I recently had a brief encounter with a sex worker and made sure to use a condom, but now Im really anxious about the risk of getting HIV. Ive been reading up a lot online, and to be honest, it's making me pretty scared and down. The thing is, the encounter was really short, like about 2 minutes, and I didnt feel much. While removing the condom, I think I mightve done it wrong by pulling it from the base up. When I checked afterward, my penis was dry and there wasnt any noticeable liquid on my hands. Im worriedcould I still be at risk for HIV?

Answered by 1 Apollo Doctors

Dr Anshul Maheshwari

General Practitioner

MBBS
5+ Yrs

Consult Now

The risk of HIV transmission in this scenario is low, especially since you used a condom. However, to further reduce the risk, you can consider taking Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) within 72 hours of the exposure. PEP involves taking a combination of antiretroviral drugs for 28 days. I recommend you consult a healthcare provider for a proper assessment and prescription of PEP.

Dr. Anshul Suggests...

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Answered 04/07/2025

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I'm really worried because my wife has had a lump in her right armpit for about three months, and now there's swelling in her right breast too. Her doctor had her do a PPD TB skin test, and it came back positive with a 20 mm induration, even though she doesn't have any typical symptoms like a cough or fever. She's on anti-TB meds now, but I'm wondering if TB could really be causing the lump and the swelling. Is the skin test enough to confirm TB, or should we look into doing more tests? Your advice would be really helpful.

yes tuberculosis can cause lump. skin test is a initial diagnostic test

Answered by 1 Apollo Doctors

I'm really trying to understand what a "TARGET NOT DETECTED" result means from an HIV 1 RNA PCR quantitative test. It's been 7 weeks, and seeing that result has me a bit anxious. Does this mean the virus isn't there at all, or could it be something else?

That says you have no infection

Answered by 1 Apollo Doctors

I'm really worried because I had unprotected sex with a sex worker 7 and 8 months ago and I just had the fourth-generation p24 antigen test done at Lalpath Lab. It came back non-reactive with index values of .09 and .25. Is this result conclusive, or do you think I need to take another test? I'm not sure what to do next.

Its negative but get yourself tested 6 months once for a period of 2 years as you had a risky exposure

Answered by 1 Apollo Doctors

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