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Mutual masturbation = safe sex practice?

I have a more general question that (I hope) might be valuable to other readers here as well.  I've seen in several places where you have indicated that there is essentially no risk of STD transmission from mutual masturbation, and I have two questions about this as I think about my own safe sex practices.

The first is how is it defined?  Does mutual masturbation include activities like touching your partner's genitals and then touching your own?  Or is it strictly touching your partners genitals and then not touching your own?

I'm curious because I think you have suggested that gential-to-hand-to-genital transmission is extremely rare if it happens at all, and yet it seems like a possible (and maybe even likely) route for something like HSV where you have said that the virus needs to be "massaged" into the skin in order to achieve transmission.

I suspect thats its very hard to isolate sexual experiences (people who engage in mutual masturbation probably engage in other activities too), but this strikes me as a possibility.

A few months ago, I had a "mutual masturbation" experience with a girl where I "fingered" her and shortly thereafter masturbated my penis with the same hand.  Do you consider this a safe practice, or would it be better to use my other hand or wash my hand before touching myself?

I'm not particularly concerned with this particular incident (because my annual std screen last week was clean) but I'm trying to decide what my "safe sex" practices will be going forward.

Thanks for any light you can shed, and for all of the hard work you do.
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You missed the point.  I said "Whatever happens during such events, we know that almost nobody gets STDs"  by mutual masturbation.  There is no reason or worry to "be careful where [your] hands go" or to stop and wash hands during the event.

No ongoing discussion.  This thread is over.
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Avatar universal
A related discussion, what about the eczema influence the sypyhilis infect was started.
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Avatar universal
So to make it sure, we have to be careful where our hands go. It is not practical to wash hands during the process.
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Nobody has a formal definition of mutual masturbation.  Many (most?) instances probably involve touching one's own genitals as well as one's partner's genitals, but who knows? Whatever happens during such events, we know that almost nobody gets STDs having had mutual masturbation but no genital or oral sex.  I agree that theoretically such transmission might occur; but the data show that the theory doesn't play out very often.

Safe sex means choosing partners wisely (no quick pick-ups, no commercial sex workers, and other common sense stuff); and using condoms for genital or genital-anal intercourse.  That's pretty much it.  Some would add use of condoms for oral sex, but nobody would suggest avoiding mutual masturbation.

Good luck--  HHH, MD
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