[Question #9991] A couple of questions after receiving a massage with a happy ending

26 months ago

Dear Doctors,

After reading a number of your comments to similar situations I am pretty sure that my "exposure" was a no/zero risk event, but your feedback would be reassuring.

While on a business trip to Tokyo (Japan) I received a massage that included a handjob. The masseuse, a woman, remained fully clothed. In addition to the handjob she did lick my nipples a bit and briefly sucked on a couple of my fingers. There was no kissing, no oral, I did not lick her or kiss her.

My questions:

1. Was this a no/zero risk event? Should I put any concerns of having acquired any form of STI from this event out of my mind?

2. She did shower me before and after the massage. If there was semen from another customer present on the shower floor while I was in there, barefoot, would that be a risk?

3. Can I resume unprotected sex with my partner without worry?

Thank you.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

26 months ago

Welcome to the forum. I'm happy to address these issues.

Thanks for reviewing other discussions similar to your own concerns. It seems you correctly understand the low STI risk of the exposure you describe. I can confirm your conclusions.

To repeat some information you probably have already seen, or at least implied in many other discussions, STIs are not simply infections that happen to involve the genital area. The causative bacteria, viruses and a few parasites evolved to require sex itself for transmission. In essence, it is because for infection to take hold large numbers of them must contact internal tissues or cells (gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomonas and HIV, for example), or they must be massaged into exposed tissues (herpes, HPV, syphilis). And most are specifically adapted to require exposure to genital or anal tissues and less likely to successfully infect other anatomic areas. As for the exposure you describe, they are not transmitted by kissing, by mouth contact with non-genital areas, by kissing, or by hand-genital contact, even (with maybe very rare exceptions) if genital fluids are used for lubrication.

Those comments indirectly answer your three questions, but to be explicit:

1. Yes, this was a zero risk event and you can put STIs as a consequence out of your mind.

2. The shower was no risk at all. Exposure to infected materials in the environment is never a risk. For example, the household contacts of persons with STIs never become infected despite sharing toilets, showers, towels, kitchen utensils, etc, etc.

3. You can resume unprotected sex with your partner. There is no chance you have anything she could catch sexually from you on account of the events in Tokyo.

I hope these comments resolve your concerns. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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