Herpes- unprotected oral sex with prostitutes

[xlgcx]

Dear Medhelp,
I am in a very similar situation to some of the other gentelmen on this site. I am a male who recieved oral sex from 2 different prostitutes unprotected over the last few days. These were rather long sessions, and I deeply regret them in retrospect. I didn't see any type of sores on either of their mouths, however I know that the sores do not need to be present to transmit herpes. My question is: Will I notice symptoms in my genital area over the next couple weeks? I am extremely terrified. Isn't the mouth form of herpes very prevelent? In that case couldn't someone recieve it from a large portion of the population? How often do these cases come up? I am very confused, and there seems to be a lack of information availible on this subject.

Thank you so much

[Carlos113]

This prostitute needs to be off the streets very dangerous ***@**** 9494786762. You havern warned!

[DoxiesMom3]

I want to tell you about my story and how shocked I was. It hit me so hard. But I would like to tell you that I am deaf and THANK TO MY DEAF LADY FRIEND SO MUCH!! Because she was encouraged me to asked dr after I told her about my so ******* and lusted women boyfriend who had small worm, "I never understand why he is so lust for younger n thin woman when he is fat and had only 4 inch worm size. So I was talked to my deaf friend thru sorenson videophone about my boyfriend had cold sore or fever blistered on his lips and his past sex with approx over 50 women even prostitutes. she told me that I can get herpes from him and begged me to take test. I said no, I do not have any symptoms or had any cold sore or fever blister. She said still no matter what. I told her what kind of test I need to ask my doctor? She said tell doctor that I want to have HSV1 and HSV2 blood test. I asked her will doctor understand this. she said yes. So I did went to see my doctor and did asked her about wanted HSV1 and HSV2 blood test. She did not ask me or question me, just do it. I had blood test work order so it was only a week later, my doctor's nurse called me and demanded me to come to office right away. I knew it was serious about test. So I got to dr office and put me in examine room n waited for my doctor to come in room then she sit down, act so sad. I knew it is serious again. She wrote on paper, said "You have herpes 2". I read it and busted the tears. I cried so hard. She was comfortable me. Said I am so sorry, there is no CURE. I cried when she left room to give me time then I remmy I have other dr appt. She said she will call them that i am on my way. It was so hard to stop to crying. Once I went to other dr office, I cried again. cant stop. It was too hard for me accepted it. I contiuned cried once I got home and I texted my butthole boyfriend and told him that I want to talk to him on videophone. He asked me what's wrong. I said rather to talk to u on videophone. So He videophone me and I broke the news to him. His first word said, "It's his FAULT and HE need to shoot his head to kill himself". I said quit to be silly. Go to see his dr and have test and I told him what kind to ask his dr. He did. so he texted me that day after I had right shoulder surgery. He said he have very strong positive herpes. He did not know which one but it turned out to be herpes 1 and herpes 2. I only have weak herpes 2 but no herpes 1. My boyfriend and I had oral, anal and normal sexual. we had been together for 7 years. Since we found out we had herpes. we r being to drifting away apart slowly. I am not sure if he is starting to look for new woman to give her a new disease from him the way he gave me one. I am start to getting more and more depressing and sad more. I feel  I am lost the hope to find man again because I knew they will not want me once they found out I have herpes. I have read and understand what to prevent when is good or not good time to have sex. I believe it will not work no matter what websites said. I dont trust their words. I feel my life is over...I am trying so hard but it is not so easy. I just want to share my story with yall who have or dont have herpes. It's realllll bad experience stuff. Have a great day...

DoxiesMom from North Carolina.

[gracefromHHP]

try different brands of condoms - you might like one  brand for sex and another for when someone performs oral on you.   they make flavored condoms and flavored lubes to make it a little better for the person performing oral on you though I don't think they hide the latex taste well enough in general. Still worth it overall unless you are in a ltr with someone and are aware of their status. saves you all this worry in the long run!!!  

some of the online condom sites sell assorted packs of products so you can try different brands and see what you like best. It's also very convenient to get the prepacked lube and condom packs too :)

grace

[xlgcx]

Thanks JA! I appreciate all your input. I guess its the male ego of wanting to sleep with as many women as possible that has put me in some compromising positions. Plus I am really not a fan of oral sex with a condom, so that is a bit of a dillema for me. Anyways thats more of a personal problem lol. I guess I will get tested for HSV1 when I get back home, my biggest concern is transfering anything to any of the girls I have sex with back home.

Thanks!

