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Author Topic: Am I infected??  (Read 3992 times)

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Offline Ongoingconcern

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Am I infected??
« on: December 25, 2013, 02:39:58 pm »
Where to begin...

4 weeks ago whilst travelling around Thailand I slept with a bar girl in some dodgy looking place in Koh Tao. I was a bit drunk at the time and stumbled there looking for a happy ending massage but ended up doing more than I should have allowed. She took me upstairs to this seedy bedroom and then we had sex twice but it was with a condom both times(I've never done this before). However neither of the condoms were mine, she provided them, and after she had put them on, she put some liquid onto them each time before I went inside her, from what looked like a mini soap container.. I'm still not quite sure what that was.

The first time we had sex I came inside her (in the condom) and the second time we had intercourse but after 5-10 minutes I pulled out, we took off the condom and she finished me off with her hand.

Ever since this day I've been paranoid that I had caught HIV and after 10 days this was exacerbated as I suddenly noticed the head of my penis was peeling in what appeared to be thrush (although I didn't have any itching or pain so who knows). Anyway my limited understanding of thrush was that most men only contract it from sexual contact so I've linked it to my time with the bar girl, which in turn has made me question whether or not I was actually protected at all and whether the condoms worked (I do actively have sex back home with one girl unprotected but she was tested in the last 12 months and I haven't ever contracted anything from her like this).

From week 3 I was back in the UK and experienced a bout of very bad diarrhoea for a day or so along with a particularly sore throat and mild earache. I've also noticed a couple of spots appearing on my chest (yes okay that could be a coincidence) but I do think that these symptoms could be the result of a weakened immune system which could happen as part of the acute stage HIV.

I've tried to be as detailed as possible as I can here and I was just wondering whether you think I could have caught anything from the sex worker abroad especially as I seem to have caught something else and it keeps stressing me out. I never slept with anyone else during the period described.

Thanks in advance :)

Offline Ann

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Re: Am I infected??
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2013, 03:01:50 pm »
On,

You have NOT had a risk for hiv infection. If you feel unwell, see a doctor. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with hiv.

Condoms have been proven to prevent hiv infection. There have been three long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.

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.

ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOT NEED TO TEST FOR HIV SPECIFICALLY OVER PROTECTED INTERCOURSE, 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. 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!

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

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"...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 Ongoingconcern

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Re: Am I infected??
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2013, 06:30:17 pm »
Thanks for coming back to me.

I guess my concern is two-fold:

1. I'm not sure what was put on the condom and could that make it ineffective? Also are condoms for Asian countries less effective than western condoms?

2. As I seem to have caught something else which appears to be sexually transmitted could that not mean I could have caught HIV as well?

Thanks

Offline Ann

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Re: Am I infected??
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2013, 08:14:48 pm »
On,

She most likely put a lubricating fluid on the condom like you're supposed to. Stop worrying about the condom. Sex workers use condoms to protect themselves and their livelihood - NOT YOU. She's not going to use inferior condoms nor is she going to put anything "bad" on the condom. You might look down on Thailand as a third world country, but their hiv prevention efforts are first rate.

Whatever is going on with your penis isn't necessarily sexually transmitted. Take it to a doctor and show him or her and stop diagnosing yourself.

You have NOT had a risk for hiv infection. It's high time you stopped fretting about this and got with the holiday spirit.

At the end of the day, if you can't bring yourself to believe me when I tell you there was no risk in protected intercourse, go to your local GUM and get tested. You're should be doing that once a year anyway - regardless of where in the world you're having sex.

Happy Crimbo.

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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