HIV/AIDS

[Guest]

Hello,
I'm really happy I found such a website, hopefully I'll finally find someone here that would answer what has been worrying me for a whole now. First of all, I want to say that I'm really scared I might
have been infected with HIV The reason for my worries is mainly because the condom broke while I was having straight sex with this girl that I met at this party when i was in the united states(thus I dont know much about her),

I didnt realize that the condom broke until after we finished. So my
question is, assuming that she was HIV + , what are the chances that a guy
would get the virus through straight vaginal unprotected sex with a girl who is hiv +, i heard it's below 10 %, is this true? Moreover, if i was to find
an abrasion the following day on my penis, does this increase the risks of
it being transmitted to me? or did the abrasion have to be present before
the intercourse, and not caused by the intercourse itself for the risk to be
higher? Because when i saw a doctor 2 days later cause i was worried about
what turned to be an abrasion, he told me that it was caused by the friction and the lack of lubrication. So yes, to recap my questions as i'm dead
worried.....I want to know what are the odds that a guy would get it from a
girl through vaginal intercourse if she's HIV + and if those odds would be
greater if an abrasion was caused by this certain experience(but the marks
were only visible a day and a half later)

your reply would be greatly appreciated,
Francesco

[Guest]

The chance of getting hiv from a single episode of unprotected penile/vaginal intercourse with a positive woman is approximately .1-.3%. That's way below 10%. Abrasions or any skin openings will increase the chance. I don't know by exactly how much. It doesn't matter if the opening was there before the act or during. So the chance is very low. If you get a test and it's negative at 6 weeks post exposure, it's negative.
GR
[quote] Hello,
I'm really happy I found such a website, hopefully I'll finally find someone here that would answer what has been worrying me for a whole now. First of all, I want to say that I'm really scared I might
have been infected with HIV... [/quote]

[Guest]

Hello,
first of all thanks for replying to me, I find it of great help and it's really comforting. One quick comment that I want to make sure of, you said "6 weeks", did you mean 6 months or did you mean 6 weeks? The reason I ask is because everyone is saying only after 6 months can you be very sure...And what kind of test do you suggest? the antibodies test? And well I have a few comments in addition to telling you more about why I'm worried it's a bit of a long story but I feel that I have to involve all of those details to give you the full image of this case:

I know that the risks of getting HIV are very low in such a case, but the abrasion factor keeps worrying me....When I was in the states I was advised to get tested one month after the incident which I did, it was a multiple test for: HIV, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea inwhich they took a urine and a blood sample....I tested negative for all. However my doctor told me that the only one that may test positive later is HIV as you can never be sure until 6 months have passed and you tested negative...I did not experience any flu like symptoms in the first month after the exposure BUT in the first week after the exposure I had what turned out to be called "felleculosis" (not sure of the spelling but it's this skin disease that is like a few random red spots at the hair root at different parts of the body) I was worried because I saw a few of those barely visible spots at a few roots of the pubic hair, and When I went to a doctor and talked about it, he told me that it's not an STD, and that it's something that comes randomly and goes away with time and that there's really no clear explanation for it....and he prescribed an anti biotic for it and even said that it's not a must that i take it. so eitherways I associated it in my mind with stress but it keeps worrying me just cause i never had it before although my skin is considered sensitive...Symptoms that I experienced later on was about SEVEN weeks after the assumed exposure, this was a sudden tiring mild pain on my left side near the kidney....it occurred when I was walking and it was really weird, later on it happened again on and off, the pain isnt severe and i'm not in severe pain when it happens but it feels weird more than it is painful....It then started happening on the right side of my body, on and off, and increases with movement, it stayed with me until the day we speak now so it's been with me for a month now. I saw a doctor in germany on my way back home because I was afraid that something was wrong with my kidneys, but he did an ultra sonic and took a urine sample and told me my kidneys are okay and that the cause of this is probably muscles in this area, either caused by cold weather or lifting excess weights. Eitherways, because those symptoms remained with me for close to a month now and to add to that, I feel weaker and my bones and muscles feel weird at times, one example is i feel something like a pulse or a beat at my left thigh muscles and at the left knee too but nothing is continuous nor painful and it's just things that come and go briefly. So I became very worried, I went and saw a doctor 2 days ago which marks around 11 weeks since my assumed exposure and explained to him everything and he told me since you're very worried you can always go do another HIV antibodies test and also a blood picture, which I did and the results came today, and the hiv test was negative, and the blood picture turned normal results. So my questions are:
considering I had a test at one month post exposure, and then again 2 days ago which is 11 weeks after the exposure(a week shy from 3 months), inwhich both results turned out negative, should I do another when 6 months have passed? Also, in the test inwhich I received yesterday it said "HIV 1,2(third generation): Negative"
and I dont understand what does third generation mean? One last thing, regarding the symptoms I'm passing through,I read that muscle problems could be early hiv symptoms also known as acute retroviral syndrome, so is it possible that this could be it? Or is it unlikely as for the exception of this felleculosis thing, everything else started 7 weeks after the exposure, and some things even started a few days ago, and I've read that the acute retroviral symptoms occur within the first month and last for a short period of time and in my case those symptoms lasted for about 3-4 weeks and the weird body signs that i explained are still with me now and we're almost 3 months after....so do they occur that late sometimes and last that long? or is it unlikely?

