[Question #948] Need help please
102 months ago
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Hi, I am 22years old female who is in a relationship with a 28years old male. I have not been HPV vaccinated.
Two weeks ago, my partner had gone to a massage place and apparently had a hand job. The girl worker had spit on her hands twice and gave him a hand job.
He has learned later about the potential risks is very much anxious these past days about the fact and shared the issue with me a week ago. Apart from my problem with the fact,.. I am very much concerned for his well being. He has no issue so far, so sore or blister, other than he sometimes feel a tingling pain in his sexual organs. He as well has gone and tested and so far gone negative for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoeae. The results of the hsv and hiv test is pending. He had cold sores before.
I have some questions:
How is the risk for such encounter in getting any STD and specially herpes ?
Should we continue having our regular sex life ?
Is there a risk for him to pick up hsv, specially hsv 2 ?
Should I get HPV vaccinated now before continuing our sexual relations ?
Thanks a lot
Two weeks ago, my partner had gone to a massage place and apparently had a hand job. The girl worker had spit on her hands twice and gave him a hand job.
He has learned later about the potential risks is very much anxious these past days about the fact and shared the issue with me a week ago. Apart from my problem with the fact,.. I am very much concerned for his well being. He has no issue so far, so sore or blister, other than he sometimes feel a tingling pain in his sexual organs. He as well has gone and tested and so far gone negative for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoeae. The results of the hsv and hiv test is pending. He had cold sores before.
I have some questions:
How is the risk for such encounter in getting any STD and specially herpes ?
Should we continue having our regular sex life ?
Is there a risk for him to pick up hsv, specially hsv 2 ?
Should I get HPV vaccinated now before continuing our sexual relations ?
Thanks a lot
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
102 months ago
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Hello, Ashley. Welcome to the forum. I think I can help ease your concerns.
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First, I don't know where or how your partner "learned about the potential risks" from his massage parlor adventure. There were no risks for herpes, HPV, or any STD (includng HIV, in case that's also on your mind). No such infections ever are transmitted by hand-genital contact, whether or not body fluids are used for lubrication. Saliva is especially low risk; it rarely transmits any STD. For example, neither HPV nor other STDs are transmitted by kissing. As for your partner's "tingling pain", no STD does that -- including HPV. This is typical for anxiety raising his awareness of trivial symptoms that mean nothing, or just normal body sensations that he otherwise wouldn't notice. He did not need STD testing, his negative tests so far are reliable, and his remaining STD tests will also be negative, assuming no other exposures. However, he can expect a positive HSV1 test result, because on his past cold sores. To your specific questions:
1,3) No risk, as discussed above. Even if we assume a theoretical risk of herpes, it is only for HSV1, because oral HSV2 infections are rare and therefore not transmitted by saliva. And your partner's oral herpes (cold sores) mean he is already infected with HSV1, so he is immune to a new one. People are highly resistant to new infections, anywhere on the body, with the HSV type they already have.
2) There is absolutely no reason you and your partner cannot continue unprotected sex. You are not at risk for any infection on account of his massage experience.
4) All sexually active young people (age 25 and lower) should be vaccinated against HPV, so I strongly recommend you do so. Your partner should do so as well. But not because of the non-exposure event described above.
I hope this has been helpful. Best wishes for a rewarding, romantic relationship! HHH, MD
102 months ago
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Thanks a lot Dr.Hunter.
I appreciate this effort by you guys, please if there is a place that we can donate money to extend your cause let us know.
I am very much mad at him, but he is acting so crazy these days, I guess I keep my anger until he settles down on that and then we must have a conversation about the fact. He has already separated his hand towel and utensils. He refuses to kiss me barely even touches me.. He says that if after 3 months his results is positive we have to break up and move out as he does not want pass this to me. I too think with this much anxiety one can get so much pain wherever.
At the same time, I think if this is stress driven, he must have had some manifestation already since I have never seen him this stressed.
I will take the HPV vaccine, I think it gives him some peace of mind too.
One last question, he is 28 now, can he get the HPV vaccine still ?
Thanks again.
I appreciate this effort by you guys, please if there is a place that we can donate money to extend your cause let us know.
I am very much mad at him, but he is acting so crazy these days, I guess I keep my anger until he settles down on that and then we must have a conversation about the fact. He has already separated his hand towel and utensils. He refuses to kiss me barely even touches me.. He says that if after 3 months his results is positive we have to break up and move out as he does not want pass this to me. I too think with this much anxiety one can get so much pain wherever.
At the same time, I think if this is stress driven, he must have had some manifestation already since I have never seen him this stressed.
I will take the HPV vaccine, I think it gives him some peace of mind too.
One last question, he is 28 now, can he get the HPV vaccine still ?
Thanks again.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
102 months ago
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Thanks for the thanks. I'm glad to be helping.
Your partner clearly is overreacting, and I agree with your "diagnosis", that he probably has underlying anxiety/emotional issues. I hope you can convince him he wasn't at risk for anything and neither are you. You might consider showing him this discussion if you think it would help him loosen up about it. He definitely need not wait 3 months to be tested for anything. Any further testing he does will be a waste of money, especially for herpes.
---He doesn't need the HPV vaccine. It's entirely legal for him to be vaccinated and no harm will come. But being over age 26, probably health insurance wouldn't cover it, so it would cost somewhere around $500. Not worth it.
102 months ago
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Once again thanks a lot, he is at work now but I will show this to him forsure.
I am deeply effected by the generosity of you guys to share you knowledge with the world here . We will try to donate to a comparable charity to resonate your generosity further. You guys make the world a better place.
Thanks and have a great day.
I am deeply effected by the generosity of you guys to share you knowledge with the world here . We will try to donate to a comparable charity to resonate your generosity further. You guys make the world a better place.
Thanks and have a great day.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
102 months ago
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Thanks again for the thanks. That's why we're here.
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If you're serious about making a donation to aid in promotion of STD prevention and sexual health, consider this forum's sponsor, the American Sexual Health Association (www.ashasexualhealth.org). Thanks for considering it.
102 months ago
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Thanks again, your advices are litterally pricelese, we definitly will do so.
102 months ago
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Dear Dr. Handsfield,
May I ask one more question please. Your respond yestersay was a relief, one quick question that he presist on it is that:
The tingeling pain that he is experising has been there coming and going for the most of the last two weeks.
could this be an indication of asymptomatic herpes infection ?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
102 months ago
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From my initial reply: "As for your partner's "tingling pain", no STD does that...." You cannot just read a list of herpes symptoms online, see "tingling", and therefore assume that any and all tingling can be due to herpes. Sometimes there is tingling for 1-2 days before an outbreak starts (called "prodrome"), but that only happens with recurrent outbreaks, not the first infection. There is no tingling with the initial infection, and no herpes symptoms of any kind continue for 2 weeks. If he had caught herpes, he would have had obvious blisters and sores by now. And as I said above, his massage event carried no risk of herpes. As I also said in my initial reply, this symptom is typical of anxiety, not an infection.
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I hope this helps him mellow out. Good luck.
That will have to end this thread. Thanks again for your nice comments about the forum, and for your donation if you go ahead with something for ASHA. Best wishes.