unprotected vaginal sex

[Davidsemi]

What is the probability of contracting HIV from having 3 mins of unprotected vaginal intercourse. I don't know if the female is HIV positive or not. Thanks

[Andy Velez]

When we evaluate a situation it is always with the assumption the other person is HIV+. Unprotected vaginal (and anal) intercourse are definitely risky. However, the transmission of HIV from female to male is significantly more difficult to accomplish than the other way around. And in this instance we're talking about a single and relatively brief incident. All of those factors work in your favor against transmission having occured.

But lower risk is not the same as no risk so in the future you need to make sure you are always wearing a condom for intercourse. No exceptions.

You can get tested at 3 months for a conclusive result.

[Ann]

David,

Any time you have unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse you are putting yourself at risk for not only hiv, but all the other, much more easily transmitted STIs as well.

You would be wise to get a complete panel of STI testing.

The earliest you should test for hiv is at six weeks. The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days. A six week negative must be confirmed at the three month point, but is highly unlikely to change.

You can test for most of the other STIs at ten days to two weeks following an incident. Not all of them will cause obvious symptoms (gonorrhea and chlamydia are notorious for this) so the only way to know for sure is to test. Syphilis also does not always have noticeable symptoms, but shares a three month testing window with hiv.

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.

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.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Ann

[Davidsemi]

One followup questions. Does the CDC have any statistics that show what the statistical probability is for the male contracting HIV from this one brief encounter?
1 in a 1000? 1 in 2000? or whatever....Thanks

[Andy Velez]

David, we don't get involved with statistics. We simply evaluate each situation. In your case the odds are you are going to test negative. And since you did have a risk, albeit a low level one, getting tested is the way to go.

You can do it initially at 6 weeks. Assuming you get the negative result I expect then likely you will continue to test negative.