Condom broke please help!

[Mark in Miami]

A week ago, i put a condom on and began to put it into another guy's butt  As I pushed the head in (i am like 9 and thick and his butt was very small and tite) i heard a pop and i immediately took it out - although not even sure how " in" I was in the first place.  We just made out after that and that was it.  It looked like the condom broke along the side but i am not sure.  The guy told me he only plays safe and with condoms only and that he was neg but u never know.  Although only a week i did go to take a test it was neg.  There was no blood and i washed afterwards.  I am so scared imagine if the head of my penis went into his butt a little and he was poz!  I really need some advice and help.  I understand about the windiw period and all but i was told that some peopke get antibodies even das after exposur.  Have no symptoms.  I am a little freaking out.  Thans for your support.

[Andy Velez]

Hi Mark,

Basically I expect you to come out of this incident ok. HIV is a fragile virus and not easily transmitted. It is significantly more difficult to accomplish transmission from the receptive to the insertive partner than the other way around. And this was a single and very brief incident until the condom "popped."  I am not sure if the condom even broke. If it did it would have looked like a hoop with fringe on your penis as it is not a subtle event when a condom fails.

But even assuming it did break, the risk was brief and low. Which is why I expect you to come out of this ok.

In the future make sure that you are always using fresh condoms which fit you properly.

You can test initially at 6 weeks past the incident. Assuming you test negative, the likelihood is that you will continue to test negative at 3 months. Good luck with your test.

[Mark in Miami]

Thanks Andy.  Its nw been two weeks and as a worried guy I tested again it was neg.  The counselor told me, like you, that i still need to kerp testing but did say 2 wrrks was still promising.  He said the window is akways 3 months but peop,e can show antibodies as early as two weeks to 4 weeks with the average being 25 days.  I am still so worried. 

[Mark in Miami]

Andy I am trying to resist the urge to show u how worried I still a,, but its been 5 weeks sine this incident and I took another test it was neg.  I was told by the hiv counselor because i was so worried that most people will convert by 25 days...does this look promising?  I understand you need to tell everyone 13 weeks but is it a fact that most people ( most counselor said 80+%) will convert at 25 days?   Please shed some insight...thanks to you and everyone else....

[RapidRod]

The fact is that you can obtain your conclusive negative test result 3 months post exposure.

[Ann]

Mark,

You are very, VERY unlikely to end up poz over this very, very, brief insertive incident. I fully expect you to continue to test negative.

Correctly used condoms rarely break. The two leading causes of condom breakage are 1) not using enough lube or no lube at all.

2) Not making sure there is no air trapped in the tip of the condom. This will quickly cause a break, particularly if your bottom is tight. You need to pinch the tip of the condom with the forefinger and thumb of one hand while you roll it down with the other. Once it's on, give it a stroke from tip to the bottom of your shaft to make sure there is no trapped air. If there is, pinch the tip again, roll the condom back up and try again.

Make sure you read the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use them correctly and with confidence. The first link is particularly informative and is available in several languages. Get reading!

Good luck with your confirmatory test - again, I fully expect you to ultimately test negative.

Ann