Over the last 4 months I (23/male) have been meeting other men on dating sites and “cruising” however I only receive hand jobs from them. But now that has me nervous. Is it possible that I could get any of the following STD’s particularly if those guys had any of their genital secretions on them: chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, hiv? There has been a lot of encounters and I don’t really remember whether or not they touched themselves first then me.

1. What are the risks from a handjob/mutual masturbation if there is genital secretions on the other person’s hands 

2. Should I take doxypep after these encounters?

3. They also licked my nipples. Can I get an std, particularly syphilis from this? 

You needn't be at all worried. Neither HIV nor any other STIs are transmitted by hand-genital contact. In theory, one can imaging why there might be a slight risk, and it is possible that over the past several decades a few cases of genital herpes or HPV have been transmitted, if genital fluids were used for lubrication. However, there are no scientific reports that it ever happened. To your specific questions:

1. Little or no risk, as just suggested in my opening comments.

2. The only infections prevented by doxyPEP are syphilis, chlamydia, and some cases of gonorrhea. None of these has ever been known to result from such contact. DoxyPEP is advised only following unprotected anal or vaginal sex.

3. Oral contact is low risk for all STIs, even with oral-penile contact. Skin elsewhere on the body, including breasts and nipples, are not infected by such contact.

Do your best to relax about this. You don't even need HIV/STI testing and for sure should not seek doxyPEP.

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

HHH, MD

1. My usual partner has complained that she thinks she has a yeast infection. However, I’m worried that it may be symptoms of chlamyida or gonorrhea that I could have gave to her from my handjobs/mutual masturbation with others. She has been complaining about irritation, vaginal itching (including when she walks), and some pain when peeing. Could that mean I gave her gonorrhea or chlamydia?

2. During the times when I was engaging in mutual masturbation with other guys, I wasn’t paying attention so it’s entirely possible that they could have had fluids on their hands, then touched my genitals. Are you saying that chlamydia and gonorrhea are  not transmitted this way? 

2. The zero risk of hand-genital contact remains zero, even if genital fluids are used for lubrication. Yes I am saying gonorrhea and chlamydia cannot be transmitted in this manner, or so rarely that it should be ignored.