P.S: I didnt have any sexual encounters since this worrying experience

thanks a lot for your time
[quote] The chance of getting hiv from a single episode of unprotected penile/vaginal intercourse with a positive woman is approximately . 1-... [/quote]

[Guest]

Your description of exposure is VERY low risk. You have ABSOLUTELY NO symptoms consistent with ARS. A negative antibody test at 11 weeks is a true negative. Folliculitis is not related to hiv and the side pain you describe is not either. Time to move on. You don't need any other tests.
GR
[quote] Hello,
first of all thanks for replying to me, I find it of great help and it's really comforting. One quick comment that I want to make sure of, you said "6 weeks", did you mean 6 months or did you mean 6 weeks... [/quote]

[Guest]

Thanks a lot for your advice, I will do with it : ). But just for my knowledge, and because I'm very curious, as I explained earlier they had on the last test results next to HIV I, II between brackets "third generation" , so I want to know what does the term "third generation" mean....is it the latest kind of hiv antibodies test or something? I didnt take the 2 tests in the same place so it's probably the different formats inwhich those 2 medical centers process and print the results, but eitherways it's really bugging me as I'm really curious to know what "third generation" means....

and now to my last point, I do now understand that the side muscular aches I explained earlier doesnt have to do with ARS, but what's puzzling me and we can discuss this point on a general basis, is whether it is possible for the acute retroviral syndrome and its symptoms to be present as late as 3 months after the exposure? and moreover, can it be initiated later than 6 week after the initial exposure or is it a must that the ARS occurs within the first 6 weeks and last for less than 2 weeks?

P.S: I'm sorry for the continuous questions but I live in a country where doctors arent trained well to diagnose or deal with HIV, they just know how to test for it.
[quote] Your description of exposure is VERY low risk. You have ABSOLUTELY NO symptoms consistent with ARS... [/quote]

[Guest]

What country are you in? Third generation is the most recent version of the test. ARS comes when the virus spreads rapidly through the body after infection. This typically comes on day 7 of infection. In day 1-7 it sort of incubates and then on 7 or so, BOOM a burst of viral replication and spread, and ARS. NOPE, after 6 weeks is too late, in fact after 3-4 weeks is probably too late give what I've explained above.
GR
[quote] Thanks a lot for your advice, I will do with it : ). But just for my knowledge, and because I'm very curious, as I explained earlier they had on the last test results next to HIV I, II between brackets "third generation" , so I want to know what does the term "third generation" mean... [/quote]

[Guest]

Hello,
I'm currently living in Egypt but I'm mostly spanish. Also, I used to live in the U.S for the past year...and that's where I got my first test, and that's where I felt more comfortable with doctors in general.Here, to be honest with you, I dont feel that they are that qualified with STD's in general...probably cause not too many people have it and such a field isnt that common in here as well.
I've seen two doctors at my university medical center where I studied this past year in the U.S(university of washington in seattle). One told me what you've told me which is that my exposure is a low risked one and that i should get tested sometime after a month and get it over with, and the other one which i latter saw as a referral and also through a study about HPV inwhich they were conducting and wanting volunteers to learn more about HPV in men specifically...He was the one who told me that I can never be sure that I'm HIV negative until 6 months have passed and advised me to get tested in october which ofcourse is very scary as the wait is terrifying and especially after those confusing symptoms that I explained earlier...Why are there so many conflicting point of views when it comes to when to get tested and when to be sure?
Anyway what's really bugging me right now is I'm dying to know why I'm having those symptoms; those I explained earlier. In addition, I'm now also feeling dizzy a lot, weak, and not concentrating that well plus I have blackness under my eyes....I do not smoke nor did i ever do any drugs in my life, I've already done a full blood picture and a urine test, inwhich both results were described as normal...I guess I'll have to increase the list of doctors that I see until I understand what I'm passing through....any suggestions? Thanks a lot for your help.

[quote] What country are you in. Third generation is the most recent version of the test... [/quote]

[Guest]

You need to see a doctor. Nothing you've said sounds like hiv. It seems to be excluded. I can't diagnose you on the website. GR
[quote] Hello,
I'm currently living in Egypt but I'm mostly spanish. Also, I used to live in the U... [/quote]