POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: Williams on June 26, 2006, 03:09:01 am
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Dear All,
I would like to start by stating that I have already taken notice of all of your recommendations and I have already searched through the archives to try to find some answers to my situation and concerns. However whilst I have been able to find some similar topics within the forum, I have not been able to find an answer to all of my questions.
OK, so here is my story..........
About 4 weeks ago I visited a local massage parlour where I received a full erotic, naked, body slide massage. There was no sexual penetration of any kind (vaginal, anal or oral) but the lady did use her 'entire' body to sensually deliver the service.
Now, whilst I understand that after reading through your archives that this is simply considered as 'slippery fun', with an extremely low risk of transmitting std's such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and HIV, (as there was no actual or direct exchange of bodily fluids) I am still not sure if all of my concerns have been answered.
I would therefore be very grateful if any of you could hopefully clarify:-
If firstly, aided by the presence of all of the soapy water, could any of her diluted vaginal secretions (as she was very wet) coming into contact with the tip of my penis have potentially entered my urethra. Would this count as a potential contact/exchange of bodily fluids.........???
and
If secondly, aided by the fact that I had a number of small sores and abrasions on my leg as the result of a recent sporting injury, could any of her vaginal secretions have penetrated these sores whilst she was sat naked on my legs. (Please note - the sores were not open or bleeding but were nevertheless still in the process of healing or scabbing over)
I thought that I had overcome my concerns until I started to experience flu like symptoms and a discomfort / pain in my testicles.
Your response to these questions would hopefully help to put my mind (any maybe some others) at rest.
Kind Regards
A hopeful Worried Well.
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Go play, you aren't at risk for HIV in the situation that you have given.
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Wow,
That was a quick response.
What about any other STD's???
Could the pain / ache in my testicles be the sympton of any other STD that I could have contacted during this event???
Craig.
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No, see a doctor if your symptoms persist.
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Williams,
I completely agree with Rodney - you weren't at risk for any STI during what you describe.
The aching testicles could be nothing more than sexual frustration. If it persists, see your doctor. Not everything that goes on with our sexual organs is a direct result of sexual activity.
While you're here, please read through the Welcome Thread (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=220.0) and follow the Lesson links found there. Here's a few more things you should know:
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 STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection.
Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.
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.
Ann
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Dear All,
Thank you for the time you have taken to respond to my situation.
To summarize the situation, you therefore suggest that the chances of me contacting:-
- HIV are minimal to non-existant because the majority of hiv infections have to take part inside the body
- others STD's are also minimal to non-existant, as even though other STD's are much easy to contact than HIV, a direct exchange of bodily fluids are still required to contact infections such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhea
Did I pass your test and get 100% correct.
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Williams,
Yep, go to the head of the class. You've got it.
Just make sure you always use condoms for intercourse and have regular, routine sexual health care check ups and you will graduate with honors.
In the other thread that you started, you wanted to know who keeps an eye on the answers given out here. There are several of us who keep up-to-date with the latest transmission info as published in current, first-tier, peer-reviewed scientific/medical journals. Between us there are many, many years of hiv education experience. We only allow verifiable science on this forum. There is no room for moral or religious mythology when people's lives and health are at stake.
Use condoms and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple.
Ann
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Ann,
Based upon my summary of the situation, I am right to assume that you therefore suggest that my erotic soapy massage experience DOES NOT warrant a HIV or an STD test of any kind???
What about my painful testicles - do you not feel that they outline a symptom of possible HIV / STD transmission???
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Williams,
Your testicles could ache for a variety of reasons and yes, a possible STI is one of them. (BUT NOT HIV!!!!) It could also be a simple bacterial infection of non-sexual origin. It could be many things. The ONLY way to find out why your testicles ache is to see your doctor.
But, if the soapy massage is the only thing you've been doing that is even remotely sexual, what ever is going on with your testicles won't be hiv. NOOOOOO way.
Now get off the internet and take your aching testicles to see the doctor. OK?
Ann
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In order to ensure that I am able to continue to practice safer sex, I would like to better understand 'how' and 'why' Frottage is considered a safe, sexual activity.
Surely if a male were to rub his penis (including the tip) up and down the opening, external lips and clitoral area of a female vagina, he would almost certainly come into contact with some of the females vaginal fluids.
As the tip of his penis and therefore the opening of his urethra would ultimately be exposed to any vaginal secretions, I do not understand what is to stop any potentially infectious vaginal fluids entering this opening of the urethra at the tip of the penis.
Whilst I am not a medical specialist or claim to have any medical knowledge about how certain infections are transitted from person to person, I however find it hard to understand why this practice has never been considered as an activity which could openly facilitate the direct transfer of sexual bodily fluids.
I would therefore.like to understand whether I am simply reading too deeply into this complex topic, or whether my very theoretical interpretation of this activity is purely so theoretical, that it simply would never or maybe more simply has never been documented as a potential transmission risk in real life.
Your guidance and knowledge would be very welcome........
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Williams,
Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus. Successful transmission normally occurs INSIDE the human body as in unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse.
There are several reasons why frottage is not a risk. First, it takes place OUTSIDE the body. Second, when you're talking about male/female frottage, you are unlikely to come into contact with fluids that are highly infectious. Those are found deep inside the vagina in the thick mucus covering that protects the cervix. The fluids that appear when a woman is sexually excited come from two glands on either side of the vaginal opening. These fluids do not seem to be any more infectious than tears.
You must wear a condom when you are having penetrative intercourse because the head of your penis will come into direct contact with the cervix and this happens in optimal conditions for transmission to occur.
Frottage is not a risk for hiv infection.
Ann
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Ann,
I have just visited 'TheBody.com' and the issue of Frottage is not as calmly approached on that site.
The CDC states that it is possible to contact HIV through Frottage as any potential infectious fluids could penetrate the male urethra during male/female contact.
Please forgive this note. I am most certainly not challenging your comments outlined above. I am purely trying to become more knowledgeable on this subject to continue to protect myself in the future.
I am now confused???
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Williams,
This site is not the Body. If you want to question what they say, please question them, not us.
On this site we go only by up-to-date, first-tier, peer-reviewed hiv transmission science as published in current journals of the scientific/medical community. Not even the CDC does that as the CDC has been influenced by the current American "pro-abstinence" administration in the White House.
Here you get the science.
Frottage is not a risk for hiv infection.
Ann
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Your "sore" testicles may be the result of the old "blue balls" syndrome. Mainly, it's a classic case of incomplete or total unsatisfying sex.
Flu like symptoms? Well, you'd best check with your MD about that.
The bottom line in all of this is if you are not entirely satisfied with what you've read on this thread, you may just want to go ahead and get tested. Thing is though, HIV may not present itself in tests for months, so you need to be prepared to go in for retesting as well as to practice "safe-sex".