I spent the night with a sex worker. Will I get HIV?​

The question: Hi I am a 26-year-old male and I had sex with a prostitute yesterday. I’m worried that I might get HIV. I am worried about getting it in the following ways:

We had sex twice – first time I used two condoms and second time I used only one. Do you think I should have used two condoms the second time?
She had a cold – is there any possibility of getting HIV that way?
She used an old cloth to clean my penis; could that cause HIV? She performed oral sex on me – is there any possibility of getting HIV?

Please help me. I am very worried. When should I get checked for HIV?
Here we try to answer the concerns expressed in the question in parts:

If two condoms are better than one: In case of condoms the phrase ‘two is better than one’ doesn’t hold true. In fact it’s more dangerous to use two since there’s added friction which can result in them tearing. And yes it’s possible to get HIV (if the aforementioned sex worker has HIV) even while using a condom if there’s a hole which is too minuscule to be visible to the naked eye. Here is all you should know about how not to use a condom.

If common cold could initiate transmission of HIV: HIV can’t be transmitted from one person to another the way the common cold or other flu spread. You can’t get HIV from someone if they have a cough or cold. The only way you can get HIV is through interchange of body fluids which can happen through sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, sharing injections (common among intravenous drug users) or similar methods where the blood or other fluids are transferred

If using an old cloth spread HIV: It’s impossible to get HIV from a cloth, because the virus can’t survive outside the body, it needs a temperature of 37 degree Celsius. Even if the cloth had HIV positive blood it’s a highly unlikely source of transmission.

If oral sex can lead to HIV infection: Yes it’s possible to get HIV through oral sex though the chances of transmission are fairly low.

When to go for a test: To find out when to get tested you can check out this article on testing for HIV. And finally a word of advice, not only are you risking sexually transmitted diseases like HIV but you’re also exploiting someone who’s probably been forced into that lifestyle because of circumstances beyond her control. Doesn’t that make you feel any sort of remorse? And let’s not forget it’s against our country’s laws. So stop visiting prostitutes and get a life. Read to find out if it is possible that we put an end to HIV/AIDS together.