semen in eye

[jhard]

Dr.
I recently had sex with another man.  We started off by performing oral sex on each other, no ejaculation occurred.  I then put on a condom and my partner sat on my penis.  While he was riding me he ejaculated on my chest but some of his semen splashed into my eye.  My eye burned and was irritated the rest of the evening.  I didnt put any drops into my eye.

I have since learned that my partner was HIV+.  How bad is my risk exposure

[Edward W Hook, MD]

I'm sorry to hear of this mishap when you were working to practice safe sex.  There is definitely risk associated with this exposure.  Your partner was HIV infected so you know his secretions were likely to contain HIV and a mucous membrane was the site of exposure.  Depending on how long ago this exposure was, many (including me) would strongly consider recommending post exposure prophylaxis with anti-retroviral therapy to reduce your risk.  If your partner was on therapy himself that would reduce the risk of infection for you but PEP would still be strongly considered.  I would suggest you seek the care of an Infectious Diseases or HIV specialist ASAP.  The time element is thought to be an important element of PEP.  EWH

[michaelwpwlaa]

hello, have you been tested for hiv yet?  I want to know as I just got semen in my eye from a guy who tells me he is negative, but refuses to take an hiv test!  Is this a warning sign that I should be concerned about?  Should I start the PEP-- the exposure just happened an hour ago.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

After a week, PEP would have less benefit.  As to the comparative risk, while there are not strick comparative data, perhaps not as high as a hollow needle stick but possibly on the order of magnitude of receptive rectal intercourse- perhaps a 1 in 100 probability.  EWH

[jhard]

It has been over a week since this exposure, the majority of his ejaculate landed on my chest.  This was our only encounter.  on the list of exposure risks how does this compare with a needle stick, or receptive anal intercourse