Finger and Kissing

[lima76]

Dear Dr.,

During a lap dance in a strip club, I inserted my finger in a stripper's anus and vagina several times.  Whenever I removed my finger, she put the same finger in her mouth and sucked on it.  Following this, we also french kissed for a bit.  The skin on my finger was very dry, making it cracked and a bit red.  I also noticed that I had a slight scratch on the bottom of my finger below the nail (it was like a very thin slit in the skin, but no blood or irritation visible).  Later on that night, I washed my hands with soap and water, and I could easily see that my fingers and knuckles were quite dry, cracked, and even a bit swollen with redness. I applied pressure to my finger, and no blood became visible.

I also noticed that there was a small area on the inside of my cheek that had some tiny dark red spots (kind of like if I had an incidental cut on the inside of my cheek that had begun healing. Although, I'm not certain if it was there when we were kissing or if it was the result of the kissing).  I can't believe how stupid I was for this.

I'm not certain about her health status, but the fact that she put my finger in her mouth concerns me about her level of caution.  She is Brazilian and has been living in the US.   While I did previously post this on the community forum and I appreciate and respect the answers I received, I would just like to get your opinion on my questions and concerns.

My questions are:

1.  Did I put myself at risk for HIV since I fingered her anus and vagina with dry and cracked skin?

2.  Did I put myself at risk for HIV since I french kissed her just after she put the finger I was using in her mouth (if I had minor cuts in my mouth)?

3.  Do I need to be tested for HIV?

3.  Are there any other STD's that I should be concerned about?

Thanks so much for your help and insight, It's greatly appreciated.

[lima76]

Dr. Hook,

Thank you very much for your time and response.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum.  You have nothing to worry about from this exposure.  For starters, it is statistically unlikely that your partner had HIV.  Most dancers and commercial sex workers do not.  Furthermore, HIV is not spread through kissing, including french kissing.  finally, your insertion of your finger into her anus, and her subsequent sucking on your finger is masturbation and /HIV is not spread by masturbation either.  Thus you need not be concerned.  As far as your specific questions are concerned:

1.  No
2.  No
3. There is no medical reason for you to seek HIV testing.  If you cannot shake the idea and your concern, then a single test at 6-8 weeks following the events you describe will be negative and will prove that you did not get HIV (I already know that you did not).
4.  Nope

Hope these responses are helpful to you.  Take care.  EWH