[Question #2217] Visit to a strip club

91 months ago

Hi Doctor,

I went to one of the strip clubs in Raleigh, NC and I got a private dance from a stripper (white ethnicity, in her 20s). I was fully clothed and she was wearing her underwear all the times, while I got the lap dance.

I touched her breast with my hands, and I sucked/licked her nipples, may be couple of times, not more than a second or so. I think I am overly exaggerating things here, but my concern is what if she was lactating and some of her breast milk entered my blood stream via some small cut in my mouth? This is all assuming she might have been HIV positive.

I have had researched a lot about breast milk HIV transmission and what I have understood is that for the transmission to occur, good quantity of milk needs to be swallowed and ingested; it can not happen via some cut on the lip/tongue. Am I correct?

Do I need to worry about HIV ? There was some foul smell coming around her breast area, and that also contributed towards my anxiety.

Regards,

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

91 months ago

This is your 7th question on the forum, all of which have asked about no-risk situations. You have been told repeatedly that there is no risk of HIV if a bare penis does not enter another person's vagina, rectum, or maybe mouth -- and never risks from other kinds of skin contact. That remains true here: HIV cannot be acquired by contact with breasts, and your own research about the risk has found the correct answer. No adult has ever been known to catch HIV by exposure to a partner's breast milk. Even for infants nursed by infected mothers, swallowing a few ounces of milk every day, after 6 months only 15% of infants become infected. Odor or other hygiene issues have no bearing on HIV risk.

To your credit, this time it has been 5 months since your last question, so perhaps you're starting to get a handle on these anxieties -- which is why I decided to give you that brief reply without deleting your question without comment. But the previous warnings still stand, and this will definitely have to be your last question on the forum until and unless you have a real risk, such as unprotected sex. Here is the current standard warning statement (you have seen earlier versions of the same thing):

Please note that the forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure, especially when the questions are obviously driven by anxiety or when there is apparently difficulty in believing or accepting advice already given. This will have to be your last one; future questions on this topic or about obviously low risk exposures will be deleted without reply and without refund of the posting fee. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is designed to reduce the temptation to keep paying for questions with obvious answers. In addition, experience shows that continued answers tend to prolong users’ anxieties, when professional counseling often would be a better approach. Finally, repeat or anxiety driven questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum’s main purposes. Thank you for your understanding.

This thread is being closed without opporutnity for further discussion. Do your best to move on without worry.

Best wishes and stay safe. HHH, MD

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