I have been suffering from my tonsils' swelling for 3 weeks.I have no fever, no pus on tonsils,no coughing.I saw white patches on tonsils and some redness in throat.For one or two days the symptoms are not disturbing but as I start to think I recovered it starts again.I started to panic as I had unprotected intercourse with a woman some 19 months ago.After that I didn't get sick until 3 weeks ago this has started.I started to read a lot about Hiv and I'm getting depressed each passing day.I am wondering if one can stay healthy after the exposure to hiv and get some symptoms like I mentioned persistently after such time?Thanks for your helping.

Hi. Thank you for your question.

The only way to find out the cause of your symptoms is to see a physician and have some laboratory tests done. Since every symptom related to HIV infection looks like the symptoms of other illnesses, there is no way I can tell you whether your symptoms are related to HIV or not. Only laboratory testing can determine that. Also remember that the average period of time from infection to the start of symptoms is 10 years after infection. A person can have HIV for literally years and have no symptoms at all.

HIV testing is the only way you'll know whether you have HIV, and a visit to your physician (and perhaps other lab tests as well) is the only way to determine what is the cause of your symptoms. The HIV antibody tests are more than 99% accurate as long as it's been 6 months or more after a possible exposure to the virus. If your symptoms become more severe, or if they do not go away, it's important to see your physician, regardless of what you think the problem may be. It is only by visiting your physician that you can determine the cause of your symptoms.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Centers for Disease Control at 1.800.232.4636 (Nationwide).