Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
I had protected sex before two years. As I recall, she was on top, and then later I was on top of her. During the act, my condom slipped, but there was no exposure to my bare penis. I could not achieve an erection, so she removed the condom and applied lotion on my penis.
My question is, Can her vaginal fluids enter my exposed penis as she applied lotion, making me infective (unknown status)? I had two p24 tests done at four and nine weeks. Both came back negative. Should I go to 12 weeks, or is this conclusive? Is there any chance of turning negative to positive?
I feel a swollen lymph node in my neck that has been there for close to 12 weeks now. Am I HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infected? Please help with your reply, and I am getting stressed.
Thank you.
Hello,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
This is not a likely situation of entry of HIV through the vaginal fluid. Acquisition of HIV in this scenario is non-existent. Your fears are unwanted. It is good that your p24 test is negative at four and nine weeks.
The majority of the individuals (approximately 97 %) turned positive after an HIV exposure in two to eight weeks, and a very few take six months for the test to become positive.
As per the recommendations, I suggest you undertake a repeat HIV antibody test at three months, and if negative, then at six months. You need not repeat it in between.
Enlargements of lymph nodes can be seen in multiple conditions. Get it evaluated. Lymph node biopsy helps establish the diagnosis. I hope your queries are answered, but if you still have, feel free to ask.
Take care.
Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
Thank you for the reply.
One more thing is that during the first few weeks, I had fever, cough, and lethargy. And then it was recurrent. There were no rashes or lymph node swelling.
Do you think symptoms can be presented late, close to three months, particularly skin rashes and lymph node swelling? Is the p24 combo test reliable? Because I have read that it is accurate, 99 % within the first four weeks? And not to do retesting afterward.
Kindly suggest.
Hello,
Welcome back to icliniq.com.
Fever, cough, and lethargy a few weeks after the incident and then recurrent can be a manifestation of any viral infection, or frequent upper respiratory tract infections. There can be multiple causes for these. No consistent physical symptoms have been observed in people with HIV.
With that information, some infected people do experience flu-like illness two to three weeks post-exposure, which lasts for some days. However, some individuals do not experience any symptoms at all. The best thing is that you used condoms, and the test you underwent is highly accurate and gives conclusive results.
It is essential to know how HIV transmission takes place, for a risk to a exist specific HIV positive fluid (anal or vaginal fluid or blood or semen) must come in direct contact with the bloodstream of HIV negative person. Since you do not know about partner status, and also the chances of HIV acquisition are dependent on multiple factors: HIV status of the partner, HIV viral load of that person, associated tears or abrasions, or fresh wounds at the time of penetration.
Even though you used protection and later, unfortunately, it slipped, and partner status is unknown. Therefore, I suggest you undertake a repeat HIV antibody test at three months and if negative, then at six months to be sure about your condition—no need to repeat it in between.
I hope your query is answered, but do get back to me if you still have something to say.
Take care.
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Answered byDr. Ravinder K. Sachdeva
Medically reviewed byDr. Nithila. A
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