I had protected sex with an escort 53 days ago which only lasted few seconds as she started bleeding, she said it was unexpected period but I think it was fake blood and an excuse to leave.there was some of that "blood" on the condom but the condom was intact I made sure to not touch the blood when taking the condom off. Ever since I am worried that I might have contracted HIV. after 2 weeks I had a light headache which lasted couple days and slight pain in my arm muscles which I still have it today, I was also checking my tongue daily until I develop thrush mostly on back of my tongue, I feel lymph nodes around my right ear are slightly swollen. I tested with HIV Combo test 16 days which came back negative and again 39 days after the exposure with same negative result. But I can't stop worrying, why would I get these symptoms if I don't have HIV? Can my symptoms be result of stress and anxiety? should I take a viral load test to be 100% sure?

Home / Answered Questions / I had protected sex with an escort 53 days ago which only lasted few seconds as she started bleeding, she said it was unexpected period but I think it was fake blood and an excuse to leave.there was some of that “blood” on the condom but the condom was intact I made sure to not touch the blood when taking the condom off. Ever since I am worried that I might have contracted HIV. after 2 weeks I had a light headache which lasted couple days and slight pain in my arm muscles which I still have it today, I was also checking my tongue daily until I develop thrush mostly on back of my tongue, I feel lymph nodes around my right ear are slightly swollen. I tested with HIV Combo test 16 days which came back negative and again 39 days after the exposure with same negative result. But I can’t stop worrying, why would I get these symptoms if I don’t have HIV? Can my symptoms be result of stress and anxiety? should I take a viral load test to be 100% sure?

I had protected sex with an escort 53 days ago which only lasted few seconds as she started bleeding, she said it was unexpected period but I think it was fake blood and an excuse to leave.there was some of that “blood” on the condom but the condom was intact I made sure to not touch the blood when taking the condom off. Ever since I am worried that I might have contracted HIV. after 2 weeks I had a light headache which lasted couple days and slight pain in my arm muscles which I still have it today, I was also checking my tongue daily until I develop thrush mostly on back of my tongue, I feel lymph nodes around my right ear are slightly swollen. I tested with HIV Combo test 16 days which came back negative and again 39 days after the exposure with same negative result. But I can’t stop worrying, why would I get these symptoms if I don’t have HIV? Can my symptoms be result of stress and anxiety? should I take a viral load test to be 100% sure?

We don’t see HIV passing with the type of sex you have described; condoms provide great protection against HIV.

The symptoms you have listed are common symptoms that can be caused by many different conditions and are not specific to having HIV. It’s great that you went for a HIV test as that is the only way to find out if HIV was passed.

A negative HIV combo test (antigen/antibody) at 39 days is really good as that is 95% accurate at that time period. I would recommend a final test at 3 months to make sure for peace of mind, but given a negative test at 39 days and using a condom for vaginal sex I would not expect any surprises. There is no need to do a viral load test.

It’s common that people can develop symptoms with anxiety/stress. It’s also possible for stress to also lower the immune system and to make it easier to get other medical conditions that can cause various symptoms. If concerned about your current symptoms it may be worth visiting a clinic to discuss these symptoms or to get a general check-up.

Also have a look at our worry page it has some helpful hints on how to reduce worry/stress.

Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any further questions or concerns.

Health Nurse

This answer was posted on November 5, 2018.

This answer was updated on February 7, 2022.

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