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HPV transmission mode
Dear Dr. I have a question on the transmission mode of HPV. I am single and decided to practice not only safer but perfectly safe sex (if thats possible). Part of that is that I am going to erotic massages and never allowing more than a handjob. I believe information is power so I browsed the net and especially your archives for risks of that. I realized that HPV is sometimes mentioned as the only very rare exception to handjobs being zero risk. I want to understand the transmission mode of how a handjob possibly can lead to HPV transmission. Is it a) HPV infection present on hand or b) hand as an intermediate of genital-hand-genital contact. I am asking because I do not practice MUTUAL masturbation but only receipt of a handjob. I know the question is sophisticated but if I am right in thinking that exceptions only occur due to genital-hand-genital contact (not hand-genital) I will decide to continue that practice otherwise stop. I should add that I am really only concerned about high risk HPV that can be the cause of cancer.
Regards,
Pete
high risk
Regards,
Pete
high risk
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Of course not.
Dear Dr. HHH,
I have really only one open question in my mind. With limiting my exposures to the receipt of handjobs do I qualify for periodic std screening?
Best,
Pete
I have really only one open question in my mind. With limiting my exposures to the receipt of handjobs do I qualify for periodic std screening?
Best,
Pete
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Sorry, there are no data to even guess. I would be surprised if the chance were any higher than one in a few thousand, but this is a very soft estimate. But really, it's a silly thing to worry about. Since you're going to get genital HPV someday, why does it matter when and where it happens? Why would you put such dramatic restrictions on sexual satisfaction over this?
Dear Dr. HHH, I have one (promise) follow up question. I am still thinking about this slim chance that HPV might be transferred by a handjob. Could you give an educated guess on the propability of that (receptive handjob, no mutual is my practice). I just wanna know if it is more in the 1:1,000 or 1:10,000 range. I just want to calculate my risk and make informed decisions. Thank you! Pete
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for the thanks. It was so quick just through luck -- I was checking the site when your question came in. Take care.
Dear Dr. HHH, wow I am impressed about that quick and profound answer. That helps indeed. Keep up the good work!
Best,
Pete
Best,
Pete
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your dedication to safe sex.
Unfortunately, there are no data to answer your questions. It is not known for sure that HPV can be transmitted by hand-genital contact. That is assumed because once in a while genital HPV infections are diagnosed in people who deny other sexual exposures. However, there might be some small proportion of genital HPV infections that are not sexually transmitted at all. Most likely hand-genital contact can indeed transmit HPV, although much less efficiently than genital or anal intercourse.
HPV of the same type causing genital infection sometimes can be detected on infected persons' hands, typically under the fingernails. Whether this is due to actual infection of the hands and fingers or simply contamination from the genital area is not known; either way, it presumably represents a possible explanation of transmission by hand-genital contact. It also seems logical that some such transmissions could occur because genital secretions get on the hands during the sexual contact, either inadvertantly or because genital secretions are used as lubricant.
My best guess is that the large majority of people whose sexual exposures are limited to hand-genital contact probably will never catch genital HPV, but probably the risk is not zero.
I would, however, suggest you not worry about it. Almost everybody gets genital HPV somewhere along the line; it is a normal and expected consequence of human sexuality -- and the high-risk (cancer causing) types are the most common. Happily, a very small proportion of infections actually leads to cancer, and penile cancer due to HPV (or anything else) remains a vanishingly rare disease. While reasonable precautions make sense to reduce the risk, extreme methods to completely eliminate the chance of catching genital HPV are not warranted and, for most people, not likely to be effective.
However, if you remain concerned, you could be immunized. Although the currently available HPV vaccine (Gardisil) is not yet FDA approved in men, preliminary data suggest it is effective and approval probably is 1-2 years away. But you don't need to wait; you could get immunized now -- although without FDA approval your medical insurance won't cover it and you could expect to pay $500-600. But it's an option if you want additional assurance against infection.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Unfortunately, there are no data to answer your questions. It is not known for sure that HPV can be transmitted by hand-genital contact. That is assumed because once in a while genital HPV infections are diagnosed in people who deny other sexual exposures. However, there might be some small proportion of genital HPV infections that are not sexually transmitted at all. Most likely hand-genital contact can indeed transmit HPV, although much less efficiently than genital or anal intercourse.
HPV of the same type causing genital infection sometimes can be detected on infected persons' hands, typically under the fingernails. Whether this is due to actual infection of the hands and fingers or simply contamination from the genital area is not known; either way, it presumably represents a possible explanation of transmission by hand-genital contact. It also seems logical that some such transmissions could occur because genital secretions get on the hands during the sexual contact, either inadvertantly or because genital secretions are used as lubricant.
My best guess is that the large majority of people whose sexual exposures are limited to hand-genital contact probably will never catch genital HPV, but probably the risk is not zero.
I would, however, suggest you not worry about it. Almost everybody gets genital HPV somewhere along the line; it is a normal and expected consequence of human sexuality -- and the high-risk (cancer causing) types are the most common. Happily, a very small proportion of infections actually leads to cancer, and penile cancer due to HPV (or anything else) remains a vanishingly rare disease. While reasonable precautions make sense to reduce the risk, extreme methods to completely eliminate the chance of catching genital HPV are not warranted and, for most people, not likely to be effective.
However, if you remain concerned, you could be immunized. Although the currently available HPV vaccine (Gardisil) is not yet FDA approved in men, preliminary data suggest it is effective and approval probably is 1-2 years away. But you don't need to wait; you could get immunized now -- although without FDA approval your medical insurance won't cover it and you could expect to pay $500-600. But it's an option if you want additional assurance against infection.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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