First of all, thank you for this important science-based information service. 18 days ago I visited a CSW in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a massage. We were both naked, I was face down and she started to massage my back and my legs, after that, she asked me to turn around and straddled me. At this moment, I felt that our genitals touched softly, there was no rubbing or frottage, just this light touch that lasted 3 or 4 seconds. I prompt asked her to move to the side and she finished the massage with a handjob. The wasn't any kind of penatration (oral, vaginal or anal) whatsoever. The thing is that almost two days after this encounter I started feeling a burning sensation in my groins expanding to the perineal, and there was a rash. I visited a dermatologist who diagnosed a dermatophytosis ("jock itch"?), I took a medicine and used a lotion and it has vanished rapidly. However, 12 days after the exposure, I started to feel a mild sore throat. It is not a sore throat per se, it feels more like a scrathcy throat, like if the back of the throat is numb or if there is something stuck there, it is not painful and it does not hurt when I swallow. There is no fever, no muscle/joint pain, no rash, no lesions and I also wasn't able to notice any enlarged lymph nodes. After reviewing other threads that describe situations which I think are similar to mine, I concluded that my exposure was low risk (zero risk maybe?), however, I'd like to ask specific questions: 1 - Should I get tested for STIs due to this exposure? Shouls I stop unprotected sex with my regular partner? 2 - I don't know if the mild sore throat is anxiety-driven (I've been very anxious and feeling guilty since the exposure), but it is quite persistent, after almost a week since its start the sore throat is still here. The timing of the sore throat and also the fact that I had a jock itch (which I never had before) raised an alert flag... What do you think? Your reassurance would be much appreciated Thank you in advance!

By way of background, I will mention that most commercial sex workers do not have STI’s of any sort. That however is irrelevant since without penetrative sexual activity, there is no risk for STI’s. Body to body contact and receipt of masturbation is a no risk event for all STI’s.  Your jock itch and sore throat are coincidental. STI’s do not cause rashes in the groin or inner thighs. Regarding your sore throat, most STI’s which occur on the throat (they are rare in general) are asymptomatic. It is far more likely that you were sore throat is a run-of-the-mill viral sore throat.

Yes, in response to your specific questions:

1.  From your description, there is no reason for testing of any sort or abstinence from unprotected sex with your regular partner.

2.  Please see my comments about your sore throat above. If your throat is highly inflamed, it may be worthwhile to get a culture for strep but again STI’s are typically asymptomatic in the throat and acquired only through direct contact. You are not at risk.

I hope this information is helpful and reassuring. If any part of my reply is unclear or there are additional questions, please use your updates to follow ups for clarification. Please don’t worry. EWH

Thank you very much for your promp reply. I was worried that the sore throat could be the sign of newly acquired infection due to the timing it appeared, however, the absence of other symptons (fever etc) and your comments about the no risk events that I described made me much calmer.

I would like to use this follow-up to ask a question concerning another issue which made me a little worried this morning. I woke up today with cold sores on my lower lip, I've already had them several years ago, and I attribute this particular outbreak to the fact that I'm going through a very stressful period and also to the fact that I used a steroid ointment to fight the previously mentioned jock itch. These issues must have affected my immune system...

Anyways, 4 days ago I performed oral sex on my pregnant wife. She had cold sores on some occasions in the past and the presence of herpes antibodies was detected on previous screenings, My question is, could the oral sex event that I described, performed on her 4 days ago, put her and the baby at any risk? Since she already has antibodies and had cold sores in her mouth in the past, are they safe?

Thank you in advance!

Moving on to your new question, because your wife already gets cold sores, she is not at risk for acquiring HSV-1 infection from your recent oral sex.  Infection with HSV-1 in any location makes persons unable to acquire infection, even at another location.  Further, since there were no lesions present on your lip at the time of your recent encounter with your wife, it is unlikely that she was even exposed to the virus.

Neither she, nor your unborn child is at risk from the encounter you describe. There is no reason for concern, no reason for treatment. EWH