Hi Dr. Bob,

I am really freakin scared. I went to a strip club two weeks ago and in one of the VIP rooms the stripper pulled out my erect penis and rubbed her vagina up and down the shaft of my unprotected penis. My penis never penetrated her but I am scared because I do have foreskin, although when I am erect it pulls all the way back so I couldn't tell how far down it went.

Anyway, I started having symptoms about a 7 days later. I know that symptoms usually take 2-3 weeks, but is 7 days later possible? I had a sore throat prior to the incident and it proceeded to get worse over the next week. I have also had swollen lymph nodes since a couple of days before the incident. My sore throat went away about 3 days ago but I woke up this morning with worse lymphadenopathy (definitely 3 or 4 in neck, but not sure about underarm) and my cough has returned.

I know about all of the typical cases of transmission etc but I am just really worried about my case because I feel like the course seems less typical if it is an infection. Also, the only place where I can get tested for free is at school and I don't wanna to go unless I feel I am really at a substantial risk. It has been 16 days since the incident and I have had somewhat swollen lymph nodes since a few days before it, and also a sore throat that waxes and wanes. I have no evidence of rash, nightsweats, or thrush, although I know it is still early.

Please please tell me what you think. I'll donate $50!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi.

You couldn't find other posts like yours in the archives??? Dude, you couldn't have looked very hard because I count at least a gazillion.

Not surprisingly you are not the first horned-up school kid to get "really freakin' scared" after visiting a Bouncing Bertha in the VIP room at your local Badda Bing stripper joint. Your HIV risk is nonexistent. There was no penetration; consequently, there is essentially no risk, even if Bertha was bouncing on your throbbing big bopper unprotected.

Symptoms are notoriously unreliable in predicting who is and is not HIV infected. Your symptoms are not worrisome for HIV acute retroviral syndrome. Neither worry nor HIV testing is warranted. Of course if my reassurance is not enough for you to shake your unwarranted worries, you could get a single HIV-antibody test at the three-month mark (even if you had to pay for the test). The results would undoubtedly be negative; just like it was for all those other dudes in the archives.

Thanks for your support of The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation (www.concertedeffort.org). It's warmly appreciated. In return I'm sending my good-luck/good-health karma that you are now and will forever be HIV free.

Good luck. Be well.

Dr. Bob