Nail Issues - white scaly tissue a sign of AIDS? Posted: 11-12-07 16:32pm
first off, thank you ALL who reply here
and help people with their questions. the
world needs people like you.
I am 29 y/o, my last HIV test was 10 years
ago and it was negative. I have been
married for 5 years, and have a 1 year old
baby boy.
My wife had prenatal blood work done while
pregnant, and her HIV came back negative.
We both have Herpes Simplex, genital
mostly. This is from before we got
married.
here is the story.
When my wife had our baby, we went through
a tough period where sex was pretty much
absent. the realtionship was fine...we are
very loving and caring of each other, but
sex was just not happening. at first i
thought this was normal due to postpartum.
then it kept going, she was totally not
interested. I blamed myself for being a
little overweight, ugly, etc. and got
really depressed. So depressed i started
looking for other ways to get my self
esteem back, and my sexual needs met.
I resorted to paying for sex. Escorts to
be more specific.
I had several encounters. All
protected...once or twice quick
unprotected oral, but NEVER unprotected
intercourse. During this time i battled
emotions and guilt for doing this, but
thought this was better than having an
actual emotional affair, thinking this was
less "cheating". Ridiculous i know.
I had a long talk with my wife about her
lack of interest, and we decided to start
trying new things to spice up our sex
life. And we did. I finally realized the
risk i was putting us all in, and how much
i love my family. And decided to never do
this again. Me and my wife use condoms
most of the time, due to the Herpes,
although we take Valtrex every now and
then when an outbreak occurs. But again, a
couple of times we have had unprotected
sex. Unless i am VERY mistaken. my wife
has never cheated on me, and never would.
The issue is in the past month or so i
have deloped a nail problem. I have what
appears to be either Psoriasis of the nail
or some fungal infection. I keep reading
online and both of these are clinical
manifestations of HIV infection. I have
never been diagnosed with Psoriasis,
although i have always been a dry itchy
person...when the weather is dry, my back
always itches. I have always battled
dandruff since i was a kid.
But I am worried sick. The one on my
finger nails is weird cause i remember
almost 2 years ago, i slammed my middle
finger in a door. My nail of course turned
purple, and ended up falling off. I have a
nervous habbit of biting my nails and
sometimes i make them bleed. so i kept
messing with that nail and picking at it
and poking at it and removing the parts
that were about to fall off. It got really
nasty, but i dont ever remember it getting
infected. When it started growing out, i
noticed dimples on it. little rounded pits
on the nail plate. never thought anything
of it. The pits kept going and my nail was
full of little round pits. Now ALL my
nails(both hands) have developed little
pits, and they have white scaly tissue
that looks like its coming from the
cuticle. They are not painful or itchy.
Then for about a month i got this rash on
my thumb(palm side). It was like dry dead
skin, and again...i kept picking at it and
biting the little scales that would peel
off. and i would make them bleed. I
decided to stop that and moisturize it. it
went away. then appeared on my other hand.
on my thumb again(palm side), middle
finger(on the joint palm side) and the tip
of my pinky(palm side). if i picked at
them, and didnt keep them moisturized, i
could get them to bleed by biting and
picking on them. Again, tried
moisturizing, and they went away. although
not completely. on dry winter days, when
my hands are dry, i can see a difference
in the skin there, and that area can be
itchy.
My toenails, specifically the big toe
nails. are both a little discolored (
whitish yellowish) and the right one shows
signs of nail damage starting at the
cuticle. as if it was subungual
onychomycosis. AGAIN as i have read
online, very common in HIV infected
people, very rare in healthy people. The
callus on my right toe also got really dry
and itchy to the point where it cracked
open. I fixed that with moisturizers.
the left one is starting to show. I have
soaked them in vinegar for a week, and
they dont get worse, but they dont improve
either. I have kept my feet moisturized
every day. again...dont worsen, but dont
improve. I do have a VERY stressful
job...and the time of MOST stress just
passed. it was a spceifically stressful
season. Juggling 3 jobs at the same time.
Running from one place to the next. Could
this cause the psoriasis ? only in the
nails though ? Could i have had psoriasis
all along and not known it ? they say HIV
triggers it though.
As far as other symptoms, i dont remember
when, maybe it was before the baby was
born, i got what they call the 48 hour
flu. or at least thats what i thought.
Awful diarrhea and vomiting, but anly
lasted 1 days. other people at work also
got it i think. a week ago, i kind of
developed what i think is a sinus
infection...yet ANOTHER symtpom of HIV
infection. I had no runny nose, but severe
head congestion, my nose would get a
little congested in the morning, and by
the afternoon my head would be killing me.
I took sudafed, and ibuprofen, and it
lasted three days, i feel better now. I
also have a slight diarrhea that has
lasted about two weeks, but this could be
due to my SEVERE anxiety. I have not been
sleeping well, due to worrying. I cant
talk to anyone about this. I have a hiatal
hernia, and the nervousness and anxiety
has been upsetting my stomach, and my
apetite is down the drain. Hopefully this
is the cause of the diarrhea. it is not
severe, and not liquid, but soft muchy
stool, and also...very reduced stool. I am
usually the other way around. Usually very
hard almost constipated stool. painful
usually.
When the our baby was born, he had some
issues with reflux apnea. He was kept in
the nicu for 2 weeks. ALL sorts of test
were done. Including testing for Herpes
(HSV) and nothing was found. Would thay
have done an HIV test ? is this routine ?
they concluded it was reflux apnea, and he
would grow out of it. He did, and he has
been thriving. He has been breastfed for a
year, and besides the normal fevers for
teething, he has only had one cold
recently. runny nose, mild temperature. no
vomiting or diarrhea. My wife seems to be
quite healthy.
