[Question #1820] Condom breakage - Worried
90 months ago
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Hello. Yesterday at a strip club I engaged in unprotected oral - (receptive) and protected vaginal sex. Towards the end the girl noticed the condom had broke (she said she felt it) and I immediately withdrew. I'm guessing then that I was exposed only briefly. I had tested negative for all stds prior to this incident and it has me worried. I should note that the stripper is 27 years old from Boston, MA of Cape Veridian decent but longtime U.S. resident. I intend to get tested for standard stds and hiv at 4 weeks. In the meantime I am particularly anxious over this incident for myself and for my spouse (I am married). Your analyse is most appreciated.
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
90 months ago
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Welcome back to the forum. Thanks for your question.
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Presumably your NGU symptoms cleared up entirely after the event discussed with Dr. Hook last month. (Just to be sure you understood his comments, that was definitely an STD. But you had the correct treatment, so if your symptoms cleared up and didn't return, all is well.)
As for this event, cven when women have active STDs, they aren't transmitted during most exposures. And the brief duration of exposure after the condom broke reduces risk. And unprotected oral sex is also low risk for all STDs and zero risk for some. So testing after this event is optional. Since you're anxious about it, though, you should be tested for reassurance. The main risk is for gonorrhea or chlamydia, and you can have conclusive urine testing for those any time 3-4 days or more after the event, so I would suggest you do that toward the end of this week. If you also want assurance about HIV, an antigen-antibody (duo) blood test at 4 weeks will be conclusive. For syphilis, conclusive testing has to wait until 6 weeks. However, the chance of either of these is almost zero, especially if you don't develop a painless penile sore suggestive of syphilis.
The only other STDs to keep in mind are NGU (again) and herpes. But if you have no penile discharge, painful urination, or blisters/sores in the next 10 days, these infections will be very unlikely. Accordingly, you could safetly resume sex with your wife in about 10 days, assuming no symptoms before then and negative gonorrhea/chlamydia testing. But the odds are very strongly in your favor: I expect all these tests to be negative.
I hope this information has been helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.
HHH, MD