POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: gfan01 on March 25, 2024, 05:27:28 am
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Good morning everyone.
Just looking to see if anyone has any views or thoughts.
Incident - Only have one concerning issue. I gave oral to a guy over 10 years ago. No ejaculated, no precum as far as I am aware and my mouth in good condition. Had drunk a lot of beer during the day beforehand. Really anxious afterwards.
Jump on 10 years after a few years of minor health issues, fungal toes, urticaria I developed a really bad headache that lasted for a couple of months. Went to emergency dept. Took bloods and arranged head scan. Didn't find anything other than high cholesterol.
A couple of weeks later I was in ED again, thought I had a heart attack. More bloods, scans etc. Couldn't find anything.
A month or so later had shingles. Diagnosed by doctor remotely. Lasted a month or so and the cleared up. I'm currently having a lot of anxiety and have throbbing not raised lymph nodes (unusual for me) and have a large number of skin tags. Have had some tingling in my feet and end of my nose. Anyway I know symptoms are no diagnosis but my question is;
IF my CD4 levels were low is there a likelihood something unusual would show in my routine blood samples taken in hospital (3 separate samples?)
Should shingles etc be a cause for concern?
I have not had unprotected anal/vaginal sex or taken iv drugs and know of the minute/v low/ no risk.
I'm sorry for the long message and appreciate any views.
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10 years ago you gave someone a blowjob
However, you have been sexually active during the 10 years and not had an STI screening once?
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As strange as it sounds I haven't been sexually active. Seriously.
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Then why say this?
I have not had unprotected anal/vaginal sex or taken iv drugs
This implies that you have had sex but didn't consider it a risk, i'm telling you it was an STI risk. ***
Not sure what applies to you so I'll cover both, Condoms are near 100% at preventing HIV when used correctly, However, levels of protection against STIs are far lower even with correct usage and being in a relationship also means nothing.
Work with your healthcare provider and get an STI & HIV screening
IF my CD4 levels were low is there a likelihood something unusual would show in my routine blood samples taken in hospital (3 separate samples?)
The CD4 count could vary a lot and be lower without issues showing up on standard labs.
You have been sexually active and should be getting an STI & HIV screening yearly.
. I gave oral to a guy over 10 years ago.
the mouth generally lacks a route for HIV to infect. You would need gaping open holes like Meth mouth and even then saliva would also be a barrier as it neutralises HIV by damaging the receptors needed to infect human cells.
Giving a blowjob is such a minute HIV risk that it doesn't
warrant testing outside the standard yearly screening,
Here's what you need to know to reduce your HIV risks:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse correctly and consistently, with no exceptions. Consider talking to your healthcare provider about PrEP as an additional layer of protection against HIV
Keep in mind that some sexual practices described as safe in terms of acquiring HIV still pose a risk for other easier-acquired STIs. So please do get tested at least yearly for STIs, including but not limited to HIV, and more frequently if condomless intercourse occurs.
Also, note that it is possible to have an STI and show no signs or symptoms; testing is the only way to know.
Kind regards
Jim
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2018
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.08.001
Among those classed as having ‘unsafe sex’ in the past year (comprising approximately 1 in 5 sexually-active 16–44-year-olds), 39.2% of men and 51.0% of women rated themselves as not at all at risk of STIs
2018
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0032885517753163
Underreporting in HIV-Related High-Risk Behaviors: Comparing the Results of Multiple Data Collection Methods in a Behavioral Survey of Prisoners in Iran
Participants reported more sexual contact in prison for their friends than they did for themselves. In men, NSU provided lower estimates than direct questioning, whereas in women NSU estimates were higher. Different data collection methods provide different estimates and collectively offer a more comprehensive picture of HIV-related risk behaviors in prisons.
