Question: Hi, I had a brief interaction with a woman who's very likely to have stds, specifically herpes, and I have a few questions about herpes testing. The full story is that about 3 weeks ago, after a bad breakup, I went to a massage parlor. The parlor was the type that's sort of seedy and known for "extras" and the masseuse assumed I wanted sex, and was immediately ready to go. I sort of talked her down to a handjob and the masseuse took off her clothes, straddled my legs, and did her thing while I lay on my back. For about 10 seconds during the hand-job, her genital area was pressed against my scrotal area, and she also kissed the shaft of my penis twice.

After the experience I was very worried about having contracted herpes from the genital contact, so I got some tests done. An IGM plus a full STD screen at 3 days after the incident, and an IGG and a second IGM at 10 days after the incident. Everything was negative. I've had no symptoms other then a bump on the inside of my thigh, and I've had bumps before in the same spot due to thigh chafing when I walk. I actually had one on the other thigh before the incident. Currently it's about 22 days after the incident, and I'm planning on getting a 3rd IGM done to be extra sure there's been no change. What worries me is that I've read online that the IGM test is unreliable and that 50% give false negative results.

So basically my questions are, with no symptoms, 3 negative igms for HSV 1 and 2, and a negative IGG is it safe to assume I don't have herpes?

Is the IGM completely unreliable or are 3 negatives taken at different times conclusive?

And is it ok to continue with dating and sexual activity given my current circumstances? Or should I abstain from sex completely for another 9 weeks and wait till I can take a more accurate IGG? I started a new relationship a couple weeks after the incident, and I don't want to risk infecting her, but I also don't want to ruin the relationship if I don't need to.

Ok, thanks for the clear answers. I just have one more question. Assuming the woman at the massage parlor had no legions, how likely would it be to contract the virus from her? My assumption was that if she was having an active outbreak, she wouldn't be offering sex because it would be too painful, but maybe that's incorrect.

And just to be clear, there was no actual intercourse, just her genital area pressing against the lower part of mine.