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CSW protected (?) vaginal sex
Hi Doctors,
I won't waste your time with a long drawn out post.
Visited a sex worker in a brothel in London (not a very high class establishment). She sucked me without a condom, which I am not worried about at all.
I am worried about the sex though. It lasted 3 minutes max then I stopped without ejaculating. I checked the condom tip very briefly and thankfully it seemed ok. No holes as far as I could ascertain. However, it was very dark so I have no way of knowing for sure if it was intact or not. Plus I had shaved the area earlier that day so fear there may have been a minor cut somewhere. I checked and couldn't find any.
She would not let me see or feel her vagina for some reason - I'm fearing she had Herpes or some kind of sores.
Briefly
1. What is my risk of HIV from the vaginal sex?
2. What is my risk of genital Herpes from the vaginal sex?
3. Should I bother testing at all? I was tested a couple months back and haven't had many sexual encounters since then.
Drs Handsfield &/or Hook, I will ride with whatever you tell me on this, if you say to stop worrying, I will. I'm being stupidly OCD about this, due to guilt and fear. In my head I know the answer but once you guys tell me, I'll be ok.
Cheers
I won't waste your time with a long drawn out post.
Visited a sex worker in a brothel in London (not a very high class establishment). She sucked me without a condom, which I am not worried about at all.
I am worried about the sex though. It lasted 3 minutes max then I stopped without ejaculating. I checked the condom tip very briefly and thankfully it seemed ok. No holes as far as I could ascertain. However, it was very dark so I have no way of knowing for sure if it was intact or not. Plus I had shaved the area earlier that day so fear there may have been a minor cut somewhere. I checked and couldn't find any.
She would not let me see or feel her vagina for some reason - I'm fearing she had Herpes or some kind of sores.
Briefly
1. What is my risk of HIV from the vaginal sex?
2. What is my risk of genital Herpes from the vaginal sex?
3. Should I bother testing at all? I was tested a couple months back and haven't had many sexual encounters since then.
Drs Handsfield &/or Hook, I will ride with whatever you tell me on this, if you say to stop worrying, I will. I'm being stupidly OCD about this, due to guilt and fear. In my head I know the answer but once you guys tell me, I'll be ok.
Cheers
Thanks Doctor Handsfield!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Noted before replying above.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. I'll try to help.
First, congratulations on using a condom. Within the context of choosing to have sex with a commercial partner, you did it with maximum safety.
Second, some important information you may not be aware of: my understanding is that the UK's Health Protection Agency (similar in some ways to CDC in the US) estimates that well under 1% -- mostly under 1 in 1,000 -- female sex workers has HIV. So the odds are very good that your partner didn't have HIV. Also, HSV-2 is a lot less common in the UK than in the US; your partner probably doesn't have herpes either.
If the condom didn't break wide open (and obviously it didn't) and was on your penis the entire time of penetration (which apparently it was), you can safely conclude you were 100% protected against HIV. Condoms are somewhat less effective against STDs transmitted skin-to-skin, like herpes, than HIV. Still, they probably are at least 90% effective against HSV for any single exposure. Genital herpes is a lot more frequent than HIV, but it is statistically unlikely that she had it or, if she did, that whe was infectious at the time of exposure.
Your recent shaving (or plucking) of pubic hair would not make any significant difference in risk of either HIV or HSV. To the specific questions:
1) You were at no measurable risk of HIV.
2) The risk of HSV probably was a little higher, but still I would guess there is less than one chance in many thousand.
3) Based on the information here, I don't see any need for testing for either HIV or HSV.
I hope your self-prediction is correct, i.e. that this information calms your fears about it. You really shouldn't be worried.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
First, congratulations on using a condom. Within the context of choosing to have sex with a commercial partner, you did it with maximum safety.
Second, some important information you may not be aware of: my understanding is that the UK's Health Protection Agency (similar in some ways to CDC in the US) estimates that well under 1% -- mostly under 1 in 1,000 -- female sex workers has HIV. So the odds are very good that your partner didn't have HIV. Also, HSV-2 is a lot less common in the UK than in the US; your partner probably doesn't have herpes either.
If the condom didn't break wide open (and obviously it didn't) and was on your penis the entire time of penetration (which apparently it was), you can safely conclude you were 100% protected against HIV. Condoms are somewhat less effective against STDs transmitted skin-to-skin, like herpes, than HIV. Still, they probably are at least 90% effective against HSV for any single exposure. Genital herpes is a lot more frequent than HIV, but it is statistically unlikely that she had it or, if she did, that whe was infectious at the time of exposure.
Your recent shaving (or plucking) of pubic hair would not make any significant difference in risk of either HIV or HSV. To the specific questions:
1) You were at no measurable risk of HIV.
2) The risk of HSV probably was a little higher, but still I would guess there is less than one chance in many thousand.
3) Based on the information here, I don't see any need for testing for either HIV or HSV.
I hope your self-prediction is correct, i.e. that this information calms your fears about it. You really shouldn't be worried.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
when i say shaved the area, i mean plucked some hairs, not shaved with a razor.
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