Hi Doctor,

Thank you for providing your valuable service to those of us in need. Before I place my question, I'd like to provide some backgrounds: in the past two years, I was constantly in a state of panic and I've looked through almost every question about genital rubbing/ frottage/ genital apposition online, and I've also consulted many HIV/AIDS experts in mainland China, gaining a very objective understanding of my situation. 

Here is the thing, On October 15, 2023, I went to the gym with a friend in the morning, but he had a cold. After the workout I found a Nuru massage(they did not provide penetrative intercourse i am in china),  I laid on my back with my penis pressed against my abdomen , and she first applied a generous amount of lubricant to my penis(both of us were fully naked). Then she sat up, supporting herself on her hands on either side of our bodies, and began rubbing my unprotected penis back and forth with her genitals, including her labia and it touched my glans. I'm not sure if her secretions rubbed into my urethra (I had inserted my fingers into her vagina and felt the secretions, an action I considered risk-free), but I'm 100% sure I didn't penetrate, the rubbing process lasted about two minutes. And my genitals were not circumcised.

I found question #10875 is most similar to my case. Dr. Hook said it was "an entirely, 100% no-risk activity for STIs," which is similar to what I've learned.

On October 17th, I first developed swollen tonsils, followed by a high fever after a bath. The fever subsided the next day, and the same thing happened on October 18th, after which the fever also subsided. Then I developed watery diarrhea, red spots on my neck, and a 3cm red rash on my chest.

However, I wonder if you're over-doing the review of other discussions. The precise wording we use in our replies can be quite variable depending on the specific circumstances, and on our interpretation of the mental state (i.e. anxiety level) of the questioner. It really should not be necessary to read "almost every question about genital rubbing/ frottage/ genital apposition." For all of these all you really need to know is that such activities may carry some small risk for transmission of some STIs, especially those transmitted between skin surfaces (HSV, HPV, syphilis) -- but even here, the risk is so low that it can be considered zero for almost all such exposures.

That's how I would interpret the events you experienced in October:  very low risk for all STIs, low enough to be considered zero risk for all practical purposes. As for your symptoms, they do not fit with any STI. The symptoms themselves are not typical for any STI, and they also occurred to soon. However, the timing was perfect for any of several day-to-day viral infections. And although the kinds of personal contact you experienced are near zero risk for HIV and other STIs, they are high risk for influenza, covid, common colds, and viral gastrointestinal infections. In addition, clearing of your symptoms after only a few days is typical for such infections and not for STIs.

I see no reason for you to be worried about any STI and would advise against any STI/HIV testing on account of the exposure described. And as implied above, I would advise no further online searching about the risks of similar exposures in the future.

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

HHH, MD