Question:

I am going insane with worry. I have seen similar situations in your website but could you please comment on my specific circumstances . I had unprotected vaginal intercourse with a young lady that I later found out is quite promiscuous, though I don't know her HIV status. The encounter was very brief (less than 2 minutes). Three days later I got painful, swollen tonsils with a sore throat .The tonsil problem persists to this day but the sore throat went away after about a week. I experienced no other ARS symptoms. I got ELISAs at 25 and 49 days, a HIV counselor has since told me that getting these test were a waste of time since the virus takes 3 - 6 months to show up in a test. I know I need to take a 90 day test but my questions are -
1. Can I take any comfort in the 25 and 49 day ELISAs?
2. Can just swollen tonsils and sore throat be the only symptoms of ARS?
3. How worried should I be right now?
Thank You,
Worried...

Answer provided by:

Mark H. Katz, M.D.
Regional HIV/AIDS Physician Coordinator
Kaiser Permanente of Southern California

Dear Worried--
In addition to answering your questions, may I suggest that even if someone if not "promiscuous," as your partner was, it is possible to acquire all sorts of sexually transmitted infections. Having protected sex is the only way to minimize this risk.

1. Can I take any comfort in the 25 and 49 day ELISAs? - Yes, most ELISAs are positive by the 6th week, although indeed not all. These just help affirm this is likely not HIV.

2. Can just swollen tonsils and sore throat be the only symptoms of ARS? - I have never seen this be the case. It is virtually always a constellation which includes fever, fatigue, and rash. Remember that many things besides HIV (including some sexually transmitted ones) can cause sore throats.

3. How worried should I be right now? - It seems unlikely, although not impossible, that you acquired HIV from this interaction. If the test is negative at 3 months, you can pretty much lay your worries to rest.

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