Question

Do I have HIV?

12 April 2010. Related: All topics, HIV transmission.

Hello,

Please can you answer my question? I feel so guilty about what I have done. On February 6th 2010 I broke up with my long time girlfriend and I don’t know what happened but I met up with a guy and we had sex. I felt so stupid afterwards. I talked with him and he said he was tested for HIV in December of 2009 and both his ELISA and Western blot test were negative.

We both used condoms, we were both tops and bottoms for each other, and we both came in each other wearing condoms.

After that night I felt so guilty and my anxiety kicked in. I looked online at HIV and the symptoms and this was when my anxiety got worse. Then a couple of weeks later I felt like I was getting a cold. I went to the doctors and I was diagnosed with a sinus infection but as I was already at the doctors I explained what happened and they were really nice about it. The doctor told me that he didn’t think I would have HIV but took a blood and pee test anyway.

A couple of weeks after I got the results and everything came back negative. The guy also contacted me and said he got another test and it came back negative. At the end of March and the beginning of April I started to get sick again with a cold. Is it just the California weather/my imagination or is it HIV? I am super scared. I am not even 20 yet, I am 19.

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

You have taken and HIV test and it came back negative. A doctor has reassured you that it is unlikey that you got exposed to HIV. You are doing the responsible thing by both using protection and making sure you both test for HIV and other STIs regularly. You have nothing to worry about. It is more likely to be the stress and anxiety of it all that is causing the colds you are experiencing.

For more information on testing and transmission please follow this link to our factsheet.