[Question #8564] HIV Sex Toys

Avatar photo
42 months ago
Last Friday, I saw a Shemale escort. She charged $200.00 and lived in a nice condo. I gave her oral sex, uncovered for 5-10 minutes. She got hard. She was going to Top Me, she by the time she pulled out a condom and open it, she got soft so she said she would use a dildo on me. I was on my hands /knees so I saw her reach into a dresser door and pull something out. She took some minutes because of lube. I am not sure if she put a condom on it. When she was done, I rolled over I did not see the toy. But I saw a condom on the bed (Looked unused) with the wrapper.  So, it made me think that she used it without a condom so now I am concerned about HIV. I saw her at 10:30 am and I woke her up so I am hoping it has been hours since last used. 
So, I had read it no risk to a high risk depending on the web site. Not a risk seems old like 5-7 years, but a risk of HIV is just recent. It makes me think maybe, you can and it changed in the last couple of years. So, I am at risk and what should I do?

Avatar photo
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
42 months ago
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your confidence in our services.

Condom protection isn't necessary and to my knowledge not often used for dildo penetration. Sex toys in general are not common mechanisms of STI transmission. I can envision an exception if used and immediately (within a minute or two) used again on a second person, but that obviously wasn't the case here. Don't you think it likely she cleaned the dildo after its prior use, before putting it away in the drawer? Even if not, STI bacteria and viruses die with drying, so there would still be little or no risk. Whatever website or other source you saw that claimed HIV is known to be transmitted by dildos probably was not a scientifically run or moderated source; I've never heard of or seen a scientific report that this has happened. If it did, it would have to be in the immediate re-use scenario just mentioned.

So the main STI risk from this event was your performing unprotected oral sex on your partner. Anatomically, she is still male, and fellatio -- oral-penile contact -- is moderately risky for some STIs, especially gonorrhea and somewhat for herpes and syphilis, and maybe (but very low risk) for chlamydia, which doesn't often take hold in the mouth or throat. The risk for HIV also is very low:  CDC calculates an approximate risk of 1 in 10,000 if the penile partner has untreated HIV. That's equivalent to giving BJs to infected men once daily for 27 years before transmission of the virus might be expected. That said, perhaps even this risk is high enough that you would want to be tested for HIV in a few weeks. 

All in all, the risks are low enough that testing is optional. But if you would like the reassurance that comes with testing, you could have a throat swab for gonorrhea (valid any time now) and, after 6 weeks, blood tests for HIV and syphilis. Or you could speak to your partner and see if she might be willing to be tested at this time:  if negative (or if she otherwise convinces you she doesn't have it, or is infected and on effective anti-HIV drugs) you will know you were not at risk. Same if she has a negative syphilis blood test at this time -- and a urine test for gonorrhea.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD
---