Answered Questions

Once antibiotics kill an infection it can take the body 3-4 weeks to actually get rid of the dead bacteria. Some STI tests (specifically the ones for chlamydia and gonorrhea) are so sensitive that they will detect the residual protein from the dead bacteria and report it as positive. This is essentially a “false positive” result, but it often leads to an additional, unnecessary dose of antibiotics if a testing provider doesn’t realize the infection could already have been treated with the previous antibiotics.

I hope this makes sense! If your STI testing was all negative 1 week after the ciprofloxacin, then you don’t need to worry. If something comes back positive on your tests, then I would recommend speaking with your care provider about the possibility of an already-treated infection.

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Health Nurse

For maximum efficacy it’s important that condoms be used correctly. A new condom should be used every time you have intercourse, as well as with each new partner, and when switching from anal to oral or vaginal penetration. The condom should be put on before the penis/external genitals touch the partner’s genitals or anus.

I don’t have any data on whether there has ever been a case of HIV with an intact condom, but what I can say is that condoms are very effective at preventing HIV.

Have a look at our Condoms page for more information and tips. You might also find our Know Your Chances charts helpful when considering risk of various types of STIs including HIV.

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Health Nurse

Unfortunately it is not possible to determine what is causing your symptoms without seeing you in person. I recommend revisiting your doctor for further assessment if you are worried about continued symptoms. However, what I can tell you is that none of the symptoms that you have described are symptoms specific to an HIV infection. These symptoms could be caused by any number of different things. 

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Health Nurse

Actually I can see that you have written to us previously with this same question. It is very difficult to live in a place where there is still a lot of stigma around HIV. It is also difficult to function in everyday life when we feel this much anxiety. It seems from your question and from the number of times that you have posted that question, that you are feeling a lot of anxiety about the possibility of an HIV infection. The fact is, you’ve had a negative test result more than 3 months after the encounter. This means that you are HIV negative.

The symptoms that we sometimes see associated with HIV seroconversion are what we call non-specific symptoms. This means that while swollen lymph nodes can be present with an HIV infection, for example, they can also be present with a multitude of other harmless things, such as a common cold.

Interestingly enough, all the symptoms that you’ve described to me can also be attributed to high levels of continued stress and anxiety. When we are feeling particularly anxious we don’t sleep. And when we don’t sleep, we get sick. When we are worried, maybe we don’t eat a normal healthy diet. And when we don’t eat, we lose weight.

In sexual health, we often meet people who are experiencing anxiety about an infection, but when we talk about it further, we discover that the actual feelings are around a new or different sexual encounter that the person feels unsure or ashamed about. I cannot determine exactly where your anxiety is coming from, but perhaps this is true for yourself.

At this point, I would strongly recommend that you see a professional counsellor or a healthcare professional about the level of anxiety you are feeling. Sometimes talking through these things in person can be helpful and counsellors have a lot of different tips and tricks to help people work through their anxious thoughts. In any case, further testing for HIV will likely not be helpful at this time, and will indeed most likely be more harmful to your mental health.

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Health Nurse

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Health Nurse

Even if there is contact between genitals but one partner is wearing clothing, pregnancy is not a risk.

We really like the Scarleteen website as they’ve got some great answers to scenarios like the one you’ve presented. Have a look at their site in general, and specifically on their Pregnancy Panic page.

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Health Nurse

In terms of this encounter, I would not be concerned. However, in general we always do recommend regular testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) between every 6-12 months for all sexually active individuals. A routine test would include screening for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. These infections often do not have any symptoms at all, so it’s good to just get checked out once in a while.

Have a look at our Clinic Finder to help locate a clinic in your area.

You also might want to check out our STIs at a Glance and Know Your Chances charts for a basic overview of different STIs and how they are passed.

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Health Nurse

Generally speaking, we don’t see STIs passed this way. HIV and different types of Hepatitis are passed through blood and body fluids like semen and vaginal fluid. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are passed through semen, vaginal, and anal fluids. Syphilis can also be passed through direct contact with a lesion (syphilis sore).

There aren’t any STIs that are carried in saliva. The only thing that could potentially pass this way would be Herpes Simplex Virus, but it would be extremely unlikely in this case. Herpes is passed by skin to skin contact. If the person you had sex with had a very fresh, open sore in his or her mouth and then spit directly on your skin it is possible there could have been virus contained in the saliva which was passed to you. But again, this would really be more of a theoretical risk than a practical one.

If you are still concerned, the best thing would be to see a healthcare provider and get tested for STIs. In fact, we recommend this routinely for any sexually active adult, whether they have symptoms or are worried about a particular encounter or not.
Have a look at our STIs at a Glance chart as well, as it gives a good snapshot of how STIs are passed.

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

You may still feel a bit tired or unwell during a second or subsequent outbreak but it is unlikely to be as severe as the first time. Getting plenty of rest, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining a low stress level are all things that can help you get through an outbreak, and indeed can help keep new outbreaks away in the first place as these things contribute to a healthy, strong immune system.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, I would encourage you to have a look at our Herpes: Patient’s Guide. It’s quite comprehensive, but there is lots of helpful info for you to look at as needed.

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

If you had done PAP testing, it will usually take a few weeks. 

Usually when you test at a clinic, they will provide you with a card that indicates when your test results will be ready and how to access them. If not, you can connect with the health care provided, who did the tests, to find out.

To learn more about results, have a look at our ‘Getting Results’ page.

Resources

• Getting Results page on SSR.com