Get the Facts
Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
... What Is Shingles? Shingles and HIV How Is It Transmitted? How Is Shingles Treated? Can Shingles Be Prevented? The Bottom Line What Is Shingles? Shingles is a very painful disease caused by the same herpes virus that causes chicken
Ask the Experts
Would there be a viral load before a Positive result?
Two months after I first noticed the Shingles and a sore throat,I was SO scared, I went to an infectious disease specialist who gave me a P24 test, ELISA Hiv 1 and 2 test and a Viral Load test, done with the Amplicor Ultra Sensitive test, down to 50...
Response from David Wohl, M.D.
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Most persons with recent HIV infection will have virus that is detectable by the HIV RNA PCR (viral load) test within days of infection. If your antibody test is not positive by 3 months (and certainly if negative at 6 months), HIV becomes... Read more »Sore throat
Doctor, I have had symptoms of a cold and a sore throat on and off for about 2 weeks. My cd is 300 and on ART (sustiva and truvada), undetetctable. I called my doctor, and he said that I am fine and it is probably a cold virus. However, I do not...
Response from Keith Henry, M.D.
University of Minnesota, School of Medicine
...If your sore throat persists/worsens with other symptoms then it is reasonable to request an evaluation (for strep throat for example) to look for Read more »Should I take antibiotics for a sore throat?
Hello, I was diagnosed as HIV + in May of 2007 upon which my T Cell count was 637 and VL at 26,400. I figured my seroconversion occured in August of 2006. My last batch of labs came back one week ago with a T Cell count of 1088 and VL about...
Response from Gerald Pierone, M.D.
AIDS Research and Treatment Center of the Treasure Coast
...answer is that antibiotics are indicated if the infection represents a bacterial process. Most of the time laryngitis is due to a viral infection and antibiotics do not provide any benefit (and may produce side effects of course). Talk to your... Read more »Shingles/ Viral Load Significance Test
I went to an infectious disease doctor about two months, 8 weeks , after I came down with Shingles and sore throat. He saw how absolutely worried I was, and that my last "possible" exposure to and STD or HIV, was 7 to 8 weeks prior to my visit. At...
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation
...Hello,Yep, you can stop worrying. Not all cases of shingles are related to HIV. In fact, the great majority are not! I totally agree with your infectious diseases doctor. The 12-week negative Read more »
Articles
Aptivus
...inflammation from previous infections may occur soon after anti-HIV treatment is initiated. Report symptoms of illness, such as shingles and TB, to a health care provider. As seen with other protease inhibitors (except unboosted Reyataz),... Read more »Acute HIV Infection
...occur within 2 to 4 weeks. The most common symptoms are fever, fatigue, and rash. Others include headache, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, feeling achy, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and night sweats. It is easy to overlook the signs of acute... Read more »Herpes Simplex (Cold Sores and Genital Herpes)
...have been approved yet to prevent HSV infection, but research is ongoing in this area. The Bottom Line Herpes simplex is a viral infection that can cause genital herpes or "cold sores" around the mouth. Most people infected with HSV don't... Read more »
