You are possibly at risk

From what you've told us it is unclear whether you have come into contact with HIV.

What to do now

The risks you took mean you have quite a low chance of having HIV. This could be because:

EITHER although your partner was HIV positive, there is only a moderate risk of HIV being passed from the sexual activities you reported
OR You are not sure of the HIV status of your partner and although they were from an area with a high prevalence of HIV (ie. an area where many people have HIV), you reported sexual activities with a moderate risk of HIV being passed on
OR You are not sure of the HIV status of your partner and although you reported activities with a high risk of HIV being passed on, they were with a person from an area with a lower prevalence of HIV (ie. relatively few people have HIV in those areas).

When people have been put at risk of HIV there's a treatment called PEP that may prevent HIV infection after the virus has entered the body:

PEP stands for Post Exposure Prophylaxis
It involves taking anti-HIV drugs for 4 weeks
It must be started as soon as possible after unsafe sex or a condom not working – ideally within 24 hours but definitely within 72 hours (3 days)
There can be side effects such as diarrhoea, nausea and prolonged headaches
PEP isn’t guaranteed to work.

If you feel you would like PEP you should discuss your circumstances in person with a doctor at a sexual health clinic or hospital accident and emergency department as soon as possible where they will be able to make a better assessment about whether you need PEP.

This must be as soon as you can but certainly no later than 72 hours from the time you were at risk.

Before receiving PEP, will you probably be asked to take an HIV test. It is essential to check that you didn’t already have HIV before this risk. This is because taking PEP if you already have HIV can cause drug resistance and cause complications for treating HIV in the future.

If you know the person you had sex with had HIV, then the medical staff might ask you whether you know their most recent viral load test results, or whether they were on anti-HIV treatments, and whether you know which ones. Anything you can tell them will be helpful in the decision about whether to prescribe you PEP. If the person you had sex with is a regular partner, perhaps you could go to their HIV clinic, or ask them to come with you to try and get PEP.

PEP is not a cure for HIV and is not guaranteed to prevent HIV from taking hold once the virus has entered the body. Condoms and lube for sex remain the most efficient way of preventing the spread of HIV.

If you can't get PEP

If you can't get PEP it's important to remember that even though you have been at risk of HIV it doesn't mean that transmission has occurred.

The only way to know this for sure is to take an HIV test. We recommend talking to someone at the hospital or clinic about getting tested.

If you do have HIV, it's far better to know as treatment means you can expect to live a long and healthy life, whereas if you don't treat HIV it's likely you'll become ill.

Also, if you have been at risk from HIV, there is a chance you may have picked up other infections as well. You can be checked for these confidentially at any sexual health clinic.