[Question #13679] Risk from fingering
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1 months ago
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Dear Doctors,
Can I become infected with HPV if a man fingers me? Can he have HPV living on his fingers? He is a high risk MSM with hundreds of partners. What about other infections?
How to reduce the risk?
Thank you in advance and happy New Year.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
1 months ago
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Welcome back to our Forum. I note that this is your 6th question this year, most of which deal with whether or not low to no risk circumstances might lead to acquisition of viral STIs and HPV and HSV in particular. Your current question is a repeat of your initial question 12 months ago. The answer has not changed. While HPV can be detected on the fingers and under the fingernails, there is still NO evidence that HPV is transmitted or spread on a person’s fingers. There is no risk to reduce!!!
It appears that you have a misunderstanding about how STIs are transmitted. STIs are NOT transmitted through hand to genital transfer of genital secretions. Please try to put your unfounded concerns aside.
Happy New Year to you. EWH
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1 months ago
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Dear Dr. Hook, thank you very much. I don't quite understand how it is possible that HPV is present on fingers but impossible to be transmitted. How?
Is this HPV from a person touching themselves previously or does it live on hands permanently?
Should I ask him to wash his hands with soap before?
Use gloves?
Can I get HPV permanently on my hands if I finger him?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
1 months ago
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A limited number of reports have suggested that HPV DNA can be found under person's fingernails. There are no data that this DNA is infectious or that it is tranmitted in this way. In fact, experience is that there is no evidence that HPV is spread from person-to-person through transfer on a person's fingers. If it were transmitted that way, most people would be covered with warts.
Thus there are no data to suggest any need for your partner to wear gloves or to wash his hands either before or after sexual contact with you. This is simply not something to worry about. The type of HPV that causes genital infections does not readily infect other types of skin such as on the hands or other boy parts.
This really is not something to worry about. EWH
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1 months ago
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Dear Dr. Hook,
I have the last question. I had an outercourse encounter years ago ( penis rubbing on my inner labia). Without a condom. I washed myself with a liquid soap afterwards and put a special desinfectant for these ourposes on the area like an hour or so later. This was only once.
What are chances I may have gotten HPV? I mean how likely it is from the described encounter?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
1 months ago
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Final response. Should a partner have HPV at a location which is rubbed against your genital regions there is a risk of HPV transmission. Precisely what that risk is is unknown and is likely to vary with a number of factors including the duration of exposure and amount of friction involved. If you have an area that you think might be infected, your doctor can check for you with currently available DNA tests.
This completes this thread. I hope the information you have received has been helpful to you. Further theoretical questions about HPV transmission are unlikely to provide further useful information. Your best approach to continuing concerns about HPV is HPV vaccination and to get regular reproductive health check ups as recommended. At that time, be sure to point out any areas of concern to your doctor. EWH
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