I’ll make this short because my, ummm, friend that I’m asking this for is feeling really shitty. He has a swollen gland on the back of his neck, a headache, a sore throat, and his entire body feels really sore and weak.
He had a one night stand Thursday night, partially unprotected (immeasureably stupid, I know), and he’s wondering if his current state of feeling like hell could be related.
Please try to stick to the facts and don’t try to scare or preach to my friend.
Thanks!
Not likely to be related (except possibly psychosomatically). Most STDs that I’m aware of require at least a few days to several weeks to begin to show symptoms. Come to that, I can’t think of any illnesses that show symptoms after only 24 hours of initial exposure, thought there are undoubtedly some.
What do you mean by “partially unprotected”?
Sounds like Mono (but he should see a Dr.)
They did used to call it the “Kissing Disease” but I suspect if that’s what it is, he contracted it long before he met his honey.
S/he’s probably got it now too though, if that’s what it is.
Well, without getting too graphic, he put it in a couple times (10 or 15 seconds, max) before putting the condom on. There also might have been a little bit of oral action going on but he was really drunk so I don’t know.
It does sound like mono, though its incubation period is usually 4-7 weeks. He may have it, but he didn’t get it from her. 90% of the adult population has had mononucleosis, most when they were very young children (so, they don’t know they’ve had it.) These 90% of the population periodically shed the virus, and are contagious. So the person he got it from (assuming it’s mono–remember this is hypothetical, and he really oughta get himself checked out) wasn’t necessarily sick then or any time in recent memory.
Maybe your “friend” just feels crappy because he’s run his immune system down from staying up too late and drinking? Sounds awful early to come down with anything specifically and directly as a result of a one-night stand.
That was his first instinct but he thinks maybe he should’ve felt bad Friday instead of today.
What if he doesn’t have health insurance? What kind of bill is he looking at?
Can he call Public Health, the VD clinic, STD, or whatever they call it in his county? They may well give free check-ups in the interest of, guess what, public health and epidemic prevention.
Browsing the gov’t section of the phone book should give a probable contact number, or if that fails 911 can probably help.
Does sound like mono. And that can be one nasty disease untreated.
The case I had at age 18 almost killed me. I was bedridden for 3 weeks. My doctor said it was the worst he’d ever seen.
Screw the bills…that’s something you want to check out. You can recover from being broke.
I looked through the STD section of my Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Treatment, there wasn’t a single STD that fit his symptoms (unless he can come up with a rash, and unless one considers mono to be sexually transmitted.)
In response to Jonathan Chance’s post–mononucleosis can get nasty if you’re worn out by the high fever, if your glands swell to the point that you can’t swallow or breath, or–and this is the danger–if your spleen ruptures. Barring any of these complications, there is absolutely nothing to be done for you, except bedrest, lots of fluids, and lots of time.
The swollen glands are freaky and if they’re really big and really hurt then yeah, just suck it up and pay the medical bill for having a mono test, to make sure it’s that and not something else. But… if he really wants to save a buck… he can just take it easy till he feels better, go slow for six months after that (to avoid triggering a relapse), and not play any contact sports for a year (spleen and liver issues.)
What if the swollen glands are from something relatively minor and stupid, like strep throat? I’ve had it a zillion times; your friend would probably feel fine after a couple of days of antibiotics (very cheap), but if you let it go, it can turn into rheumatic fever and do some real damage. The timing could just be a coincidence, but if I were your friend, I would pay a few bucks to get checked out. My doc charges I think around $50 for a straight office visit, and it’s not worth risking one’s health over $50. I don’t know how much a throat culture would run, but probably not more than another $50 at the absolute outside, and basic generic antibiotics are very cheap. The last time I had to buy amoxicillin (I have to take it before teeth cleanings because of a minor heart valve issue), the cost was less than my $10 prescription copay.
In short, I second the idea of a doctor visit, especially if there’s a high fever involved.
Actually gonorrhea can produce symptoms a day or two after infection. And if you acquired it via oral sex, you might have a sore throat and swollen glands. It’s not highly likely, but still. I agree with the posters who recommended visiting the free STD clinic. Be sure to tell them to take an oral culture as well as urethral.
Doesn’t HIV have a fluelike primary infection within days of exposure? The bodys first reaction to the virus that is? My HIV knowledge is years and years out of date, but I seem to remember this being the case. IANAD.
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[sup]By any chance is your friend’s name “Harvey”?[/sup][/ul]
I have also read that “flu-like symptoms” can occur up to two to four weeks after contact. I’ve read that on a few websites and also in print, but I have no cite offhand.
Any unprotected contact, particularly with a stranger, should be looked into. It’s better to find out sooner rather than later.
Good luck!
Oh, and if you get checked out and have anything communicable, try to get your partner in to be treated, too.
He went to the ER last night. After waiting for a full six hours they finally got him back there. They did swabs, urine, and blood tests, but couldn’t figure out what it was. It’s not strep, mono, or a urine infection (the #1, #2, and #3 suspects.)
They perscribed penicillan, extra strength tylenol, 800mg ibuprofen, and vicoden.
He’s feeling MUCH better now but he’s not sure if it’s just because of the pain medicine or not.
Have him get an STD screening too. It might not be related to his present under-the-weatherness, but he’s still been poking without protection.
Do you have a cite for the 90%?