One Time Oral and Protected Sex

[Worried Needlessly?]

Hi,

I have done a search here but I want to clarify my findings.

I couple of weeks ago in Paris, I foolishly had a one time liaison with a girl. We had sex using a condom although the condom touched the penis slightly on withdrawal - my fault as I was not fully erect on withdrawal. Also we had unprotected oral sex.

On return home, I went and had a series of tests done.  This was 10 days after the contact. Everything came back negative.

1) My understanding is that this duration covers off everything but HIV and Syphilis. Which will not be picked up by the test.
2) HIV risk is negligible
3) Syphilis risk is small

So, should I worry about another HIV test after 3 months or so or should I put this behind me and get on with my life? Is it OK to resume unprotected sex with my wife?

[Worried Needlessly?]

Thanks very much Doc. I think you have confirmed what I knew.

Note to self : never be so stupid again.

Observation for others : the worst thing is the guilt. You keep looking for things to punish yourself with. There is good info here, try to assess it objectively.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You had condom-protected sex.  'The [outside of?] the condom touched the penis slightly' does not suggest any significant risk; some contact of the skin with partners' genital secretions probably always occurs, even with condom-protected sex.  I would not have recommended STD testing at all, and you certainly don't need HIV testing on the basis of this event.

1) Testing at 10 days is fine for gonorrhea and chlamydia.  Syphilis and HIV testing needs to be delayed to about 6 weeks.

2,3) I agree the risks are trivial and you do not need any testing for syphilis or HIV.  But if your anxieties demand knowing your test results are negative, do it ~6 weeks after the event.  You don't need to wait 3 months, even though many authorities say so.  It sounds like you have already looked through the forum, but for more information on this use the search link to look for 'time to positive HIV test'.

I never guarantee that someone isn't infected.  But from what you say, I see no reason you cannot safely have sex with your wife.

Good luck--  HHH, MD