Bit of a strange one...and a generic one in there too!

Hey,

Have had huge anxiety (admittedly irrationally...) over HIV in the past and my actions this morning have sent me back into this whirl wind...

I met a stranger this morning and we mutually masturbated each other, for quite a while, he did this with my foreskin peeled back which was obviously slightly uncomfortable after a while so i asked he was more gentle...which he did, As i was about to cum he decided to suck me off. Couldnt really have been for more than 15-20 seconds in reality, he didnt really spit or swallow he took it in his mouth and sucked me for a couple of seconds laters and then stopped, i cleaned myself up...I really don't need to test over him sucking me off for a short time with regards to hiv do i? Even with how rough he was with my penis beforehand....I think the head of my penis seems quite resilliant but now i have a fairly proportionate red rash which i think is likely to be from friction...Would you say this puts me at risk of hiv? This was the sort of generic question...

The not so generic question, and hopefully a silly one. I have a filthy habit of biting my nails...TUT! last night in bed i bit my thumb nail tht slight bit too low...you know when it hurts? I cant say it bled, but its hurting today so guessing the trauma is a cut under the nail. Whilst masturbating him when we met this morning he pre-came..i was playing with the head of his penis under his foreskin where the pre-cum was, with that thumb. 6-7 hours after biting the nail off...Now im pretty sure this question is silly but please tell me! Is it possible his pre-cum would be enough to infect me through such a tiny wound that i've not noticed bleed but it just painful to use for certain tasks, hence the need to stop biting nails. After we finished we chatted for a while about lifestyles a bit more and he seems to get around far more than he initially suggested, fine, lifestyle choice and our session today was mild its just getting me back into my state of panic. Does pre-cum and superficial, not fresh wounds really allow a realistic route for transmission.

I would be really grateful for some support here however trivial or misinformed it may seem (i sort of know the answers im just not listening to my brain being rational.) This will hopefully stop me panicking and put things in perspective. Obviously testing for anxiety might be good but is there any clinical reason to from this, i know im negative before it and i dont want to get to the point of obsessing about the date i can test when its not necessary.

Thankyou guys, happy new year, a week and a day late

[Dr Sean]

Good Morning

Bit more of an eventful morning than mine - just defrosting my cara and coming to work!

I really don't need to test over him sucking me off for a short time with regards to hiv do i No - not at all.

Would you say this puts me at risk of hiv - No

Does pre-cum and superficial, not fresh wounds really allow a realistic route for transmission. - No Sir, not at all. You can forget this.

Obviously testing for anxiety might be good but is there any clinical reason to from this, i know im negative before it and i dont want to get to the point of obsessing about the date i can test when its not necessary - our experience is that testing in these circumstances rarely if ever improves the anxiety - it usually just makes it worse and reinforces the notion that there was a reasonable threat in the first palce which there was most certainly not. My strong advice to you would be to use whatever techniques you have been given to contain the anxiety and to resist the temptation to test - because there really is no need to at all. Your actions were innocent and even if he was to be HIV positive - which I don't believe is likely - you would still not be exposed here.

best wishes, Sean

Thanks so much for your reply Sean, I already feel a bit better. I have one more question and i dont mean to what if and yes, but....BUT...I washed my hands with alcohol gel yesterday and the part of the thumb I told you about really stang, which obviously suggests an opening. There is no doubt pre-cum came into contact with that part of the thumb. Does this change your view at all? If not, why is it not a risk...How quickly does hiv become inactive outside its host?

Thankyou Sean, your a star.

Hey Sean, I'd be grateful for your reply as soon as you get a chance, I'm sure your busy for the weekend now so might be waiting til monday but just the extenuating circumstance of the alcohol gel stinging the area, and knowing pre-cum touched there, does this concern you more? I know HIV is fragile when outside the host but I imagine not fragile enough to exit the host and become inactive there and then, dipping my thumb into his pre-cum normally wouldnt concern me its just this thing about the fact it stung when i washed with alcohol gel and only happened 6 hours before.

Hopefully im being silly.

Cheers.

[Dr Sean]

Hello again

You're not being silly but you are wrong.

Alcohol gel will often sting on even mildly damaged skin. There is no relevance in terms of how it might sting on a cut.

The HIV virus is very fragile and is inactivated easily by temperature change and by drying. You are not at risk of HIV from this - even - and its a big even, if he was HIV positive.

I'm going to close this now, ok - but you are safe.

very best wishes, Sean