asks you about your hiv testing history. They should be asking their sexually active patients this question more often. If they did, more people would accurately know their status and fewer people would be only diagnosed when they become very ill.

You're doing what you're supposed to - using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse. Keep doing that and you'll be protected where hiv is concerned.

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:

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
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline hopefull

  • New Member
  • Posts: 2
Re: Very Scared
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2012, 08:11:59 pm »
Thanks Ann & jkinatl2,

Reading the other forum posts & your replies has given me confidence to get myself tested, which I shall do soon, just to get the doubt aside.

Much respects to all of you who run these forums with dedication. I will come back & post here once I have my results or if I have another question.


Thanks again.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Very Scared
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2012, 05:50:48 am »
Hopeful,

Good plan. You should make having a full sexual health check up a yearly (or even twice-yearly) event. Think of it like having a regular dental check up. You may not have a toothache, but you go once a year or so anyway.

Given what you've told us, I fully expect you to test hiv negative.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

 


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