So, for the last few weeks I've fooled around with this guy that comes into my dad's shop. One of those times, though, I was stupid for once in my life. I barebacked him and it wasn't until we finished that I realized what I did. I haven't had any symptoms of HIV or anything, but I will be getting tested just to be on the safe side. I am a bit scared, but where it was the first time I ever did that, whether protected or unprotected, I highly doubt I have anything.
It's okay. Relax. Accidents like these happen all the time. In all likelyhood, you're probably still negative. So just breathe and relax. But do get tested. And you'd have to wait a couple weeks to know if you got s/s of HIV complications. Also, were you receiving or giving in the act of barebacking?
Tops have lower (but not zero) risk of HIV infection than bottoms do. It's never safe to bareback, in terms of transmission risk, but it's a little safer to top than to bottom. And the risk of infection from a single unprotected encounter with an HIV+ person is still relatively low (it goes up substantially with multiple unprotected encounters.) As far as symptoms of HIV infection that you could detect, it could take anywhere from weeks to years, so it's not going to do you any good to wait for symptoms. The most common instant testing isn't terribly reliable until about the 30 day marker, so getting tested before then won't make much sense. But based on what you've said, the likelihood you were infected from this encounter is pretty remote.
while this topic is here. What is the process for STD testing? Is it blood sample? Mouth swab? How long do results usually take? And for those of you in Ontario, Canada does OHIP (health care) cover it?
I was just tested a week ago. There's a lot of (fairly unpleasant) ways of having it done, but the most common thing is a blood sample for HIV and syphilis, and a urine sample for everything else (chlamydia, gonorrhea, etc.)
I know there's free HIV testing offered by various organizations in Toronto, probably in Barrie as well. Some of them are walk-in same day, with instant results, some are the take-two-weeks variety. The most common test these days for HIV is an antibody test which can be done with a mouth swab or a finger prick. There are more sensitive tests that show a positive result sooner, but the standard antibody test works well for most people.
You might want to get tested for other STDs as well? If you did pick something up, then it's probably not HIV. HIV doesn't always show too quickly, but they'll tell you that when you get there and talk about when you should get tested next and everything,
