[Question #9904] HPV risk eye and mouth

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28 months ago
Dear Dr Hunter. I gave a man a handjob and he ejaculated on my hands. Soon after that, without washing my hands, i rubbed my eyes and licked my fingers. If the man got infected with genital HPV, epecially those hisk risk ones causing cancers, will my eyes (got mucous membrane) and mouth get infected with HPV? I am very worried about HR-HPV. Any cancer risks for my eyes and oral? 
My hands carrying his HR-HPV infected skin cells from penus as well as his semem, then rubbed eyes and also licked by mouth. Will this cause HR-HPV infection in my eyes and oral cavity?
Thank you for answer my question.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
28 months ago
Welcome to the forum. FYI, it is only by coincidence that I am on call for this question; as stated in the FAQs, users do not have the option of selecting the moderator who responds. For non-herpes issues, which are covered by Ms. Warren, Dr. Hook's and my expertise and advice always are more or less identical.

You needn't worry at all about this. I've never heard of HPV involving the eyes; and the mouth is exposed all the time, whether by oral sex or, probably sometimes, by one's own fingers after contact with the genital area. Everybody acquires genital area HPV by the time they have had a few lifetime sex partners; it is an expected, unavoidable, unpreventable aspect of normal sexuality. Assuming you have had intercourse -- regardless of your gender (which you don't mention) or that of your partners -- you can assume you already have HPV and could have it orally. If this is your only sexual exposure, or the only kind of sex you have had, probably you don't yet have HPV -- but you will someday. And of the routine, expected HPV infections, the high risk HPV types are among the most common.

For these reasons, the main recommendation to avoid serious HPV consequences (genital and anal warts and genital, anal and throat cancers) is immunization. The vaccines are highly effective and prevent infection with the HPV types that cause 90% of these health problems.

I might have more precise advice for you if you'd like to say more about yourself:  gender, age, sexual experiences, and so on. But in the meantime, you really needn't be at all worried about the events above. HPV is rarely if ever transmitted by hand-genital contact.

I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD
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27 months ago
Dear Dr Hunter. Thank you very much for your reply. 
I am pretty concern about HPV transmission (especially those HR-HPV strains) via genital-hand-mouth route. Here I don't mean autoinnoculation. For example, in the case I masturbated others and then put into my mouth. Or I masturbated my private area (if i have HR-HPV) and then go to my babies mouth.  Your words 'HPV is rarely if ever transmitted by hand-genital contact' makes me a bit worried. Can I regard it as zero risk or this indeed happen? 
Am I correct if I understand HPV can only be transmitted via sex (including oral, virgina, anal sex) and maximally can add deep kissing to the list? And the HPV transmission must involve the direct skin contact of the infected area to the other area, like what happening during sex?
Regarding genital-hand-mouth route, in other forum of similar senario, you (maybe Dr EWH?) stated that no risk for oral HPV no matter where the hand has been. This statement is still valid, right? Meaning absolutely no need to worry this route?
Thank you very much for your clearifications. 
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27 months ago
 sorry for typo. Here I don't mean autoinnoculation. What I Mean is For example, in the case I masturbated others and then put into my mouth.....
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
27 months ago
I understood your question. I mentioned auto-inoculation not because you are at risk for that, but to illustrate that no hand-genital contact is likely to transmit HPV, whether from a partner's hands or one's own. As you said yourself, "no risk for oral HPV no matter where the hand has been".

"Am I correct if I understand HPV can only be transmitted via sex (including oral, virgina, anal sex)..." Correct

"...and maximally can add deep kissing to the list?" Probably not. HPV is rarely if ever transmitted by kissing.

The main thing to remember about HPV is that having it is normal, expected, and mostly unavoidable once someone becomes sexually active. Don't even try to avoid it -- just get vaccinated in case of exposure to the types of HPV most likely to cause significant health problems.

As I said, I would be happy to give more specific advice it you would like to describe a particular exposure you are concerned about.
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27 months ago
Dear Dr Hunter. Thank you for your reply. I would like to make a confession: tha actual exposure is that one night I masturbated and ejaculated in the bathroom. Before proper cleaning, my kid rushed into the bathroom. It seems he touched my ejaculates and started to rubbed his eyes and mouth. I worried the HPV exposure to him if I have high risk HPV. The exposure sounds awkward. So I asked a similar situation. Deeply apologize for that. 
Based on your professional opinion, that is no risk of eye and oral HPV risk for my kid if some of my semem indeed contacted his eyes and came into his mouth, right?
This is my last question. Thank you in advance for your reply. Apologize again for not telling the actual exposure at the very beginning. 
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
27 months ago
Thanks for the additional information, but it doesn't change my advice. Children in the same household of adults with HPV never are infected, assuming no sexual abuse. That's after years of sharing kitchens, eating utensil, toilets, towels, etc; plus normal adult-child contact in everything from nursing to diaper changing to standard hugging etc. If you think about it, there must have been billions of situations in which the kids had possible contact with infected parents' or siblings' genital fluids. But no HPV infection. Your child is not at risk for HPV in this situation.

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful. I'll just add that your concern about HPV is way out of proportion to reality. If you remain anxious about this -- and I suspect you will -- first carefully re-read this entire thread. Second, educate yourself further about HPV using professional resources (avoiding alarmist websites or those written by or for people with HPV concerns. And if the concerns still continue, professional counseling may be warranted.

Best wishes and stay safe.
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