Hello doctor, I am a 28-year-old boy. Recently, I had sex with a lady. We are working together, and two weeks before only her visa got renewed. While the visa stamping time, they check all procedures and tests. About her, she is divorced and separated before one year back. Since one year she lived alone and no sexual relations with anybody. About her Ex-husband, his background was not good. He had a relationship with other girls I heard. But right now both of them are living in the healthy conditions. There is no significant medical problems. Past four months, we had a good relationship (sexual). My problem is this, recently I got a fever, and I took medicine. Then I was fine. But the cold is not getting cured. Frequently it is coming. Actually here the weather is a little cold now a days. But no weight loss or no other problems. Just cold and headache. Headace sometimes but cold regularly. Can you please advice, is it related to my sexual life? Should I go for any test? Can the HIV virus be hidden for a very long time? Could you please tell me once it is infected how many weeks will it take to identify? Actually, I am planning to marry her.
Hi. I have read your query. It is most likely that fever and cough are due to common cold. Please do warm saline gargles several times a day to reduce the throat inflammation. You can also take steam inhalations to get relief. If a cough is persisting you can take the antibiotic. Take tablet Azithromycin (500 mg) once a day for five days. If the symptoms persist, further tests may be needed. For the headache, you could get your eyes tested. Also, get your blood pressure checked.  You have asked for advice on HIV infection. HIV infection occurs in three stages. Stage 1: Occurs within 2 to 6 weeks of exposure. Symptoms include a headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, rash, cough and cold. It lasts for a couple of weeks, then goes away. Stage 2: There are no symptoms during this stage. Stage 3: Full blown symtoms of HIV occur due to immunity being compromised. It is important to use a condom as it provides the best protection against sexually transmitted diseases. If you are suspecting HIV exposure, it is important to get one tested. ELISA test is the method used for screening. Rapid HIV tests are also available. These are only used for screening and should be follwed by western blot test which is confirmatorty. Sometimes, a false positive result occurs so it is important to get a repeat testing done. HIV virus takes 2 to 12 weeks to appear in blood so that it can be detected by the test. A person should get their partner tested too if the result comes as positive. Please consult a nearby doctor if symptoms persist.