Hi - hope you can help me out with the following advice....
I had protected vaginal sex three times with a female colleague from work two weeks ago. She also gave me unprotected oral sex in the lead up to that vaginal sex but I didn't go down on her.
Four days later I developed a sore throat, with mild difficulty swallowing but that seemed to clear up over the next few days and ten days on, there's only minor irritation when I swallow. At the same time i.e. four days after the sex, I also developed a rash under my armpits which has got worse i.e. it's spread further around my armpit area (and there also now appears to be a small rash on my stomach). I did change my deodorant at the time from a spray to a stick (plus a different manufacturer) which is what I put the the skin irritation down to at first.
I am actually in a long standing relationship (10 yrs+) and this is the only time I have been unfaithful - bad patch at home. The girl I had sex with is a someone I've known for a few months, had become a good friend and she told me she had a full STD checkup at the beginning of this year and has only had protected vaginal sex since then.
Questions I have are therefore:
1. I have had no other symptoms than those I've described. Having looked at other parts of your website, the timing of even those symptoms (which I appreciate can mirror many more common ailments) would be quick for HIV wouldn't it - even if the rash has got worse?
2. In terms of other STDs like Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. I seem to understand that sypmtoms either show up in the penis and/or throat. If a man only receives oral sex, will those STDs still potentially appear in the throat or does the man have to go down on the girl to get the throat symptoms?
3. Before putting on a condom I had been fingering her so I guess some of her fluids would have been on my finger/hand when putting on the condom. Does that increase any risk of HIV?
Hello,
I will reply to each of your questions here below:
1. I have had no other symptoms than those I've described. Having looked at other parts of your website, the timing of even those symptoms (which I appreciate can mirror many more common ailments) would be quick for HIV wouldn't it - even if the rash has got worse? It is far too early for these symptoms to be related with HIV sero-conversion. Therefore I can assure you that they have nothing to do with HIV.
2. In terms of other STDs like Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. I seem to understand that sypmtoms either show up in the penis and/or throat. If a man only receives oral sex, will those STDs still potentially appear in the throat or does the man have to go down on the girl to get the throat symptoms? The only way that you could become infected with Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea in the throat is if you performed the oral sex. Therefore your throat symptoms cannot have anything to do with this. However you have put yourself at risk of having contracted these STIs in your penis as you did receive unprotected oral sex, and they do not necessarily cause symptoms.
3. Before putting on a condom I had been fingering her so I guess some of her fluids would have been on my finger/hand when putting on the condom. Does that increase any risk of HIV? Not at all. No risk of HIV.
Thanks for the reply. I will get tested for Chlamydia etc now as you suggest but I now seem to have worked myself up into a bit of a state about the other aspects - in relation to HIV risk.
I mentioned in my original post that I had a rash under both my armpits which had developed around four days after having the sex (although I think it was actually five days). This got worse over the next five days although still staying within my armpit area and has now started to subside.
My concern though is the other rash (looks like a heat rash) which I mentioned that has developed on my trunk and also on my neck, both of which really appeared on day 14 post the sex. In "normal" circumstances I would just put it down to being connected with the armpit rash (which I do appreciate is most likely to be a skin irritation) but I just can't seem to do that now. I'm thinking it's a little odd that if it was a skin irritation in my armpit area, why would it have spread to my trunk and neck and maybe it isn't in fact connected with the armpit rash and it's an acute symptom.
Your advice elsewhere talks about a whole bady rash. This is only on my trunk and neck but on other sites it does seem to suggest that just this location is a fairly common location for the rash. I don't appear to have had a fever and the sore throat I mentioned in my original thread, I appreciate, in terms of HIV, is unlikely to have been connected with the sex due to timing. It sounds like its most common to have these three symptoms together and presumably the fever would be pretty noticeable would it? Can you have just the rash? Over the last couple of days (now day 16 since the sex) I also seem to have had a few headaches and diarrhoea, although again I appreciate its most likely anxiety related.
As I mentioned originally, I only received oral sex and on the three occasions that night we had penetrative sex, I used a new condom. You guys seem to state pretty clearly that if you use a condom then the risk is virtually nil (and I appreciate that I should probably take that on board more), even if the girl was HIV+. There's clearly other stuff on the internet that says condoms are not completely reliable (I used Durex Extra Safe) but you guys seem pretty adamant that its very low risk if you do?
I've seen your statistic (1:1,000?) for the risk of catching HIV with a HIV+ girl, if a condom broke but do you know what the statitics are if it doesn't break? Having asked that I appreciate that statistically, someone has to be that "one". My partner on this occasion said she was tested earlier this year and mentioned she gives blood, so I guess she's most likely to be negative but I can clearly only go on what she told me and I've run through all sorts of scenarios as to why she might not have been completely honest with me!
Apart from putting my mind at risk, should I have an HIV test?
My concern though is the other rash (looks like a heat rash) which I mentioned that has developed on my trunk and also on my neck, both of which really appeared on day 14 post the sex. In "normal" circumstances I would just put it down to being connected with the armpit rash (which I do appreciate is most likely to be a skin irritation) but I just can't seem to do that now. I'm thinking it's a little odd that if it was a skin irritation in my armpit area, why would it have spread to my trunk and neck and maybe it isn't in fact connected with the armpit rash and it's an acute symptom.You need to consult with a doctor about this. It is certainly not a rash related to HIV
Your advice elsewhere talks about a whole bady rash. This is only on my trunk and neck but on other sites it does seem to suggest that just this location is a fairly common location for the rash. I don't appear to have had a fever and the sore throat I mentioned in my original thread, I appreciate, in terms of HIV, is unlikely to have been connected with the sex due to timing. It sounds like its most common to have these three symptoms together and presumably the fever would be pretty noticeable would it? Can you have just the rash? Over the last couple of days (now day 16 since the sex) I also seem to have had a few headaches and diarrhoea, although again I appreciate its most likely anxiety related.Symptoms happen all at the same time, high fever, severe sore thorat, rash, etc. You would not have just a rash. A rash can be a symptom of common conditions unrelated with HIV. Seek medical advice about it.
As I mentioned originally, I only received oral sex and on the three occasions that night we had penetrative sex, I used a new condom. You guys seem to state pretty clearly that if you use a condom then the risk is virtually nil (and I appreciate that I should probably take that on board more), even if the girl was HIV+. There's clearly other stuff on the internet that says condoms are not completely reliable (I used Durex Extra Safe) but you guys seem pretty adamant that its very low risk if you do?If the condom remains in place and intact, that is 'safe sex'
I've seen your statistic (1:1,000?) for the risk of catching HIV with a HIV+ girl, if a condom broke but do you know what the statitics are if it doesn't break? Having asked that I appreciate that statistically, someone has to be that "one". My partner on this occasion said she was tested earlier this year and mentioned she gives blood, so I guess she's most likely to be negative but I can clearly only go on what she told me and I've run through all sorts of scenarios as to why she might not have been completely honest with me!If you use a condom, and this remains in place and intact, the risk is ZERO
Apart from putting my mind at risk, should I have an HIV test?No you do not need a HIV test
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