HIV Symtoms Worries

[mike20blue]

Hi health Nurse ,

i have a friend of mine confided to me that he had unprotected sex (vaginal)from a sex worker ,
who claims to be Clean and so my good friend went through with it ( bad desicion ) , so after 3 days of having sex with her, he said he experienced mild fever , litte nauseated .and so to add to that he's so stressed and paranoid at same time . i advised him to wait for 3 months to get HIV test .youre advised will be much appreciated .

 

[Health Nurse]

Hi health Nurse ,

i have a friend of mine confided to me that he had unprotected sex (vaginal)from a sex worker ,
who claims to be Clean and so my good friend went through with it ( bad desicion ) , so after 3 days of having sex with her, he said he experienced mild fever , litte nauseated .and so to add to that he's so stressed and paranoid at same time . i advised him to wait for 3 months to get HIV test .youre advised will be much appreciated .

Hi mike20blue

Sorry to hear about your friends situation. It can certainly be a stressful time if you are worried about a HIV infection.

HIV seroconversion illness is the name given to a group of symptoms that can occur when someone is newly infected with HIV. Typically it occurs 2-4 weeks after infection and has been described as “flu-like” e.g. fever, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, feeling tired etc… People can get mild or severe symptoms and many people get no symptoms at all.

The main thing to remember is that these symptoms can be caused by many different things e.g. the common flu.

I see people on a weekly basis at the clinic who are very stressed because they have developed these “flu-like” symptoms. The message I give them is not to be too concerned as there are many different things that can cause these symptoms but to see it more as a reminder that something risky has happened and you should get a HIV test.

Given that your friend developed symptoms 3 days after having sex I think that it is unlikely it would be caused by HIV, but as the type of sex he had is high risk for HIV, I would suggest he goes for a HIV test.

The “window period” for current HIV tests is 3 months. This means that it can take up to 3 months for a HIV test to show positive. It is always a good idea to get a HIV test at least 3 months after a risk to know for sure but the current tests pick up most people well before the 3 months. Currently with the latest antibody test in Canada 95% of people who test positive will do so within 34 days of exposure to HIV.

Here is a link for additional information on the latest HIV tests.
http://www2.catie.ca/en/pif/summer-2010/detecting-hiv-earlier-advances-hiv-testing

At our Vancouver STI clinic we currently have a new HIV test for men as part of a study. It is 90% accurate by 10 days after exposure.

Here is a link to the Vancouver clinics.
http://healthnurse.wordpress.com/faq-about-sexual-health/4-sti-clinic-locations/vancouver/

Mike20blue I would recommend to your friend that he goes to his doctor or an STI clinic for a check up. They would be able to do all the STI testing for him as well as give him information related to his symptoms.

HN
www.healthnurse.wordpress.com
www.bccdc.ca
www.stiresource.com

 

[mike20blue]

Hi Health Nurse !
This is a follow up to my friend HIV test , since having a high risk unprotected vaginal sex ( aug.10 ) .He said hes stills nursing a stuffy nose that started around Oct. up to present .
date of exposure - Aug.10
HIV Antibody test ,HEPA .chlamydia. gonnorhea test - Negative ( Aug. 17 )
Antigen p24 hiv test - Negative ( Sept.7)
HIV Antibody test - negative ( Sept 17 )
HIV Rapid test - Negative ( Oct. 11 )
HIV Antibody test / DNA PCR test - Negative ( October 11)

Can my friend be 100% confident about all these negative test although hes pretty much 2 weeks shy away from a 3 months window period . Is having stuffy nose until now is an indication of HIV infection ? he said hes still going to test for 3 months . my friend would like to thank the Nurse's at BCCDC for being accomodating and the people from HIM clinic for their professionalism . your thoughts will be much be appreciated . THANKS

 

[Health Nurse]

Hi Health Nurse !
This is a follow up to my friend HIV test , since having a high risk unprotected vaginal sex ( aug.10 ) .He said hes stills nursing a stuffy nose that started around Oct. up to present .
date of exposure - Aug.10
HIV Antibody test ,HEPA .chlamydia. gonnorhea test - Negative ( Aug. 17 )
Antigen p24 hiv test - Negative ( Sept.7)
HIV Antibody test - negative ( Sept 17 )
HIV Rapid test - Negative ( Oct. 11 )
HIV Antibody test / DNA PCR test - Negative ( October 11)

Can my friend be 100% confident about all these negative test although hes pretty much 2 weeks shy away from a 3 months window period . Is having stuffy nose until now is an indication of HIV infection ? he said hes still going to test for 3 months . my friend would like to thank the Nurse's at BCCDC for being accomodating and the people from HIM clinic for their professionalism . your thoughts will be much be appreciated . THANKS

Hi mike20blue

Thanks for all the above information, it certainly gives me a clear picture of your friends testing situation.

It was 62 days or 8.8 weeks from the day he had sex until his last testing date on Oct 11th. The antibody test he would of got would have been the 3rd generation anti-HIV-1&2 EIA test. The average window period for this test is 3-4 weeks. The HIV DNA PCR (NAAT test) 90% of people would test positive by 10-12 days after being infected and 95-98% of people would test positive 4-6 weeks after being infected.

Given that he had both HIV tests done and it was almost 9 weeks after sex I would say that your friend is probably fine. They recommend a final test at 3 months just to make sure. I think this final test at 3 months is worthwhile as it can help people get some closure and stop thinking about it.

I would not be concerned about the stuffy nose. If he was experiencing HIV seroconversion illness his HIV NAAT test would not show a negative result especially 9 weeks later.

I am glad that they he had a good experience at the two clinics. We understand that this can be a very stressful time for people.


HN

 

[mike20blue]

hi health nurse ,
my friend tested negative with Hiv antibody test ( nov 12 ) . hes asking if he's test is conclusive , date of exposure ( aug.10 ) . hes asking if nov 12 is ok date for testing @ 3 months . thanks... keep up the good work !

 

[Health Nurse]

hi health nurse ,
my friend tested negative with Hiv antibody test ( nov 12 ) . hes asking if he's test is conclusive , date of exposure ( aug.10 ) . hes asking if nov 12 is ok date for testing @ 3 months . thanks... keep up the good work !

Hi mike20blue

Your friend would be fine with those test results.

If someone tested negative on the current HIV test available in BC and the risk they were concerned about was over 3 months ago. We would say that you did not get HIV from that risk no matter what you did.

HN
www.healthnurse.wordpress.com
www.bccdc.ca
www.stiresource.com