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Oral Sex Question
I am a 25 y/o bisexual male. I have had around four sexual encounters with transexuals in the last four months. All oral sex, insertive and receptive (except for one 60 second anal sex with a condom). Everything was condom protected. However, twice the condom slipped off in two different oral sex encounters, once for less than ten seconds and one for less than 30 seconds (if that much, and I don't know if the mouth was on the penis during that time, likely not). My last encounter was five weeks ago, and I took an HIV test which was negative a week ago (4 wks after the last encounter). I also had a big protruding white headed solid/hard pimple on my penis (not a liquid filled blister). When I took the culture at the clinic, they broke the pimple, but based on my description, my urologist said it didnt sound like herpes, but am awaiting results of the herpes culture. I have been having flu-like symptoms (chills, aches, sore throat) which are lasting several weeks. Despite these flu-like symptoms, (1) What are the odds of me having any STD such as, God forbid, HIV? (2) what are the odds that I could get genital herpes from oral sex, even if that person had oral herpes?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the HIV forum. These comments repond both to your question above and the follow-up ones below.
With the standard HIV tests in common use in the US and other industrialized countries, around 90% of newly infected people have positive tests by that time. Although there is a slight chance that a later test would be positive, it is very unlikely. In addition, all your exposures have been enther completely protected or oral, which is zero risk or close to it. The combination of low risk exposures plus the negative blood test is nearly 100% proof you aren't infected, regardless of your flu-like symptoms. However, to be completely certain, you should ask your health care provider about having a follow-up HIV test around 6-8 weeks after the exposure.
Of course it is possible to catch genital herpes from oral sex. Half of all new cases of genital herpes in recent years have been due to HSV-1, the virus that is responsible for oral herpes -- which is carried by half of all adults. However, I agree with your urologist, the your penile pimple most likely wasn't herpes, which doesn't usally cause the deeper sort of pus-filled, pimple-like lesion you describe. In any case, oral shedding of HSV-1 is quite uncommon in the absence of overt oral herpes outbreaks, so the transmission risk for any single exposure is low if the oral partner doesn't have a cold sore. For a more detailed discussion, go to the STD forum and use the search function to look for "herpes symptoms". HPV is rarely if ever transmitted by oral sex.
Here is an older thread with more discussion of STD and HIV risks from oral sex: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/STD-risk-from-receiving-oral-sex/show/669224
You also can enter such terms as "oral sex and STDs" or "HIV and oral sex" in the search windows of this forum or the STD forum. You will find hundreds of discussions, maybe a couple thousand.
My final suggestion concerns sexual safety in general. It sounds like you're going about it pretty well. However, you don't mention one of the most important aspects of safe sex for men having sex with men: always ask about and share your own HIV status, before having sex, and avoid sex (and certainly avoid unprotected anal sex) with partners who are positive, don't know, or seem evasive in their answers. Even when safe sex is planned, remember that condoms break or can be forgotten in the heat of the moment. In the long run, "do ask, do tell" is just as important in preventing as consistent condom use for anal sex. (Maybe you do this now -- in which case, congratulations. But I repeat this message whenever I get the chance, for all forum users to see.)
Good luck. Stay safe-- HHH, MD
With the standard HIV tests in common use in the US and other industrialized countries, around 90% of newly infected people have positive tests by that time. Although there is a slight chance that a later test would be positive, it is very unlikely. In addition, all your exposures have been enther completely protected or oral, which is zero risk or close to it. The combination of low risk exposures plus the negative blood test is nearly 100% proof you aren't infected, regardless of your flu-like symptoms. However, to be completely certain, you should ask your health care provider about having a follow-up HIV test around 6-8 weeks after the exposure.
Of course it is possible to catch genital herpes from oral sex. Half of all new cases of genital herpes in recent years have been due to HSV-1, the virus that is responsible for oral herpes -- which is carried by half of all adults. However, I agree with your urologist, the your penile pimple most likely wasn't herpes, which doesn't usally cause the deeper sort of pus-filled, pimple-like lesion you describe. In any case, oral shedding of HSV-1 is quite uncommon in the absence of overt oral herpes outbreaks, so the transmission risk for any single exposure is low if the oral partner doesn't have a cold sore. For a more detailed discussion, go to the STD forum and use the search function to look for "herpes symptoms". HPV is rarely if ever transmitted by oral sex.
Here is an older thread with more discussion of STD and HIV risks from oral sex: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/STD-risk-from-receiving-oral-sex/show/669224
You also can enter such terms as "oral sex and STDs" or "HIV and oral sex" in the search windows of this forum or the STD forum. You will find hundreds of discussions, maybe a couple thousand.
My final suggestion concerns sexual safety in general. It sounds like you're going about it pretty well. However, you don't mention one of the most important aspects of safe sex for men having sex with men: always ask about and share your own HIV status, before having sex, and avoid sex (and certainly avoid unprotected anal sex) with partners who are positive, don't know, or seem evasive in their answers. Even when safe sex is planned, remember that condoms break or can be forgotten in the heat of the moment. In the long run, "do ask, do tell" is just as important in preventing as consistent condom use for anal sex. (Maybe you do this now -- in which case, congratulations. But I repeat this message whenever I get the chance, for all forum users to see.)
Good luck. Stay safe-- HHH, MD
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
"So overall, would my chances that I have anything be close to none?" Yes.
"Does herpes or HIV generally cause sore throat, or only oral herpes causes sore throat?" Both can cause sore throat, but rarely if ever as the only symptoms. And of every million people with sore throat, probably one has HIV or herpes as the cause. As you well know, almost all sore throats are caused by garden variety respiratory viruses, strep, etc.
That will have to end this thread. Please accept the reassurance and move on with your life.
"Does herpes or HIV generally cause sore throat, or only oral herpes causes sore throat?" Both can cause sore throat, but rarely if ever as the only symptoms. And of every million people with sore throat, probably one has HIV or herpes as the cause. As you well know, almost all sore throats are caused by garden variety respiratory viruses, strep, etc.
That will have to end this thread. Please accept the reassurance and move on with your life.
I know you typically don't like follow-up questions, but here goes in the hopes that you might be able to answer - maybe Sunday is a slow day :) : So the exposures I told you about, with oral sex when the condom slipped off for less than a minute, what would my risks be for both HIV and Herpes, meaning it sounds like for HIV it would be almost non-existent (despite my flu-like symptoms and sore throat), and herpes would be extremely low, since it was protected and even though it fell off for a tiny bit, the odds that he/she would be shedding at that time is very low.....So overall, would my chances that I have anything be close to none? (Does herpes or HIV generally cause sore throat, or only oral herpes causes sore throat?) I know you get a lot of thanks, but thank you.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Answered above.
Hi, since I just posted my question and this is before a response, I hope you don't mind if I add something. I had asked that despite my flu-like symptoms, (a) what the odds were of my having caught an STD, and (b) what the odds were of getting gential herpes from oral sex, even if the person had oral herpes. I just want to ask one more question. Even if it is possible to get genital herpes from oral sex, how many days a year would that be, when the shedding of the virus occurs? Again, I am still not sure if it is even possible (or at least of any significance) to get genital herpes (or HPV) from oral sex, but even if it could be transmitted to my penis from the other persons mouth, how freqeuntly (meaning how many days a year) would that be that they could shed the virus. Of course, I hope that getting HSV or HPV are not able to be transmitted from her/his mouth to my penis, but I don't know that, and hence I am asking.
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
