Quick Questions - Exposures, Oraquick Saliva Test, etc.

[Shaun]

Heya all,

Great forum as always with some great people/staff - before I continue, thank you all for what you do and the people you help every day!

Now, a brief summary of my recent exposures.  Almost exactly a month ago (30 days), I was with a partner of unknown status (I'm gay, so this is a male/male situation).  We practiced safer sex (which I define as a condom for any anal sex), and he was the top.  He topped me fairly roughly, and at one point, the condom did slip off, though as he was pulling out (so no contact should have occurred), and I wasn't bleeding at all afterwards either.  Also, I did end up giving him a blow job later, sucking him to orgasm, and swallowing.  (I should note I have good dental hygiene and had no sores, bleeding gums, etc.)  Am I correct at my assessment that this was a very low risk situation?

I also had a more recent encounter with another partner (who seems very concerned and upfront about health/safety and I believe is negative, so I'm not very worried about this one) where I was topped with a condom, but no problems at all this time, and I also performed oral sex on him, though not to ejaculation, though I may have tasted some.  (I might have also gotten a *very* small amount in my eye...just enough for slight irritation, but not much.  Like I said, though, I believe he's negative so this should be a non-issue).

I have gotten ill a couple of times in the last month, both times a couple days after I had sex, which of course is alarming and tends to make me paranoid (I know I shouldn't be).  Both illnesses were similar.  Fatigue, a fever, chills, a sore throat, and some sneezing/coughing/stuffiness towards the end of the illness.  (The latter component seems to indicate this couldn't be ARS, as I don't think stuffiness is a part of that, though I know symptoms have nothing to do with diagnosing HIV in the first place).

Now my testing questions.  I went to a new place to test today since I preferred a rapid test.  I test fairly regularly, but it's been at least a few months since I tested (I lost track of exactly when), plus I thought a 30-day result from that first encounter would simply make me feel more confident and at ease about getting sick lately.  They used something I've never tried before - the Oraquick Oral Swab test that tests saliva.  It came back negative, which is great.

I have a couple questions.  First, since I was assuming this would be a blood test, I was sucking on a cough drop up to the time I took the swab (she had me spit it out into the garbage).  She didn't seem to think this should affect the test, and this is probably a stupid question, but can I confirm that?

Secondly, the literature with the Oraquick test says it only detects HIV antibodies that would be present after 3 months time.  I know that this is the *conclusive* timetable, but what strikes me as odd is it doesn't say may or may not up to that point.  I'd assume it's just the way the literature is written, but I wanted to make sure this is the same as most tests (that would detect it if seroconversion was, say, the average at 22 days).

Thanks much!
Shaun

[Ann]

Shaun,

From what you've written it sounds as though you're pretty conscientious where your health is concerned. It's good to hear that you are consistently using condoms and having regular sexual health care check ups. Nothing you've written today makes me think you would test anything other than negative.

The OraQuick tests are good, reliable tests. If there was a major problem with people having food/sweets in their mouth shortly before using the test, they wouldn't have been approved for use. They are very sensitive tests and if anything, they have a tendency towards returning false positive results.

The OraQuick literature is written to reflect the three month window period, yes. No matter what test is used, most people will test positive by six weeks.

It's up to you whether or not you test again over these two incidents. I can understand that you've been spooked by getting a cold so soon after, but you need to remember that symptoms or the lack of symptoms means nothing when it comes to hiv infection. Just keep using those condoms and having regular sexual health check ups and you'll be fine.

And check out the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use those condoms with complete confidence. A correctly used condom provides excellent protection against hiv infection.

Ann

[Shaun]

Thanks very much - that's all I needed to know (and interesting condom and lube info; a few things I didn't know, especially in the lube section about nonoxynol-9 not being safe for anal sex and such - I'd always wondered where it disappeared to, though I'd never used it)!  And thanks again for what you and the other experts do everyday - this site is truly a fantastic resource, and you help a lot of people with a lot of questions!