Risk Assessment

[WorriedSam1993]

Hello
I have a question, I had protected vaginal sex with a street prostitute in Costa Rica 10 weeks ago. I used a condom for every act of intercourse however after switching positions I discovered I had lost my condom. My partner was able to throw away the condom in less than 5 seconds after I withdrew.  My question is if I was at any risk for hiv infection or not.  I also would appreciate if someone could tell me if anyone has ever been infected after a condom slippage.  I am uncircumcised btw

[jkinatl2]

Hello
I have a question, I had protected vaginal sex with a street prostitute in Costa Rica 10 weeks ago. I used a condom for every act of intercourse however after switching positions I discovered I had lost my condom. My partner was able to throw away the condom in less than 5 seconds after I withdrew.  My question is if I was at any risk for hiv infection or not.  I also would appreciate if someone could tell me if anyone has ever been infected after a condom slippage.  I am uncircumcised btw

What you described is absolutely safer sex in terms of HIV infection/transmission.

A condom slippage is not a danger to the male, as long as the head of the penis remains covered. It is only slightly problematic for a female in the situation, as s/he might be exposed to semen, especially if the condom was incorrectly applied.

In short, there is NO reason to be concerned about HIV infection. You are doing things right.

[WorriedSam1993]

Thanks for the answer man.  Though I DID lose the entire condom.  I couldn't see whether the condom was hanging out or not.  She threw it away in like 5 seconds (maybe less)

[Ann]

Sam,

You haven't had a risk for hiv infection.

If the condom wasn't hanging out, she wouldn't have gotten rid of it so fast because she would have had to go digging for it.

In future, hang on to the base of the condom when you withdraw like you're supposed to and you won't scare yourself silly like this again.

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 SPECIFICALLY OVER 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