Question
Are these mouth problems symptoms of HIV?
4 January 2008. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission.
Hello,
Some background….
I had my HIV test done last month, the ELISA was positive but Western blot was negative. My last risk factor was about 2 years ago. I am male and 42 years old.
My problem is I’m experiencing quite few problems with my body which seems to suggests its HIV related. I’ve seen a few doctors but can’t seem to find out what is the cause. My problems are:
– gum recession (from what i read, gum recession is usually due to a compromised immune system)
– burning sensation on my tongue, very sensitive to hot and spicy food
– occasionally stinging pain in the gums
– i just did my CD4 count and came back with 550. The CD4/CD8 ratio shows 0.8 (from what I read, its quite abnormal for a non-hiv person to have CD4/CD8 ration lower than 1)
My questions are:
– are all these problems a manifestation of HIV/AIDS
– I’ve seen quite a few doctors and they can’t seem to tell me the problem. Any suggestion what I should do to get help?
Answer
Because your Western Blot test was negative, and you haven’t had another exposure in the last two years, you do not have HIV.
The symptoms you describe are not particularly associated with HIV.
Although CD4:CD8 ratio does fall to below 1 in untreated HIV infection, I’m sure other things could cause this, but this is something you need to ask your doctor about or contact a general medical site.
If your doctor cannot suggest another reason, you could always re-test for HIV in the rare case that your samples were involved in a lab error.
Sorry not to be able to help more.