Precautions to take

[Bunt35]

I may or may not have been exposed to herpes (no evidence of infection at all) I'm currently waiting for the six weeks time frame to be tested.  What precautions besides condom use are needed in the mean time?  I had a massage parlor girl attempt to initiate fellatio and I stopped her in less than a minute.  Do I need to avoid perfoming cunniligus for the six weeks?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Since your exposure was fellatio (oral sex with your penis), I'm not sure why you are concerned about performing cunnilingus.  STDs don't travel through the body from genitals to mouth or vice versa.

Your risk of getting HSV from a single episode of fellatio is about zero.  Your HSV-1 blood test likely will be positive--more than half the population has HSV-1, generally acquired in childhood.  And HSV-2 is never acquired by oral sex.  So if your HSV blood test is positive for either HSV-1 or HSV-2, it will not mean you were infected during the exposure you describe.  So my advice is to forget it and not have HSV testing at all.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[Bunt35]

I had sent the same question to a different site and their answer for the Herpes was the same but they seemed to adopt a the sky is falling the sky is falling reaction about getting HIV tested and they seemed worried about Chlaymidea and gonorrea as well.  From all of the research I've ever seen it still still doesn't seem like it's easy to get either of the three orally without bleeding gums being present.  Your thoughts?