Expert: Kristen Brannock, MPH - 4/4/2007

Question
Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this and I apologize for making this so long. Im really, really, really scared ; ; I am 20 years old and I had protected sex a few times with a guy I used to date around september of 2005. He also performed tongue kiss/oral on me one time. I have not had sex since then. I was a virgin before I did this and i'm worried that maybe when/if he popped my cherry (I didnt see or feel any blood after or during the sex) and when he performed oral, that maybe I could've been infected this way ; ;

Its been a little over a year and a half since this happened and last month, I ate some food from subway that made my stomach hurt that night. It was like such bad pain ; ; My stomach hasnt been the same since then. I have mild diarrhea on and off (I have 1 to 2 bowel movements per day, sometimes 1 every 2 days) and it is not that watery, only one time it was very watery. I have alot of gas and i've been getting more pimples on my face and a few on my chest than usual (I work at a burger joint and I regularily cook around/eat the food there.) I dont know if it was the food or if it is symptoms of HIV :(.

And i've been checked by two nurses at my job for swollen lymph nodes in my neck, both of them said they didnt feel anything swollen. I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder about 4 years ago. I stopped taking my meds 1 year ago, and i'm thinking that maybe I am just overreacting? The guy I used to date was deployed late last year and I still talk to him when he writes me/calls me (we are still friends). But I am too afraid to ask him if he infected me ; ; Am I parannoyed? Or should I really be this worried?


Answer
First, you need to see a doctor about your gastro-intestinal problems. You cannot be diagnosed online for anything.

Second, I am not a doctor but a health educator and can help you assess your HIV risk.

If you used protection during intercourse and it did not break, then you would not have contracted HIV. If he performed unprotected oral sex on you, then *he* was the one "at risk" in that scenario- not you. Saliva doed NOT transmit HIV. Semen, vaginal fluid, blood and breast milk are the only fluids that can transmit HIV. You, more than likely, did not come in contact with any of those during oral sex.

You may have gotten food poisoning from the food. I would check with a doctor about that.