Dr. Frascino

after recieving oral sex from a hooker-I was drinking--- I went to my doctor the next day and asked to be put on drugs in case I was exposed. He said that I will not get hiv that way but said that testing for other stds might be warranted. A week and a half later I came down with a high fever, night sweat, and soret throat now I am scared that i got hiv. Was my doctor correct? I made a stupid mistake and now feel that I might have paid for it. Why didnt he give me the meds? I even think I might have had a rash but am not sure.

Hello,

You were drinking a hooker? What flavor was he or she? OK, no matter, on to your question. Why didn't your doctor give you PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) following your oral sex-capade? Because, PEP involves taking very potent antiretroviral drugs, all of which can have very serious side effects. The risk of taking any medication must be weighed against the possible benefits. Oral sex, particularly insertive oral sex, carries an extremely, extremely low risk for HIV transmission. Consequently, your risk of taking the drugs would have been much greater than the potential benefits. Yes, I agree with your doctor. Must likely, your symptoms are related to something other than HIV. If you are still worried about HIV, get tested at the 3-month period. I'm willing to bet it will be negative.

Dr. Bob