STDs and Blowjobs/Dry Humping

[gw166]

Hi! So last night, me and a guy (I'm a guy) I had done stuff with before did stuff again.  He gave me a *******, and we dry humped with only our underwear on.  The only worry I have is that since the last time, he received a ******* (less than a month ago, he didn't give one).  Was I at any risk of getting STDs through either of these behaviors? Should I be worried?

Thanks!

Greg

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum; thanks for your question.

Apologies for MedHelp's bleeping software, which obviously isn't appropriate for the forums that inherently deal with sexual behavior and practices.  But I understood what you meant.  (Interesting that the software missed the "bad" word in the title of your question, probably because it didn't recognize "blowjobs/dry".  You've provided me a clue to allow me to bypass the software myself!

You had safe sex.  No STDs can be transmitted by frottage (body rubbing) and certainly not through clothing.  Oral sex is low risk for STDs in general and zero risk for some.  There is a slim chance you could have caught gonorrhea, nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), or herpes due to HSV-1, the usual oral herpes virus; and an even slimmer chance of syphilis.  If in the next 1-2 weeks you don't develop any symptoms -- discharge of pus or mucus from your penis, or sores on the penis -- you can be pretty sure you weren't infected.  You could be tested for asymptomatic infection, but I really doh't recommend it after a single exposure of this sort -- but feel free to visit your local STD clinic if this reassurance doesn't completely settle your fears about it.

I hope this has helped.  Best wishes--  HHH, MD

[gw166]

Sorry, I didn't read the rules before, this is my first time! The starred out words are "**" if you know what I mean.  I apologize for the inconvenience.

[gw166]

ORAL xD

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Noted; see above.

[gw166]

So if I don't develop symptoms, I shouldn't worry? And is the chance so slim that I probably shouldn't worry at all? I'm a worry wart, and I leave for college tomorrow so I really just wanna have some confidence in myself and in this!

Well I'm glad I could help you too! Learn something new every day haha [:

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

"So if I don't develop symptoms, I shouldn't worry?"  Correct.  "And is the chance so slim that I probably shouldn't worry at all?"  Correct.

Assuming you continue to have sex with men, you need to learn as much as you can about safe sex.  It sounds like you're most of the way there -- the most important thing, of course, is condoms for anal sex; and to never, ever have sex with another guy without first discussing HIV status and avoiding contact with those who are positive (and not on effective treatment), don't know, or are evasive about it.  If you follow these rules, then I would recommend you have routine testing for HIV and standard STDs from time to time, like once a year -- but not otherwise worry about individual exposures.

Assuming you enroll in your student health service at college, you'll probably have excellent advice immediately available.  For obvious reasons, most student health clinics these days are reliable sources for STD/HIV prevention services.

[gw166]

Thank you for your help, this really means so much to me! Now I can go start college with confidence and not feel...dirty. I'm glad I can have good faith that I am still STD-free.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm really hoping to reduce my sexual encounters just because of the way I tend to worry too much about stds and I'd rather just save it more for a monogamous relationship.  Thankfully, it appears I don't have to worry about HIV from this, right? Oh, well I understand if you can't answer that because of this forum.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Oral sex is exceedingly low risk for HIV.  Some experts believe the virus has never been transmitted from an oral to penile partner.  Just do a quick search on the HIV forum for "oral sex"; you'll find hundreds of discussions about it.

[gw166]

I can't thank you enough.  I'm just trying to get over the hypochondriac-ishness that I have when it comes to diseases (especially stds) and truly believe I'm ok.  It's just such awesome news that it's hard to believe!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

From some high school health education teachings in recent years, you can get the impression it's pretty much impossible to date or to have any kind of sexual activity without deadly risk.  It tends to be worst in red states in general, or in places where social or religious conservatives overly influence education and health policy.  The fact is that the vast majority of sexually active persons are free of any STDs that matter and that most sexual encounters, even outside mutual monogamy, don't result in transmission of any infection.  That's not to say that common-sense precautions shouldn't be taken.  But most sexually active people need not take such extreme measures that they risk stunting their sexual and romantic lives.

[gw166]

Oh wow, thank you for advice outside of just the medical reign! I am going to Cali for college (from the midwest), so I feel it will be a tad better! xD
As I'm getting ready for college and meeting people, I find myself not worrying about it.  It's more when I have free, reflective time when I worry about stds.  But thank you for helping me realize I really probably don't have an std (also...I'm sure with one of the stds I would contract from this, the guy would have symptoms, wouldn't he?). I think I'm most worried about herpes (because of its incurable-ness and apparent testing issues). But I didn't see any sores, so that's a little more promising!