Dear Dr. Bob,

Again I would like to thank you for your feedback you provide here. Your incite has been helping with my anxiety and no doubt many others too.

I wrote you about a week ago about an incident I had on holiday. Just to refresh your memory, I had unprotected oral sex with a SWF (gave and took) with no intercourse. I stopped taking PEP because it was making me feel real noxious and sick. I thought I would start feeling better, but now (6 days later) I'm still feeling not right. My energy levels are way below par and I have been having multiple swollen lymph nodes in the groin region (think I have had them starting about 4-5 days after the encounter). I am waiting for the 3 month mark to be tested, but am going nuts in the mean time. Are my symptoms suggestive of acute HIV infection, or could this be due to other STDs or my mind causing these symptoms?

Thank you again

Hi,

Symptoms are notoriously unreliable in predicting who is and is not HIV infected.

Your HIV-acquisition risk (oral sex) is very low. Most HIV specialist physicians would not recommend PEP for this type of potential exposure.

An HIV-antibody test at the three-month mark is recommended.

Your current symptom complex is most consistent with anxiety and stress; however, I really can't diagnose the exact cause of your symptoms over the Internet. The statistical odds are all in your favor that you did not contract HIV from this holiday fling.

Good luck.

Dr. Bob