2018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5268760/
Socially desirability response bias and other factors that may influence self-reports of substance use and HIV risk behaviors: A qualitative study of drug users in Vietnam
The accuracy of self-report data may be marred by a range of cognitive and motivational biases, including social desirability response bias
2018
http://emj.bmj.com/content/35/1/46
Self-perceived risk of STIs in a population-based study of Scandinavian women
Subjective perception of risk for STI was associated with women’s current risk-taking behaviours, indicating women generally are able to assess their risks for STIs. However, a considerable proportion of women with multiple new partners in the last 6 months and no condom use still considered themselves at no/low risk for STI.
2018
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540121.2017.1384787
Social desirability bias and underreporting of HIV risk behaviors are significant challenges to the accurate evaluation of HIV prevention programs for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in sub-Saharan Africa
2018
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(18)30062-6/fulltext
Non-disclosed men who have sex with men in UK HIV transmission networks: phylogenetic analysis of surveillance data
Jim: In short they analysed the genetic code of the virus from HIV-positive people and came to the conclusion that some of the self-reported heterosexual mens HIV was more than likely actually non-disclosed MSM.
2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28509997
Social Desirability Bias and Prevalence of Sexual HIV Risk Behaviors Among People Who Use Drugs in Baltimore, Maryland: Implications for Identifying Individuals Prone to Underreporting Sexual Risk Behaviors.
2017 --In regards to STI's
https://journals.lww.com/stdjournal/toc/2017/07000
Sexually Transmitted Diseases: July 2017 - Volume 44 - Issue 7 - p 390–392
Is Patient-Reported Exposure a Reliable Indicator for Anogenital Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Screening in Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men?
Among 485 young black men who have sex with men recruited in Jackson, MS, 90-day anal sexual exposure significantly predicted rectal infection, but 19.4% of rectal infections would have been missed among men denying receptive anal sex. Reports of consistent condom use were associated with lower infection rates only in men reporting insertive anal sex.
2016
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010782416305418
Could misreporting of condom use explain the observed association between injectable hormonal contraceptives and HIV acquisition risk?
Jim - Not a conclusive or in depth study but under the study participants it did find: 9 out of every 20 sex acts reported with condoms are actually unprotected
2013
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, and the Kensington Research Institute, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14655794
"At risk" women who think that they have no chance of getting HIV: self-assessed perceived risks.
more than one-half of the "no perceived risk of HIV" sample had engaged in at least one risky practice during the preceding year and more than one-quarter had engaged in at least two such behaviors
2009
The Validity of Teens’ and Young Adults’ Self-reported Condom Use
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/articlepdf/380711/poa80067_61_64.pdf
A significant degree of discordance between self-reports of consistent condom use and YcPCR positivity was observed. Several rival explanations for the observed discordance exist, including (1) teens and young adults inaccurately reported condom use; (2) teens and young adults used condoms consistently but
used them incorrectly, resulting in user error; and (3) teens and young adults responded with socially desirable answers
BMC Public Health 2007
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-7-60
Analyses of data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, Sexual Behaviour Surveys and from other countries show a similar pattern indicating under-reporting
It is probable that as HIV campaigns encouraging delayed sexual debut and abstinence before marriage reach the population, people will report behaviour
assumed to be more socially desirable.
there are some signs of differential reporting bias in our study. We found that controlling for less risky sexual behaviour substantially reduced the association between HIV and survey time among urban men, but less so among women; this may suggest that self-reports from men about sexual behaviour are more reliable. Studies suggest that respondents, especially women, tend to under-report the number of lifetime sexual partners . Therefore, analyses of associations with, and changes in, self-reported sexual behaviour should be interpreted with caution.
2010
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957626/
Self-presentation bias (wishing to be viewed in a positive light) may result in patients underreporting behaviors they perceive to be stigmatizing
Approximately a third of the men in the sample reported that they did not disclose all of their risk behaviors to the HIV counselor during the face-to-face risk assessment. These results echo similar studies of risk disclosure to medical providers
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I wish you well. Please don't post about this again, go to your healthcare provider and get tested
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Thank you very much for your time and assistance. It is much appreciated.
I should have said I haven't had any sexual activity since as sad as it sounds.
I'll not post again. I wish you and yours all the best.