I am a man that recently had a sexual encounter with a man. We mainly masturbated one another, but he did perform oral sex on me for a little while. After, he continued to masturbate me using his saliva as lubricant, and I am sure at some point his precum also got onto my penis while he stroked me. The guy was pretty rough while masturbating me, and once we were done I noticed a small cut towards the base of my penis. It bled very slightly and closed fairly quickly. It did not bleed during our encounter from what I saw, only after the fact when I was cleaning myself off. However, I’m not sure when the break in the skin occurred. Based off of this scenario and what we did, should I be at all concerned about getting HIV? Is it even possible to be transmitted in a such a manner? I believe not, but the part where I was cut and bleed slightly is bothering me in particular. Otherwise I’d not be concerned. Any advice at all is greatly appreciated.
Hi jscott! Welcome to Empty Closets. *Obligatory, "I am not a doctor." Everything I've ever read previously has suggested that this is a very, very low risk activity. It's theoretically possible of course, but I don't think it rises to an extreme worry at all. I think the chance is really quite remote if that helps with your concern. This link from hiv.gov mentions it under 'extremely rare cases.' This table can't even provide a number of how often it happens. If you search "cuts" under our resource here, it also talks about how unlikely this is. It has also been theorized that saliva can at least help to break apart the virus. Nonetheless, if possible, I would consult telehealth, a doctor or a clinic. PeP or Post Exposure Prophylaxis (preventing a disease after having contact) would need to be done within 72 hours, but I'm not sure they would even recommend that route in your circumstance. Regardless, I think if you're able to touch base with a healthcare provider, explain the situation, and get an HIV test at the proper time... it will put your mind at ease, and regular testing is a good habit to get into anyhow, if you're not already. Nice to meet you bud! Hope you stay happy and healthy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- *(If anything I said here is inaccurate, someone please chime in!)
Also, I am not a medical professional, but I agree with Pretty Boy Blue, the chances are remote. If you are sexually active with multiple partners it would be a good idea to get tested for multiple STDs. You can test at home by ordering a test kit online. I personally use the local health department. They are knowledgeable and very discreet. A regular sexual health checkup helps keep everyone safe. Not only is it nice to know that you are clean you also know that you are not infecting anyone else. I had a guy contact me and say he had been diagnosed with chlamydia. We had sex a month or so earlier. I immediately made an appointment at the health department and started making a list of any partners I had been with after him. My test results were negative so I did not have to make any of those awkward phone calls. A few days later, my friend called me back and told me that he had been retested, and they started him on medication but his second test came back negative. They think the first one was a false positive. This had been his regular three-month std test. Better safe than sorry.
jscott.....I usually catch people when they make their first post in the "Welcome Lounge" but I missed you there, so I'll catch back up to you here! Hello and a big LGBTQIA+ welcome to Empty Closets! I can remember the first post that I made on EC. I was desperate for help and I got the help that night that I so needed. I hope that we can help you in the same way that I received help. The most important thing to remember about Empty Closets is that we do care about you! We're very glad that you found us here on EC and hope that we can answer questions, give you support and provide a place to vent (as long as it's not violent! ) when that becomes necessary! This is a safe community of loving, caring and very supportive people and we will do our best to help you blend into the community. *****There are 18 different sub-forums here that you can check out, join in the conversations or start your own thread/conversation. When I first joined Empty Closets I was in need of a lot of support and encouragement and I found it here…EC is a safe place. I hope that you'll find good things here too! Folks here will talk to you and share...you don't have to be afraid of asking questions...we're glad to have you! Empty Closets is all about making connections and giving LGBTQ folks a voice when they otherwise don't have one in their day-to-day lives. *****I agree with the others. No matter how remote the possibility, for safety and for peace of mind, you should take steps to protect yourself. I would suggest that you see a professional, explain the situation and at the very least be tested for STDs. If there is a chance that you will have further encounters of this kind, then getting on PreP would be the very best choice. Even if you do test negative and do start PreP, understand that PreP is NOT 100% effective against HIV, etc. and using a condom is always the best choice. I'm glad that you have found us here on EC and hope that we can continue to be of help and support for you in the future! Some info on how to navigate EC: When you have made at least 10 posts on various threads you will be able to post messages on a member's Profile Page. Just click on a member's Avatar Picture and then click on "Profile Page" in the dialogue box that pops up. You'll then be on their Profile Page and there will be a box that says: "Write Something" When you have been on EC for a few weeks and have made at least 50 posts on various forums, you can apply for Full Membership. A Full Member can send Private Messages (PM) to other Full Members and share personal contact info. Right now you can only send a PM to a Staff Member as that is always possible. Here is a quote from the Full Membership information forum: *****To be eligible you must be a member of Empty Closets for a minimum of two weeks, and have a minimum of 50 posts. These posts must be across numerous forums (Fun & Games does not contribute to post count), and consistently posted across a minimum of two weeks. You wouldn't be eligible, for example, if you registered, had no activity for two weeks, and then returned to post 50 times on your 14th day of membership. *****Well, as I said, we're very glad you found us! If you have any questions at all, you can always send me a Private Message. …..David
Oral-genital transmission, from all data we have going back close to 40 years now, is nearly nonexistent. You are describing something pretty similar; in the worst case, there may have been a small amount of seminal fluid, mixed with saliva, that made blood contact. That's a higher risk than typical oral-genital contact, but consider how many people have some level of gingivitis, or brush their teeth soon before sex (never a good idea from an STI transmission perspective), creating similarly theoretical risks that don't actually pan out into transmission. So the risk is non-zero, but so incredibly low that it is almost zero. Any encounter involving sharing of semen or seminal fluid or blood has some potential for transmission. But in this case, it does not sound like a significant risk. Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a physician or other medical professional, just a research nerd.
