worried about oral hpv risk

[postage14]

Hi there,

I performed very brief fellatio on a guy earlier today - must have been about thirty to forty seconds in total before i noticed what looked like a lump - after a brief look it was a round lump on the shaft, that looked quite like a wart from my POV. about twenty seconds later he finished with hands, and i ran to wash my lip, tongue and hands as quick as i could with as much soap as I could. I'm really worried tho since I have a partner already, and don't want to pass on anything. My questions:

1) what is the likelyhood of contracting HPV orally from this exposure?
2) if I did contract it, what is the likelihood of passing HPV on from kissing or performing oral sex on my current partner?
3) did running and washing my mouth out and hands actually help, or do nothing?

thanks!! I appreciate any advice you can give me

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Logically, reduced exposure time might reduce the risk.  But there are no data and I cannot venture a guess as to how much effect this might have.

Washing the genital immediately (within minutes) after sex is a time-honored practice that logically might reduce the risk of some STDs, but here too there are no data to confirm it.  One study suggested that vigorous washing with soap and warter after sex increased, rather than decreased, the risk of HIV among men in Africa.  As I said above, I cannot judge whether your mouth rinse after sex made any difference -- probably not much.

[postage14]

Dr Hansfield:

thanks a lot for answering - it does help - as two followups:

1) does length of exposure matter at all? For example, were I to spend ten minutes exclusively doing something to an active wart, as opposed to the 40 seconds of brief and inconsistent contact with it now, would that make a difference?

2) Does washing and rinsing after sexual activity in the exposed areas make any difference at all, in a general sense? Be it for HPV, Herpes, or other bacterial/viral potential exposure? Or is that just a 'peace of mind' deal?

Thanks again for your helpful response

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the STD forum.

The mouth apparently is not highly susceptible to the genital HPV types, so that sexually acquired oral warts and other oral HPV infections are uncommon.  And when oral infection occurs, it appears to generally stay asymptomatic and probably clears up on its own.  Further, assuming you are an average sexually active person who has had a few partners, and if oral sex is something you do, then you can be certain you have been exposed to (and perhaps infected by) HPV infections -- both oral and genital -- a lot of times.  For every person who has an obvious infection, such as your partner with an apparent penile wart, most people have lots of other HPV exposure that they don't know about.

In other words, this event probably did not put you at any higher risk for HPV, either oral or genital, than you already have been.  To your questions:

1) There are no data, but most likely the chance of infection was low.

2) If you were infected, you'll probably never know it.  Oral to genital HPV infection (or oral to oral, i.e. by kissing) is rare, if it occurs at all.

3) I can't say whether rinsing your mouth made any difference.  My guess is probably not much.

Bottom line:  I really woudn't worry about HPV at all in this situation.  And although I cannot guarantee it, I doubt there is any risk for transmission to your current or any future sex.  Certainly if I were in your situation, I would continue unprotected vaginal and oral sex with my wife, without fear or concern.

I hope this helps.  Best wishes--  HHH, MD