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Conditions and Diseases > HIV and AIDS Forum > Symptoms of a sore throat common to HIV as well
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Q: Symptoms of a sore throat common to HIV as well
asked by: DoctorQuestion on October 20th, 2009
I am having a sore throat, enlarged lymph nodes and a 37.3 C temperature for 2 weeks already. Can it be acute HIV infection? I have sex with one constant partner only (and am pretty sure he's HIV-negative) and don't use injection needles. However, I have tenants who share my cooking utensils including knives, and also the toilet and the shower and I don't know if they are HIV-negative or positive. Is there a way I could get infected with HIV?


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Dr. Goce Aleksovski , MD
replied on October 26th, 2009
HIV and AIDS Answer A7596
The symptoms you reported (sore throat, enlarged lymph nodes, 37.3 C temperature) might be related to HIV, but are not specific only to HIV infection. As for using the same utensils as an HIV positive person, it would take blood or saliva on the utensils and immediate use by you (within several minutes) in order for transmission to occur.


Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cannot survive for a longer period out of the body. Dry conditions (when the blood drop or the saliva are dried) decreases significantly (sometimes up to 90 percents) the number of viral particles.


What you experience is probably just a sore throat. You might want to visit a general practitioner for a physical examination. You might be asked for laboratory tests and a throat swab with antibiogram which would exactly determine the presence and the type of the bacteria that caused the condition.


Antibiotics would be given according to the antibiogram. If no bacteria are detected, then the condition might be caused by a virus, in which case you would just have to wait for your immune system to win. Taking enough fluids to compensate for the lost ones, resting and taking antipyretics if the body temperature goes up can help you a lot when fighting a viral infection.




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