POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: sgfsgf on August 19, 2013, 05:26:50 am
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Hello to everybody...
I slept with a sex worker few months ago. She put the condom on me on an unorthodox way (not the usual pinch-and-rolling)... I was nervous so I was feeling a little bit mentally blocked and I'm not sure about if there was and air bubble left on the tip.
Anyway, after we were done she removed condom as usual. I have read that when a condom bursts or tears, it does in a very noticeable way, and it didn't seem to be any hole, tear or leakage. The sex worker was very "confident", she seemed to be very experienced and even "joyful" (she seemed to have bee doing this for a long while and that she even kind of liked her job) and she seemed also to be very clean, so I assume that she knew what she was doing (I mean, she didn't put the condom on that way because of unexpertise, and she was not clumsy neither).
Would you consider that there was a risk?
I am aware that it is actually hard for a man to get infected from insertive vaginal sex, even if it is unprotected. If you use a condom with a small hole or tear, does it add a new "level of obstacle" for possible infection? Or is it equal to no condom at all?
I'm planning to get a test anyway, but if I could know that the risk is really low I will sleep better. :)
Regards!
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sgf,
Sex with an unbroken condom is not "low" risk, it's NO risk. And yes, if the condom had broken it would have been very obvious. The idea of small, unnoticeable holes is an urban myth put out by religious groups who want to scare you away from sex outside of a "traditional" woman/man marriage.
Condoms have been proven to prevent hiv infection. There have been three long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.
In future, maybe you should put the condom on yourself so you don't worry.
Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:
You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.
To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.
Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.
ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOT NEED TO TEST FOR HIV SPECIFICALLY FOLLOWING PROTECTED INTERCOURSE, anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.
If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.
Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!
Ann
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Thanks a lot, Ann, and congrats for being part of this really useful community.
Now be ready for a crazy round of but-what-if's...
a) But what if... no, just kidding.
Anyway, I have a question: I have been reading this place for a while, and I always see the same people answer the questions: you, RapidRod... etc. I read also that only few people in this community are authorized to answer these questions. I would like to know (it is not that I do not trust you, it is just curiosity) WHY I should trust you (I mean, how do you prove your expertise in this topic), specially because some answers I have read here contradict another sources I have read. Would you say, for instance, that what this link says:
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120112/Study-confirms-condom-use-reduces-risk-of-HIV-infection-by-7825.aspx
is wrong, since 78% of risk reduction is far from no risk?
Thanks again for your attention, and excuse my broken English.
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sgf,
The 78% cited in that article is taking into account condom breaks. It is also possible that condom use was sometimes reported when they weren't actually being used consistently.
Those of us who are authorised to answer questions here have years of experience with hiv. Most of us are living with hiv, some of us have medical backgrounds, and ALL of us have read and kept up-to-date with the scientific studies. The main reason we differ from some other sources is that we talk about hiv in the real world, not the theoretical, fear-mongering world.
If the only way you can put this behind you is to test, go test. As a sexually active adult you should be testing regularly anyway.
Ann
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Ok, and here comes my free message number 3:
Thanks!
The main reason we differ from some other sources is that we talk about hiv in the real world, not the theoretical, fear-mongering world.
I really liked this line. I wish there could be more sources like you guys. :)
I will test, yes... it was a long time since my last blood analysis, and at least in my country you can ask to check everything at the same time.
Thanks again and keep on doing this amazing work. ;D
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sgf,
You're welcome. Please make a habit of having regular, FULL sexual health check ups, including but NOT limited to hiv testing. It's what responsible, sexually active adults do to protect their own health and the health of their partners.
By the way, most of us (authorised posters) have also been in relationships with hiv negative partners who remained hiv negative. (Or have been the negative partner with a positive person.) We don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk as well. We practice what we preach and none of us have transmitted our virus to others.
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!!!
Ann