Question
What is the likelihood I am HIV positive?
29 April 2010. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission.
I had unprotected vaginal sex with a woman who I paid to have sex with me. I feel like this is possibly one of the worst decisions of my life. These are the facts of my situation:
* I am circumcised.
* I tested negative for HIV one week after the unprotected sex.
* The intercourse was brief, I stopped what I was doing midway through the sex. I conservatively estimate I was actually inside of her vagina for around 30 seconds.
* I received a blow job from her after this with no condom.
* I later found out she was HIV positive from a reliable source.
I understand there are no definite answers when dealing with HIV infection, but I am wondering what you think my odds of my being infected are? I am awaiting my results from a re-test and am going insane.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
As you said it is very difficult to give you a definite answer about the odds of you contracting HIV. HIV transmission depends on many things such as whether the positive person is on treatment, how much virus is in their blood (the viral load), if either of you has any other sexually transmitted infections and so on.
Unless the lady herself told you she was HIV positive I would be wary about hearing it from someone else however reliable they are.
The tests currently available in the UK are very accurate 2-3 weeks after exposure. I understand that it is agonizing waiting for results like this but getting a HIV test is the only way you will know if you are HIV positive or negative.
If you find that you are HIV positive, there are treatments available which can give you a near normal quality of life. There are treatments available which can give you a normal quality of life. If you need any support or further information then please don’t hesitate to contact us.
If you are negative then it is important to take precautions in the future to make sure you remain negative.
For further information on transmission and testing please follow this link to our factsheet on transmission and testing.
Good luck.