[Question #13416] Oral sex CSW risk

1 months ago

Hi Dr. Hansfield. About 12 days ago I received protected oral sex from a CSW which also included a handjob. I know this appears to be a low risk encounter. However, after 8 days I noticed a small red mark on the foreskin of my penis. It was never raised and never blistered. It appeared to be friction caused. It is still showing 5 days later but has mostly healed.

That mark freaked me out and had me concerned about hsv2. I know the risk is low but is there any chance of hsv2 from protected oral? That part of my penis was covered by the condom too from what I remember. I have seen on the previous comments that hsv2 is rarely transferred orally if ever. I also have hsv1 orally from childhood so I am not worried about that.

At this point I guess a swab test would not matter since the mark is mostly healed and I’ve have read blood hsv2 test aren’t recommended. Also, my exposure seems so small from this event. Should I be testing further or is this something I can just move on from?

Thanks in advance.

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

1 months ago

Hello, I answer the herpes questions on this forum. No, there is no risk of acquisition of HSV 2 from receiving oral sex while using a condom. Two things are at play here: 1) the condom is very effective for prevention of HSV-2 when used appropriately (and it sounds like you did that and 2) you're correct, HSV-2 is very rarely transmitted from mouth to genitals. In fact, I have never seen that happen in 40 years of practice. I have seen people acquire HSV 2 orally, rarely, but never have I seen HSV 2 transmitted from mouth to genitals (HSV 1, of course, far more often), and 3) the mark sounds nothing at all like a herpes lesion. So yes, move on now

Terri

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