My question is more specifically related to herpes and I was suggested by Dr. Hook (who did assure there was no risk of any STD) to direct these questions towards Dr. Terri Warren.

So here is the context

I recently went to a massage parlour on 11th July and had body to body naked massage. Both me and the massage girl were naked completely my penis brushed against the outside of the vagina of the girl. The contact was merely for maximum of 10-15 seconds or so in total. There was no penetrations and no oral sex.

1. Is there any chance of getting herpes from such a scenario?

2. Also there was body kissing and for a second or two our lips brushed against each other. Does this pose any threat?

3. I have noticed some isolated small red spots on the glans of my penis almost 2.5 months after the incident and these spots don't hurt or itch or anything. Could these be genital herpes? Or any other STD for that matter.

1.  I don't believe that the situation you describe has any real risk of herpes acquisition, no

2.  Lips brushing against each other does not present a risk for transmission - deeper kissing can present a risk of transmitting the cold sore virus but you aren't describing that happening.

3.  No, I don't believe that these are herpes.  or any other STI for that matter, though they could be a little fungal infection that are common in men.

I'm glad that you reached out to clarify.  I also see no need for you to do any testing for herpes in your situation.

Let me know if you have other questions

Terri

I have few follow up queries

1. I know you wouldn't recommend testing in such a scenario. But before I came to know about this portal and before I read about your and other experts view here on this portal I  went in for tests for few STDs including hsv2 and hsv1 after the 45 day mark of the massage incident.

The results were Hsv2 igg - 0.07 and HSv1 igg - 4.74. So could this hsv1 I might have picked up from the massage incident with that 1-2 second peck on the lips or it could be an old infection probably even maybe from childhood or can it also be a false positive? 

2. Also, would you recommend me to test for hsv2 again at the 12 week mark or was my encounter entirely risk free..even though there might have been genital contact without penetration.

3. I also had few episodes of frequent urination, is that symptom in any way related to herpes or any other STD.

No, I don't believe at all that you acquired HSV 1 from this brief peck on the lips.  I also think it is a real positive, have you ever had a cold sore on your lip or in your nose?

I see absolutely no reason to repeat the HSV 2 test, no.

Frequent urination is NOT a symptom of herpes, no

Terri

Just few more follow up queries to wind up.

Your responses would be really helpful to put my mind at ease.

Can herpes without any noticeable Symptoms cause ESR to rise this much ?

Or can any other STD raise the ESR value?

1. Yes I had some fluid filled sores around my upper lips 2-3 times long back ago. But haven't had any such outbreak in the recent past. Is that hsv1? Could it be that what caused positive hsv1 igg of value 4.74?

Yes, most certainly

2. Can such a old infection cause the value to be still on the lower side i.e. IGG value of 4.74?

Yes for sure.  I depends a lot upon the test brand that is used,how the index value comes out.

3. And should I be telling about my hsv1 test to my partner? As I see it is a really common infection and max population has it? 2/3 of global population has it, is what WHO says. Am I right on this?

About half the population in the US has HSV 1 infection.  My personal opinion is that you should disclose that you have the cold sore virus on your mouth before you give oral sex to anyone and should certainly not give oral sex to anyone if you have sores present.  But you could also transmit when no sores are present.  You could consider taking daily antiviral medicine if you want to give oral sex to someone who is not infected with HSV 1 to reduce this risk

4. I also had pain in the groin (more so near the abdomen, where the legs meet the abdomen) which lingered on for 2 months and the pain was only felt when I made certain movements like raising legs or something like that. Didn't feel the pain on walking or touching the area. I assumed it to be muscular pain as I used to workout as well, but all the ultrasound, xray and mri of the region came alright.

Can the pain be due to herpes or any other STD? Don't know if it was swollen lymph nodes in groin as it was NOT tender to touch and there was no apparent swelling. Just pain when I made certain movements and no other recognisable symptoms. No lesions, no blisters, no painful urination.

I don't believe this pain has anything to do with an STI, no.

The ESR is not relevant to this discussion

Terri

1. The test used was Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. If that provides any hint to the value of IgG index of 4.74

2. So should I ask my partner to test for hsv to know if she already has hsv1 or not or just tell her?

3. And you do assure that I wouldn't have picked up hsv1 from this massage incident and the test results are accidental finding?

4. And also you don't recommend me to retest for hsv2 ? Right?

5. How likely is hsv2 transmitted without penetration and without any lesions present?

If you could answer these questions, I would be really grateful. Thanks once again for the earlier answers and the work you've been doing in this forum. 

Sorry, you are out of questions.

Terri