[ja_1730]

I think nothing will give me reassurance until I get the blood test results I am awaiting, but this post may give you some comfort: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/HSV-Clarifications/show/1306350?personal_page_id=1829211 Obviously, you are I are concerned about oral to genital hsv-1, but the discussion shows even the small statistical risk of contracting HSV-2 from vaginal sex. Back when I had my unprotected exposure a couple years back, I posted on here and Dr. Hook told me that if I didn't present physical symptoms in the 3-20 days after the exposure to rest comfortably that I did not acquire herpes. Likewise, the clinician who gave me my blood test at four weeks, (I've learned now this is only about 50% accurate) seemed content with the negative results and did not think I needed retesting. I am hoping that these opinions were right. Of course, as you saw in my previous post, my current dr. doesn't share the same opinion and has left me feeling quite anxious about the test results. So we'll see what happens. I'll post the results when I get them.
Also, petal130 is right, in regards to hsv-1, it doesn't matter if your encounters were with prostitutes or not, outside of the fact that you may have less insight into their oral herpes or std status as you might with a girlfriend, wife, etc. Anyone can have oral hsv-1 and in fact 50%+ do.
Also, I am not saying this out of a moral judgement, but as someone who worries as you do, I recommend staying away from sex workers. As the doctors on here have posted, if you tend to worry a lot about sexual encounters, you probably shouldn't frequent prostitutes, massage parlors, etc. I will never be engaging in such acts again, out of the risk to losing my wife (still can't believe I made the mistake to begin with), but even if I was single, this experience has taught me that I am just to health anxious to take the risk.
Best of luck to you. Try not to over surf the web. I can tell you by experience it will just make you feel more anxious and like you should never have sexual contact with anyone again!

[xlgcx]

Ya the Ashastd website made it seem like it was much more likely to recieve it orally than we have been discussing? I've recieved unprotected oral from probably 15 girls or so back in the states, Contracting it during one of these encounters is just as my 2 recent prostitute experiences correct? Its been 3 days, no symptoms yet.

Thanks so much!

[ja_1730]

Grace,
This website says that Drs often overlook herpes symptoms because they can be so small they can't see them. I have had some irritation, itching and redness in my buttock area which is what prompted me to finally have a follow up blood test done now 2.5 years after my encounter. The doctor looked with a light and said it looked like jock itch and not herpes, but now I'm worried since apparently you can't always see leisons. I know the blood test will tell the whole story and I need to just be patient, but it is hard because I am married and worry this one indiscretion will cost me everything. Maybe I need to stop searching the web, everywhere including ashastd makes it sound like oral to genital transmission is super likey and that symptoms can be all over the place.

[gracefromHHP]

www.ashastd.org has terrific info on all std's for more reading about std's in general :)

[xlgcx]

You are truly a god-send Grace! Taking your time to help individuals such as myself is extraordinary. I will wait to see if any symptoms appear over the next 2 weeks, but otherwise assume that I am in pretty good shape, Anything else I could have contracted is curable correct? So herpes is the only permanent concern and that is a very small one? Sorry if i'm being redundant, I'm almost embarrassed at my lack of STD knowledge, especially given that I've been pretty sexually active over my lifetime. I think I remember having a cold sore once for a week or 2 in college so hopefully I am immune and this is all a mute point.

Once again Grace I cannot thank you enough for your time and help. People like you who truly help and care are becoming all too rare in this world. Simply put, you are wonderful  : )

[gracefromHHP]

typically when you contract hsv1 genitally, you get very obvious symptoms. you had none.

[ja_1730]

Grace,

Thanks for your response. I wish all general practice doctors were as informed about stds as yourself and a few others on this forum. I did get the vibe that the Dr. was trying a bit to scare be straight and make sure I never engage in risky behavior again (no worries there). You were right, I just got my hiv test result back and it was negative. The dr. visit this morning, however, made me feel as though I can expect to test positive for hsv-1 when I get my results back (I tested negative with a blood test taken four weeks after the encounter two years ago, but I guess this was too early). I take it you would be betting on negative this round of testing as well? So many sites talk about how most people never have symptoms and moreover that most infections occur when no cold sores are present. Is it likely that with my first exposure to hsv-1 that I would not have had any symptoms in a two year period? I am certain I would have noticed anything considering how much this exposure has worried me. I understand that like any disease it can be variable from person to person, but there seems to be so much ambiguous and mixed information out there that it is hard to make sense of the disease or one's potential risk from a sexual encounter. Why is this?

