[Question #7970] Lap Dance Concerns - Fluids / Cut
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50 months ago
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I recently attended a strip club where I received a lap dance. The woman was wearing underwear and I was wearing shorts.
The next morning, I noticed a stain on my shorts that had soaked through the fabric to the other side. I am unsure of what the stain was, so my concern is this:
If it was from vaginal fluids and it contacted my penis (I had a small cut - perhaps from dry/cracked skin or abrasion during the dance, which is what I am most worried about), am I at risk for HIV from this exposure?
What level of risk would you say this exposure represents? Should I get tested?
Thank you.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
50 months ago
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Welcome to the forum and thanks for your confidence in our service. I'll be glad to comment. The event that you describe was a no risk event. HIV and other STIs are not transmitted to material, even very thin/shear material and even if the material becomes wet with genital secretions. This is the case even if you had a cut or abrasion on your penis- still no risk. There is no reason for concern and no reason for testing related to the exposure you describe. EWH---
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50 months ago
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Thank you for the quick reply, Dr. Hook.
I’ll admit I have a lot of phobia around this issue. So, please forgive the additional questions below:
(1) During the dance, she rubbed on top of me for a while. Does it change your assessment of HIV risk if this rubbing caused the wet spot (potentially vaginal fluids) to contact where my cut was with force for any duration of time?
(2) I have had some symptoms such as minor joint pain, runny nose, cough that moves mucous, difficulty sleeping, nausea, and very low grade fever (99.0 - 99.5 at spikes during the day, with most of the day around 98.7 - 98.8) about 2.5 weeks post-exposure. Should I be concerned about these symptoms in relation to HIV? It does seem to follow some of it could be anxiety driven.
Thank you for your patience with my follow ups.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
50 months ago
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I understand your concerns and am quite comfortable with confirming my earlier statements. In terms of your follow-up questions:
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1. The friction involved in no way changes my assessment. In fact, with this sort of sliding/rubbing, friction is to be expected. Still no risk. The only thing the duration of rubbing impacts is the likelihood that one or both of you would be chaffed by the event but that does not impact the risk for HIV or other STIs.
2. The symptoms you describe are not typical of recently acquired HIV. The symptoms which sometimes occur include high fever, severe sort throat and widespread muscle and/or joint pains which some patients describe as like "the worst flu" they have ever had. Your symptoms are really more consistent with recently acquired cold or non-STI viral respiratory tract infection. Further, while you do not mention when the exposure you describe was, the symptoms of recently acquired HIV typically do not occur until 10 days to two weeks after an exposure.
No one has EVER acquired HIV from the sort of exposure you describe. Really. You will not be the first. EWH
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50 months ago
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Thanks, Dr. Hook.
The event was approx. 3 weeks ago.
Just to clarify - minor, diffuse intermittent joint/muscle pain (knuckles both hands, left calf, left quad) in the absence of a high fever and/or sore throat is not a cause for concern? While having these pains, my temp. is generally pretty low (98.0 - 98.7). Is it possible anxiety could trigger this?
Thank you. This is my last question. I appreciate your help.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
50 months ago
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Thank you for your follow up. Mild, occasional joint pains of the sort you described are not suggestive of recently acquired HIV. The so-called acute retroviral syndrome, as I said before, is characterized by a simultaneous combination of high fever, sore throat, and severe muscle and joint pains. Your symptoms do not suggest HIV. Sometimes when a person is worried and looking for symptoms they tend to notice sorts of joint aches and pains that most of us experience but overlook on a regular basis. Anxiety can certainly height and the likelihood of noticing such discomfort.
I hope that the information I provided has been helpful to you. I am confident that you did not require HIV or any other STI from the event you described.
Take care. Please don’t worry. EWH
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