[Question #11792] HIV risk from man to female anal sex.

12 months ago

Hi there. I have been dating a man for a few months. He works out of town so has not had a chance to get tested yet. We are usually careful but one night we were not and we did anal sex. I ended up bleeding and now I am stressed. I have been tested in June and was fine. I know he likely does not have HIV, if he is being honest. He is definitely not a drug user and says he has never had anal sex with a man. He did say that when he was young, he did perform oral sex on a man but has not done anything since then and never anal.

So if he is being truthful, I know he is not at high risk at all. The fact that he experimented orally with a man years ago makes me worry that maybe he is bisexual and is not telling me. I know the risk for vaginal sex is quite low between man and woman but unsure of the stats for anal with an infected man, if he were.

Thank you for the great work you do. This site has helped me a lot over the years.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

12 months ago

Welcome back to the forum.

As we may have discussed previously, receptive anal sex is somewhat higher risk for HIV than vaginal, but of course any risk has to assume your partner has HIV -- and from your understanding of his sexual history, I see no reason to suspect he has. His single (reported) sexual interaction with a male partner doesn't really change this assessment. And the minor trauma implied by the bleeding episode doesn't significantly raise the risk. As we also may have discussed in your several previous questions, in general people are truthful about such matters. All things considered, I don't see this as a high risk situation for HIV or other STIs. It sounds like there are plans for him (and you?) to be re-tested for HIV and other common STIs; from all you say, I would expect negative

While we like and are thankful for your continued confidence in our services, on quick scan this exposure and partner are quite similar to some of your previous questions. In the future, perhaps it won't be necessary to ask similar questions about each new partner who enters your life! In any case, I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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12 months ago

Thanks Dr. Handsfield. I appreciate it. :)

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

12 months ago

Thanks for the thanks. I'm glad to have helped. The thread will remain open a few more days in case follow-up questions or concerns come to mind.---