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What Are The Chances Of Herpes Transmission By Skin To Skin Contact?
Question: I made a serious moral mistake and went to a strip club while traveling and received a lap dance. She was topless, wearing a G-string and I wore my jeans and underwear. My jeans stayed on. Her breasts did occasionally gently rub against my cheek and face. I am up at night worrying that I could have caught an STD to bring home to my wife. I feel so horrible about what happened, I am having difficulty sleeping - and clearly I am not meant for strip clubs or infidelity. Other than the emotional component, do you think there is any type of testing I need to consider to make sure my family is safe? In addition to STD's, I also worry about HSV-1; there was no mouth-to-mouth kissing but she was sort of panting and lightly kissing along my neck and ear some. Thank you.
Brief Answer:
Unlikely to get HSV 1 from the incident unless she had rashes in mouth
Detailed Answer:
Hi Freedman1158,
Thanks for writing in to us.
I have read through your query in detail.
Please find my observations below.
1. There has been no sexual intercourse, oral or vaginal and therefore there is no need to worry about HIV.
2. Regarding other actions, there was probable skin contact of her breast with your face and her mouth to your neck. There is almost nil chances of infection being transmitted in this way as there was no mouth to mouth kissing or deep kissing.
3. The chance of HSV 1 is present only if she had rashes on her mouth because the chance of HSV 1 infection is more from rashes containing virus in high concentration. If she did not have rashes then there is no serious concern about HSV 1 as she did light kissing making HSV 1 transmission difficult.
4. Since you appear to be in anxiety, I suggest you get tested for HSV 1 and 2 antibodies at 1 month from date of incident. Most people will test positive for HSV 1 IgM antibodies in a month should they have new infection.
5. Chances of any other infection is virtually nil because there was no significant sexual activity except skin contact mentioned above. However, if you choose to get tested for STDs then test result will be accurate at 30 days.
Hope this answers your question. Please feel free to correct any oversight in my interpretation of your problems and discuss them in detail as per your requirements.
Hope your query is answered.
Do write back if you have any doubts.
Regards,
Dr.Vivek
Unlikely to get HSV 1 from the incident unless she had rashes in mouth
Detailed Answer:
Hi Freedman1158,
Thanks for writing in to us.
I have read through your query in detail.
Please find my observations below.
1. There has been no sexual intercourse, oral or vaginal and therefore there is no need to worry about HIV.
2. Regarding other actions, there was probable skin contact of her breast with your face and her mouth to your neck. There is almost nil chances of infection being transmitted in this way as there was no mouth to mouth kissing or deep kissing.
3. The chance of HSV 1 is present only if she had rashes on her mouth because the chance of HSV 1 infection is more from rashes containing virus in high concentration. If she did not have rashes then there is no serious concern about HSV 1 as she did light kissing making HSV 1 transmission difficult.
4. Since you appear to be in anxiety, I suggest you get tested for HSV 1 and 2 antibodies at 1 month from date of incident. Most people will test positive for HSV 1 IgM antibodies in a month should they have new infection.
5. Chances of any other infection is virtually nil because there was no significant sexual activity except skin contact mentioned above. However, if you choose to get tested for STDs then test result will be accurate at 30 days.
Hope this answers your question. Please feel free to correct any oversight in my interpretation of your problems and discuss them in detail as per your requirements.
Hope your query is answered.
Do write back if you have any doubts.
Regards,
Dr.Vivek
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Thank you for getting back to me and for the helpful response. Setting aside HSV1 concerns, is there chance for HSV2 transmission? I know questions are supposed to be more medical than social, but I do not think I should tell my wife about this event unless absolutely necessary from a health perspective. Do you think I can continue to engage in sex with my wife without protection at this time? Thank you again.
Brief Answer:
Chance of HSV 2 is almost nil in absence of rashes in mouth
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX,
Thanks for writing back with an update.
1. The description of the incident at the strip club does not include any activity which might question having sex with your wife. You have clearly mentioned that there was no sex, oral or vaginal and therefore you might continue to have unprotected sex with your wife. Most people never get symptoms even if they are HSV infected and such an infection might occur even from casual social interactions like kissing among friends.
2. Regarding HSV 1 and 2, though HSV 1 is seen in association with he mouth and HSV 2 with the genitals, there have been cases where HSV 1 has been found to affect genitals and HSV 2 infection seen in the mouth. However such an association occurs due to spread through fluid in oral or genital rashes at the time of transmission. Therefore chance of HSV 1 and 2 is less in your case.
3. The activity you participated in was relatively harmless and you have not gone beyond such a limit that might threaten your sexual relationship with your wife. You might think of it as a one time incident and forget it.
Hope your query is answered.
Do write back if you have any doubts.
Regards,
Dr.Vivek
Chance of HSV 2 is almost nil in absence of rashes in mouth
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX,
Thanks for writing back with an update.
1. The description of the incident at the strip club does not include any activity which might question having sex with your wife. You have clearly mentioned that there was no sex, oral or vaginal and therefore you might continue to have unprotected sex with your wife. Most people never get symptoms even if they are HSV infected and such an infection might occur even from casual social interactions like kissing among friends.
2. Regarding HSV 1 and 2, though HSV 1 is seen in association with he mouth and HSV 2 with the genitals, there have been cases where HSV 1 has been found to affect genitals and HSV 2 infection seen in the mouth. However such an association occurs due to spread through fluid in oral or genital rashes at the time of transmission. Therefore chance of HSV 1 and 2 is less in your case.
3. The activity you participated in was relatively harmless and you have not gone beyond such a limit that might threaten your sexual relationship with your wife. You might think of it as a one time incident and forget it.
Hope your query is answered.
Do write back if you have any doubts.
Regards,
Dr.Vivek
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Thank you for the additional response and reassurance. Now to deal with the remorse and try to get past it. Best regards
Brief Answer:
Welcome
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX,
Welcome and thanks for sending in your query.
Should you have any more health queries and would like me to answer them then please mention "Query Id 207193 DR XXXXXXX CHAIL" in your query and the moderators will direct it to me. I will reply back to you at the earliest.
Wishing you good health.
Regards,
Dr XXXXXXX
Welcome
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX,
Welcome and thanks for sending in your query.
Should you have any more health queries and would like me to answer them then please mention "Query Id 207193 DR XXXXXXX CHAIL" in your query and the moderators will direct it to me. I will reply back to you at the earliest.
Wishing you good health.
Regards,
Dr XXXXXXX
Note: Consult a Sexual Diseases Specialist online for further follow up- Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
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