So last week I came down with a horrible throat infection, inflamed glands, fever, I sounded like I had smoked for 90 years etc. I then googled the symptoms and one of the possible conditions was the initial reaction to HIV exposure which then goes dormant for 10 years. However this was mentioned as highly unlikely and is actually just a cold. I have never had unprotected sex so obviously I can't have HIV. But its got me paranoid, I am wanting a HIV test even though it will be negative and considering that I have never slept with a HIV + person.
It seems like there are two courses of action you could take to kind of get over this: disregard it as it's extremely unlikely and continue with your life (Much, much easier said than done), or get tested for your own peace of mind. Did you go to a doctor for when you were sick? What did he/she say? STDs and HIV can be scary, it's true. But if you're taking proper precautions for sex, it shouldn't be much of a problem, and getting tested somewhat regularly if you're sexually active can be a good habit to get into, even if just for your peace of mind.
It's curious that I seem to run into two basic reactions in young guys when it comes to STIs (and HIV in particular). There are those who seem to consider them SEP (Someone Else's Problem), and rationalize why they don't need to ever use condoms when they have sex. And there are those who fall more in your camp. Guys who are exceptionally afraid of possibly catching an STI, to the point of avoiding all possibility of (even the safest) sexual contact, and thinking any symptoms they might exhibit are a sign of an SDI...even if there is no chance of it actually happening. KaraBulut, and now I, have both taken to using the term "think horses not zebras". If you're in the American country, and you hear the sound of hoofbeats behind you, you're most likely to turn around and see a horse. Could it be a zebra? Yeah, I suppose, but since you're in an area with WAY more horses than zebras, odds are much greater that you're hearing a horse instead of a zebra. Similarly, you got a sore throat - could it be HIV? Well, yeah, it COULD be, I guess, but since you're in an area where colds are far more prevalent than HIV, that's almost certainly what's going on. In regards to HIV specifically, it's actually fairly easy virus to protect yourself from. Wearing condoms during anal sex will reduce your odds of catching it to almost zero. Lex
This is why doctors hate the internet... Everyone has to decide where they set the line between fear and not spending their whole life stressing. It's entirely up to you where you want to set it, just bare in mind that too much stressing costs you in terms of life quality too.
One of my classes had a gay couple as guest speakers. One had AIDS since the late 1980s and had no visible signs of it that I could see. The other is still negative. Condoms can be that full-proof, and even if you did get it, it's not the same as it used to be.
