[Question #12673] HPV lesbian encounter

6 months ago

Hi,

I am very worried about HPV transmission.

I am a lesbian and I met a girl. She had a cervical screening (in Australia) and her results came back as HPV Not 16 or 18 – DETECTED.

This is what we did during our sexual encounter - She inserted her fingers in my vagina, as deep as her finger could go, and I inserted my fingers in her vagina. I’m really worried because I think she had her own vaginal fluids on her fingers before inserting her fingers in my vagina.

Also, our vaginas touched on the outside for about 6 seconds during this encounter - no rubbing.

What would be my HPV risk after this sexual encounter?

Edward W. Hook M.D.

6 months ago

Welcome to our forum. Thank you for your questions. I’ll be glad to comment.

As a rule, HPV infections are not transmitted from person to person through masturbation (insertion of a person’s fingers into body cavity or touching the genitals after touching an HPV infected site). Similarly, there is a little risk to you from putting your fingers into her vagina despite the fact that she has a proven HPV infection. The skin of the fingers is highly resistant to the HPV strains found in the tract.

As a rule, amongst sexual active persons, HPV is not something to worry about. Most sexually active persons who’ve not been vaccinated already have HPD and suffer a few if any consequences from their infections, particularly if they have been vaccinated with the HPV vaccine. In addition to vaccination, the most important measure for prevention of HPV related health problems is routine gynecological screening. This is the case both for persons who do and who do not have HPV infection.

I hope this information is helpful to you. If anything is unclear, please don’t hesitate to use your up to to follow up for clarification. EWH.

---

6 months ago

I have 1 clarification please:

If she touched her own vaginal fluids with her finger (that had touched her hpv infected site) and then straight away inserted that same finger into my vagina, thrusting her finger up and down in my vagina.... is there a risk of me contracting HPV?

Edward W. Hook M.D.

6 months ago

Thanks for the clarification. HPV is not transferred from person to person through transfer on a person’s fingers. No change in my assessment. EWH---