[Question #12578] HIV risk(frot)

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6 months ago

亲爱的医生您好,请原谅我蹩脚的英语。事情发生在两周前(1月9日)。我是一个双性恋男人。我从来没有肛交过,真的。因为我害怕感染艾滋病。那天,我和一个男同性恋者自慰。我们把阴茎放在一起,我们的龟头接触着。另外,我明显感觉到我的龟头(尿道)有液体,但我不知道那是我的前液还是他的。然后他给我进行了无保护的口交(我让他在短短两秒内停止这种行为)。另外,对方用阴茎摩擦我的肛门外侧(我发誓他的阴茎没有插入我的肛门),但在这之前,他用手指摩擦我的肛门外侧(还没有插入)。我担心我的痔疮出血,他的前液可能会碰到伤口。 

我问了我们当地的医生,他告诉我有一定的感染风险。但当地疾控中心的另一个医生告诉我没有风险。我真的需要像你这样的专家告诉我我会感染艾滋病吗?谢谢。

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6 months ago

Hello, dear doctor, please forgive my poor English. The incident happened two weeks ago (January 9). I am a bisexual man. I've never had anal sex, really. Because I'm afraid of getting hiv. That day, I masturbated with a gay man. We put the penis together, and our glans is in contact. In addition, I obviously felt that there was fluid in my glans (urethra), but I don't know whether it was my pre-fluid or his. Then he gave me an unprotected blowjob (I asked him to stop this behaviour in just two seconds). In addition, the other party rubbed the outside of my anus with his penis (I swear his penis was not inserted into my anus), but before that, he rubbed the outside of my anus with his fingers (not yet inserted). I'm worried that my haemorrhoids are bleeding, and his pre-fluid may touch the wound.

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6 months ago
I asked our local doctor, and he told me that there was a certain risk of infection. But another doctor from the local CDC told me that there was no risk. Do I really need an expert like you to tell me that I will be infected with HIV?Thank you.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
6 months ago
Welcome to the forum. Thank you for your confidence in our services.

You were at little or no risk of HIV or other STIs in this situation. In theory, it is possible to imagine a risk of HIV transmission by penis to penis contact. In that sense, your "local doctor" is not wrong:  it could be a risk for HIV. On the other hand, there has never been a reported case of HIV in someone whose only contact was penis to penis. So if there is a risk, it must be exceedingly small. This makes your "local CDC doctor" also correct. To illustrate how low the risk likely was, the data on the risk of HIV from unprotected vaginal or anal sex (i.e. several minutes of the penis exposed inside an infected person's vagina or rectum) is no higher than one chance in a thousand he will be infected. If the chance of infection is that low with several minutes of exposure, what can it possibly be from the contact you describe.

Turning to oral sex, there also has never been a proved case of HIV transmitted oral to penis. Here too, it is possible that such such infections have occurred, but obviously they must be exceedingly rare. Finally, fingering (even penetrating the anus or vagina) is a zero risk event.

Given human temptations, you can expect to be tempted to proceed with real sex -- i.e. insertive anal sex, either giving, receiving or both. When that happens, you will be at risk for HIV. Please be prepared:  use condoms; or see a clinic to discuss pre-exposure prophylaxis with anti HIV drugs (PrEP); and also discuss doxycycline after exposure (doxy-PEP) to prevent syphilis, chlamydia and (to some extent) gonorrhea. But you can put aside your current worries in regard to your recent sexual exposure.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD
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6 months ago

Thank you, Dr. Handsfield. In fact, a long time ago, I had a similar experience. At that time, I knew from medhelp that as long as there was no unprotected vaginal and anal sex, there was no risk of HIV infection. Obviously, I was frightened by the content on the Internet. It seems that any behaviour is "risky", but I don't understand. The two doctors I asked said the opposite, which made me even more confused. It seems that the CDC doctor's statement is closer to yours. He suggested that I don't need PEP and testing.

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6 months ago

1. As long as I don't have unprotected insertion sex with others, don't I have to worry about the risk of infection with HIV? 2. Do you agree with my "local CDC doctor"s advice on my behaviour this time (no PEP and testing)? 3. I know on the Internet that HIV can enter the body through the urethral mucosa, but CDC doctors told me that this usually occurs in real insertional sex (must be in the human body). Is this true?

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6 months ago

Doctors in our country are relatively conservative, and most doctors believe that any behaviour has a risk of infection (which may be true), but it makes me nervous. So I really need a more authoritative and professional doctor like you to answer my doubts.Thank you!

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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
6 months ago
From what you have said, I doubt your two doctors said opposite things. Re-read my comments about them. (Maybe this is a translation problem? I'm sure the first doctor didn't say virus transmission was certain. Maybe something like "there is a certain amount of risk", which has an entirely different meaning.) Also take into account the doctors' likely different knowledge levels about HIV:  it is fair to assume a China CDC doctor is more expert.

1. "As long as I don't have unprotected insertion sex with others, don't I have to worry about the risk of infection with HIV?" Correct.
2. "...agree with my CDC doctor...no PEP and testing?" Yes, I agree. Of course you're always free to be tested anyway, if you will gain additional reassurance from the negative result. This doesn't mean I believe there was any risk; this would be only for reassurance.
3.  "HIV can enter the body through the urethral mucosa...." Correct. But that doesn't mean that any mucosal exposure, no matter how small, is a significant infection risk.

The risk of HIV transmission is on a continuum. There are few if any exposures that always can transmit HIV, and few if any that have zero risk (apart from masturbation, phone sex, etc). But if in doubt or worried, play it safe and use condoms, PrEP, etc.
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6 months ago

Thank you again, Dr. Handsfield. I've never had anal sex, so it seems that I don't need to worry. During this period, I have fallen into deep anxiety, and even the CDC doctor suggested that I see a psychologist. Your words make me feel much more at ease. Yes, I think it's a translation problem. The outpatient doctor just said that "there are certain risks". Can I understand that theoretical risks may not exist in reality, but just their statement for the sake of conservatism?

The doctor of the CDC is an expert in dealing with STI in our provincial medical institutions. I think his professional knowledge is richer. He has repeatedly told me that my behavior is not risky and does not need any worry. He told me that he had never seen any case of behavior like mine (masturbation, or even contact with body fluids). Are you and Dr. Hook the same?

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6 months ago
But I don't understand your explanation of the mucous membrane. Could you please explain it in detail? I know it's not a good thing to get to the bottom of a problem. Please forgive my excessive anxiety. But no matter what, I won't be infected, and I should let it go, right? Thank you again, Dr. Handsfield.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
6 months ago
I'm sure you can trust the expertise and advice of the CDC/STI specialist. Dr. Hook and I both agree with his experience; neither of us ever has seen or even heard of anyone who acquired HIV sexually without penile penetration into a partner's vagina or rectum.

Yes, you should let it go. But as I said above (no. 2), you are free to be tested for HIV if the negative result will help you get beyond your anxieties.

That completes the two follow-up comments and replies included with each question and so ends this thread. Best wishes and stay safe.
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