Email 510: Worried Nurse

Posted by Pozziepinoy on 6:46 PM
im a registered nurse po. 24 years old. gay from region 2 po.

 may last unprotected sex po eh when i was in high school pa po.. siguro po 2003 po un, bale pinsan q pong lalaki. siya po naging partner q simula nun. then after high school po ndi na. natatakot po aqu kasi unprotected sex po un. 

 bale last 2009 ng donate po aqu ng dugo and wala naman pong tex sakin kng may positive po sa result. ngaun po, may asawa na po pinsan q at anak na rin. pede po bang mgkaroon aqu ng hiv tas xa wala? i min alam q po na we're both negative po nuon. 

 thanks po. sana matulungan niyo aqu
TRANSLATION

 I'm a registered nurse. A 24 year old gay guy from Region II.

 My last unprotected sex when I was in high school. Maybe around 2003. He was my cousin  who became my partner from then on. It ended after high school. I am scared because it was an unprotected sex.

 Last 2009, I donated blood and I didn't receive any text saying that the result was positive. Now, my cousin has a wife and a kid. Can I have HIV and he doesn't? I mean, I know we were both negative then.

 Thank you and I hope you can help me.

POZZIEPINOY’S RESPONSE

Hi there.

Thank you for your email.

I know it is scary and even though your last unprotected sex was a decade ago, still it is a fact that you had unprotected sex.

A lot of people think the way you think. You guys were both HIV negative when you had the relationship. Well how would you know that you both were "safe", when the only way to know is through the HIV test. You may be negative when you had the relationship but the fact still remains that you had unprotected sex which may have exposed you to the virus. In the first place, did you ask him if he was HIV negative at that time? Did you ask him if he was sleeping around at that time with other people?

You had a blood donation and you never received any text if you had HIV. Well, the blood banks usually don't tell the donor if his or her blood is infected with HIV. They basically discard the blood if it is indeed infected. The reason for this is because of the confidentiality clause in the HIV Law. HIV testing is a voluntary testing in the Philippines, hence, the result will only be produced if a person voluntarily takes the HIV test. However during blood donations, the blood will be subjected to all testing (including the HIV test) to make sure that the blood is free from diseases which can be transferred to the recipient of the blood. However, since it is not an HIV test per se but a blood donation, then no result will come out.

You wrote in your email that your cousin now has a family and then you added that you were wondering that you may have HIV and your ex partner doesn't. How can you be sure? It doesn't mean that having a family means you are off the hook, right? Like what I said, the only way to know if one has HIV is by taking the HIV test.

Please don't assume. Some people with HIV don't even look like they are sick. If you would see me in person, for instance, you will see that I am physically fit, muscular and always on the go and yet I am infected. 

You are a registered nurse. You know the facts about HIV. You are already informed on what to do. Please take the HIV test and don't look behind you. Stop being scared and worried and start taking the right steps to know your HIV status. 

I hope I was able to answer your concerns. Feel free to email me again if you have other questions.


Stay healthy,
Pozziepinoy


"WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
NO PLHIV is alone with his or her struggle with HIV!"

-Pozziepinoy-



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