[Question #1940] Risk assessment HIV

89 months ago

Last night a female gave me a hand job using her saliva as lubrication. She spat on her hand a few times and then touched my penis. After the encounter before showering i found a bit of redness in my penis. I am not sure if it was blood or simply irritation (i was a bit drunk so my judgement was a bit impaired) . Would you consider this a no risk event, should I consider PEP? thanks

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

89 months ago

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your succinct, straightforward question. My reply will be the same.

HIV is not transmitted by hand-genital contact; in the 3+ decades of the known worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic, there has never been a known case transmitted in this way. This is true even when genital fluids are used for lubrication. And saliva is especially safe, because HIV is generally not present in the mouth in significant amounts; and saliva kills HIV. These reasons are why oral contact of any kind -- like kissing or receiving oral sex -- also are no risk for HIV. So this for sure was a no risk event and you should not consider PEP. (You probably couldn't find a doctor willing to prescribe it in this circumstance.) You also don't need testing for HIV or any other STD.

I hope this has helped ease your concerns. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

Best wishes and stay safe-- HHH, MD

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89 months ago

thanks for the reply. Does your answer take into consideration the fact that the redness i saw in my penis may have been blood mixed with saliva?

thanks

89 months ago

i mean potentially blood from her mouth mixed with saliva, thanks

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

89 months ago

Blood occurs in the mouth from time to time, e.g. from inflamed gums. If we assume blood is present 1% of the time, then we can also guess that 1% of all oral sex exposures have at least slight blood exposure. Or maybe it's only 1 in a thousand -- these are only examples. Either way, it means there have been billions of such exposures worldwide over the years. And still no known cases of oral to penis HIV transmission.

In other words, my answer does take this into consideration. My judgment of your risk and advice about PEP are the same.

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