Now all i do is worry. I take his
temperature constantly, i check his entire
body and mouth for symptoms i find on the
internet like i was a madman. My wife of
course doesnt know why.
I dont know what to do, i know i have to
get tested, and go to a dermatologist. I
just dont know if i could live through
having to tell my wife i might have HIV
and possibly infected her and the baby.
Please. anything helps. i am losing my
mind here.
thank you.
|
Aarvy
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 12
Chances Are Near Zero. Posted: 11-13-07 03:10am
Your nail symptoms show psoriasis or some
STD. Dont have to tell you wife. Get HIV
tested. Mostly that will come -ve and you
are done. That simple it is.
YOU MUST READ THIS!
This 19yr old mother of a 2ry old has one
day experienced some fever and flu like
symptoms. She's checking online casually
and some how got to this forum and started
to understand her symptoms relate to a HIV
infection. She's written that her kid's
not with his father and how scared she got
learning that she could die soon of HIV if
she was infected at all. I would like you
to step into her shoes and feel the
moments she might have experienced. Think
how hard it is to imagine that your loved
ones are going to miss you and might end
up help-less for their whole life.
Now all this happened only on the
assumption that the symptoms were that of
HIV and not knowing it for sure. If you
read these posts, you will understand all
of them are posted with similar doubts in
mind. And all these posts were written
with the circumstances they experienced
and not the result of the tests they
took.
If you can spare few minutes of your time
and post your test result, then consider
you are helping thousands of scared(as you
are now) people get relieved of their
tension. SO PLEASE POST YOUR TEST RESULT
ONCE YOU GET IT, SO PEOPLE CAN RELATE
THIER CIRCUMSTANCES WITH THE ACTUAL
OUTCOMES!
HIV Facts! (Not the ones you already know
of)
HIV is not that easy to get. It will not
venture out like a cold virus. HIV must
inject its RNA into the human cell and
just cannot live on the side like other
viruses. You must consistently and
thoroughly help it attach itself to a
human cell. Remember it is not a human
disease in the first place. It is only
about 50yr old and still evolving to be a
human virus and it will take atleast a few
thousand years before it can look out for
a human host.
A cut on your finger in the morning might
have already had a plasmatic coating in
about 4Hrs which will usually not allow
HIV to enter in. For a better chance of
infection the cut must be reasonably big,
minutes fresh and with sufficient HIV
virus load. There is virtually 0% cases
reported world-wide that some one got
infected by cut-wound blood transfusion.
HIV infection through oral activity has
about 90% less chances because the HIV
virus does not live outside the fluid for
more than about a minute and saliva,
stomach juices are not good carriers.
HIV did not infect many people who had sex
several hundred times with their HIV +ve
partners unknowingly. Human body has some
unknown resistance to this virus and is
well proven with many people so far.
HIV can be tested accurately(95%) starting
from 2 weeks of possible exposure by a
PCR-DNA test. Relatively Costly. Looks for
HIV in the blood. False Positives are
relatively higher than False Negatives.
HIV can be tested accurately(95%) starting
from 3 months of possible exposure by
antigen and antibody tests (eg: ELISA).
Looks for anti-bodies in the blood that
fight HIV. Tests for all strains of HIV.
HIV cannot stay in the body un-detected by
our recent testing methods. Chances of
non-detection are almost near zero.
HIV can be cured if PEP(ART treatment)
program is given starting within 72 hours
of possible exposure and continued for 2-3
months. The success ratio is 70-80% and
many health-care workers who get stung by
infected needles take this program and a
survey suggests zero out of 400 of
accidentally infected people treated with
PEP program did not get HIV for life.
HIV Symptoms: Usually noticed between 2 to
3 weeks of possible exposure. Flu, Fever,
Sore Throats, Lymph Node Swells, Skin
Rashes(Mostly on the torso), Night Sweats,
Fatigue & Tiredness. Only about 80-90%
of people notice some of these symptoms.
95% of people who feel the above symptoms
without being tested does not have HIV.
The reason for such symptoms are the
bodily reactions controlled by stressed
out minds as HIV is a deadly disease. Mind
has the ability to simulate the symptoms
in the body if your stress is so much that
you think you might die soon.
Most of the HIV surveys so far are
compiled on HIV aggressive areas like
Thailand Drug Usage areas, African Bush
meat eating areas, Asian sex-working areas
etc. So your chances of infection are only
10% of those published in the surveys.
Religion, Spiritual Transition, Redemption
are some of the effective ways to pass
your time while awaiting your test
results. Like most of them you will lack
concentration on work and many make a
mistake by spending time alone. Instead
spend your time with your close ones,
friends, relatives and some time with your
God. Every one commits sin in several ways
and moments like this can be wisely used
to your benefit by redeeming yourself into
a better person. It need not be sexual
sins alone, think of all those un-worthy
things you did, pass your time thinking
how you can better yourself if you are
given a second chance of life. I am 100%
sure you will be given this second
chance.
We take time giving practical facts and
help relive your stress, We expect you to
take few minutes of your time to relive
stress of several thousand users of these
forums by POSTING YOUR TEST RESULTS! I
know for sure 99% of people will get -ve
results which is why they forget to come
back to the forums. If they are +ve then
they would definitely come for more info
and would generally respond to the posts.
So, Please once again POST YOUR TEST
RESULTS!