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HIV Risk Of Precum Burning Open Cut
Dear Dr. HHH. I am female. On 10/13/12, I gave a blowjob combined with a handjob through a condom. I had a probably less than 30 minute old paper cut on my right (dominant hand) middle finger at the cuticle. I don’t think it was bleeding. I forgot I even had the cut until I experienced a lot of burning in the cut. It was definitely open; you know how cuticles can separate from the other part leaving a gap. His skin is fairly dark so I could see a cloudy drop of fluid on his thigh. It might have been a drop of my own saliva. I don't know. It might have been precum or cum. He didn't pull the condom all the way to the base of his shaft, but it did look too tight for anything to drip out of the sides while he was on his back. Also it was a condom with a reservoir, so theoretically it should have held everything inside I suppose. I hope I don't have anything to worry about. But I noticed some wetness on his abdomen and shirt. I don’t know if he was sweating that much. All I do know is that something burned me in the cut on my right middle finger. I don't know if my own saliva would burn me. He said the condom remained intact. Initially when I asked, he said he didn’t have precum. Then another day, I asked again and he said that precum would be there no more than 1 or 2 minutes prior to full ejaculation and that the condom was on him long before that.
Is he correct that precum is only a couple of minutes prior to ejaculation and he would have already been covered by the condom?
Does the burning in my cut mean that it was recent enough and open enough for HIV to infect me?
If his precum/cum got into my 30 minute old cut and my cut was sufficiently closed enough to be a barrier against HIV, would his precum/cum still burn my cut like it did? Can HIV be transmitted that way?
If it was precum, cum, sweat, or saliva on the cut, would it burn me if the wound was closed enough to be a barrier to HIV? Can HIV be transmitted that way?
Do I need to test over this exposure?
Thanks
Is he correct that precum is only a couple of minutes prior to ejaculation and he would have already been covered by the condom?
Does the burning in my cut mean that it was recent enough and open enough for HIV to infect me?
If his precum/cum got into my 30 minute old cut and my cut was sufficiently closed enough to be a barrier against HIV, would his precum/cum still burn my cut like it did? Can HIV be transmitted that way?
If it was precum, cum, sweat, or saliva on the cut, would it burn me if the wound was closed enough to be a barrier to HIV? Can HIV be transmitted that way?
Do I need to test over this exposure?
Thanks
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Even in that worst case scenario, the risk of HIV would be too low to worry about. I hope you are indeed above to "drop it and get on with [your] life".
Best wishes. Thanks for your thanks about the forum.
Best wishes. Thanks for your thanks about the forum.
Thank you for your response. It does help a great deal.
Yes, I try to test every year for the whole range of STDs including HIV. I last tested in March of this year and was negative for everything. I don't have sex frequently because I tend to worry.
So just to clarify, even if he were positive and untreated with a high viral load, your assessment of my risk in this instance would be the same? I'm thinking worst case scenario on his part. Would you still believe that I was not at risk for contracting HIV?
Your earlier response has taken away that sick, anxious, nauseated feeling I had in my stomach. I just wanted to clarify. If you say it would still be a non-issue for me, I will drop it and get on with my life. And next time I'll be even more careful. I'll probably pour alcohol over my hands to check for any cuts before I have any intimate encounters :) Thanks.
Yes, I try to test every year for the whole range of STDs including HIV. I last tested in March of this year and was negative for everything. I don't have sex frequently because I tend to worry.
So just to clarify, even if he were positive and untreated with a high viral load, your assessment of my risk in this instance would be the same? I'm thinking worst case scenario on his part. Would you still believe that I was not at risk for contracting HIV?
Your earlier response has taken away that sick, anxious, nauseated feeling I had in my stomach. I just wanted to clarify. If you say it would still be a non-issue for me, I will drop it and get on with my life. And next time I'll be even more careful. I'll probably pour alcohol over my hands to check for any cuts before I have any intimate encounters :) Thanks.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.
First, I would suggest it is unlikely your partner has HIV, assuming you are in the US and he isn't bisexual, an injection drug user, previously imprisoned, or otherwise at especially high risk. If he is African American, the risk would be higher, but still under 1 chance in 1,000 if he isn't in a special risk category.
Equally important, HIV has never been known to be transmitted by fingering or other hand-genital contact, or hand contact with sexual secretions. Nobody can say the risk is zero, but except for deep, freshly bleeding wounds, HIV exposure of skin lesions seems to carry little risk for practical purposes. That there was a burning sensation in the wound doesn't change my assessment of it.
So I would judge the risk of HIV in this circumstance is zero -- and would say the same even if you definitely had direct contact with pre-ejaculate fluid or even semen -- and it seems if there was such contact, it was brief and trivial. As for sweat and saliva, they are non-infectious for HIV: saliva kills the virus (one of the reasons unprotected oral sex carries little or no risk for transmitting the virus) and HIV is entirely absent from sweat.
For those reasons, you definitely don't need HIV testing on account of this event. Of course all people who are sexually active outside mutually monogamous relationships should have routine testing for HIV and other STDs from time to time, like once a year, so if you haven't been tested recently, perhaps this would be a good time, when it's on your mind. But not because of the events described.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes--- HHH, MD
First, I would suggest it is unlikely your partner has HIV, assuming you are in the US and he isn't bisexual, an injection drug user, previously imprisoned, or otherwise at especially high risk. If he is African American, the risk would be higher, but still under 1 chance in 1,000 if he isn't in a special risk category.
Equally important, HIV has never been known to be transmitted by fingering or other hand-genital contact, or hand contact with sexual secretions. Nobody can say the risk is zero, but except for deep, freshly bleeding wounds, HIV exposure of skin lesions seems to carry little risk for practical purposes. That there was a burning sensation in the wound doesn't change my assessment of it.
So I would judge the risk of HIV in this circumstance is zero -- and would say the same even if you definitely had direct contact with pre-ejaculate fluid or even semen -- and it seems if there was such contact, it was brief and trivial. As for sweat and saliva, they are non-infectious for HIV: saliva kills the virus (one of the reasons unprotected oral sex carries little or no risk for transmitting the virus) and HIV is entirely absent from sweat.
For those reasons, you definitely don't need HIV testing on account of this event. Of course all people who are sexually active outside mutually monogamous relationships should have routine testing for HIV and other STDs from time to time, like once a year, so if you haven't been tested recently, perhaps this would be a good time, when it's on your mind. But not because of the events described.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes--- HHH, MD
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