[gracefromHHP]

bacteria goes into the urethra.

we don't have infection rate stats for hsv1 genitally. A good % of folks already have it orally so that protects them from contracting it genitally later on.  

your biggest risks were ngu and/or a fungal infection overall from unprotected sex. drink plenty of fluids and try not to worry too much so you don't start thinking that you have symptoms when you don't ( as HHH calls it - genitally focused anxiety ).  Most of us have had our "what was I thinking" moments - thankfully most of the time it turns out just fine :)

[xlgcx]

Thank you so much Grace! Your advice and wisdom means a lot right now.

No I have not had any symptoms, but the encounters just happened 1 and 2 days ago. So it seems extemely difficult for a male to contract herpes from recieving oral sex. How does this happen in the event of %5. Does it happen through the urethra? Or does the male have to have an open cut (I had shaved the area some 5 days ago so may have had some razor burn)? Back home in the states I have received oral briefly from a girl who is known to have cold sores (herpes), and seemingly never contracted it. I guess my new situation is no less risky? I need to start using protection more!!

thank you so much, i truly appreciate it

[gracefromHHP]

the provider you spoke to was very misinformed :(

of the most commonly transmitted through oral sex bacterial std's, most studies find a less than 5% infection rate of infection - not worth testing for with infection rates that low.  they happen but not often. hiv is almost never transmitted through oral sex. the few cases we do have them involved bad dental issues if I recall.  

no there isn't a risk for herpes from mutual masturbation.

[ja_1730]

Can I ask a follow up? I went to the doctor today over worry about a single unprotected oral encounter over 2 years ago. I have not had any symptoms, but to rest my mind I had blood tests done for herpes and hiv. The doctor made it seem like unprotected oral was fairly risky and that I would be more lucky to get a negative result. Why do yourself and the doctor's on this forum often not see a reason to test after a single unprotected oral encounter in the absence of symptoms? Don't most people not exhibit any symptoms? I tested negative for hsv-1 and hsv-2 two years ago and will have some new blood test results this tuesday. In the mean time, I am panicking because it sounds likely that I could have contracted hsv-1 despite not having any symptoms since the encounter. Your thoughts? Also,(separate encounter) is there a risk for herpes from mutual masturbation if the girl fingered herself before giving me a handjob? Sorry to piggyback on the post.

[gracefromHHP]

the risk of contracting a std from receiving oral sex is overall very low. we don't routinely recommend any testing unless you get obvious symptoms. at this point it doesn't sound at all like you've had any symptoms?

in the future unless you know your partner's std status, only receiving protected oral sex is the best course of action so you don't worry like this.

it's always a good idea to get tested periodically for herpes and other std's however going to get tested from this encounter isn't a reason to test. make sense?

grace

[xlgcx]

So should I go get tested for HSV1 immediately? And If I do indeed have it already, there is no way I could have obtained it genitally from the 2 prostitues performing unprotected oral on me? If 80% or so of the population has it, i'm assuming I do because I have kissed MANY women. What do you guys think?

[petal130]

You tested positive via a blood test a few days after the encounter? Well then guess what, you already were HSV1 positive. Welcome to the 60% of the adult population who have it. You did not get it from this encounter, as it takes at least a couple weeks if not months for antibodies to form and be detected in a blood test.

There are no stats for oral to genital transmission of herpes. But already having it orally means you wouldn't get it genitally at this point.

Aside from that, it makes no difference if you had oral sex performed on you by a prostitute, your long time girlfriend, or the girl next door who's a virgin: oral herpes itself is not an STD, and many of us get it in childhood. All walks of like have oral herpes and it does not correlate with being a prostitute. Your Mom, Dad or Granny probably have it.

You can read about oral herpes here:

http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn_oralherpes.cfm

[world78]

Hi there
I had a sore on my penis head but went doc to do to swab test on 7th day result came insutible for herpes( I doubt the nurse she was not trainted to take swab test). Went to other clinic on 10th day it was negative. Took IGG blod test on 4th week- Herpes 1 positive and Herpes 2 Negative( but clinic not able to give the numeric value). IGG blood test doesn't give the area of infection unless if i get recurrce sore then tested by swab. Still I need to retest after 2 months. Not only you have panic attacks at this situtaion almost everyone.

[xlgcx]

I am extremely curious as to why I cannot find many cases of men reporting recieving genital herpes from oral contact. Am I correct to assume it's pretty rare? (obviously the fact that I recieved unprotected oral from prostitutes increases my chances) So there's a good chance I'm already immune to hsv1 because approx 80% percent of the population is? I really need some clarification, as I am basically having panic attacks about my situation.

Thanks!!!