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Am I at risk from anal fingering?
Okay, I’ll try to be brief. Went to a massage place with intention of getting deep tissue on my neck. Well, after 45 minutes the masseuse did some things to arouse me and I ended up getting a hand job and to my surprise, she inserted a finger in my bum. I’m not sure if it was in there for two minutes or three, and after she cleaned up (didn’t see anything dirty on towels, no blood etc) and when I left, I got to extreme worrying about HIV risk. I have a hemorrhoid, which sometimes bleeds. And I didn’t see it she had a cut on her finger, which makes me extremely worried since if she does have one, I’m wondering what the risk would be if some blood or fluid of some kind leaked out while she was using it.
I went to the doctor who said it was such low risk, and I didn’t need PEP, but then I went to a clinic right after for a second opinion, and they said it was low risk, but by taking the PEP it will likely 100 percent assure me that if there was that small chance of infection, the PEP drug would all but virtually eliminate that small risk. It has been about 26 hours since the event when I started PEP, and I’m now wondering if anyone else can assure me that my low risk with PEP will fully protect me, or do you think I have gone overboard the PEP?
Thanks so much in advance.
I went to the doctor who said it was such low risk, and I didn’t need PEP, but then I went to a clinic right after for a second opinion, and they said it was low risk, but by taking the PEP it will likely 100 percent assure me that if there was that small chance of infection, the PEP drug would all but virtually eliminate that small risk. It has been about 26 hours since the event when I started PEP, and I’m now wondering if anyone else can assure me that my low risk with PEP will fully protect me, or do you think I have gone overboard the PEP?
Thanks so much in advance.
Anal fingering is a non-risk activity no pep or testing is required your guilt is creating anxiety nothing else
Stay calm
Stay calm
4 Comments
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air (finger, clothes, maybe fluids, maybe blood, , maybe cuts etc. ). You will be happy to learn that you had no risk, because you can't get hiv from personal contact except unprotected penetrating vaginal or anal with a penis, neither of which you did and you didn't share hollow needles to inject with which is the only other way to acquire hiv - there are only 3 ways to get hiv. Analysis of large numbers of infected people over the 40 years of hiv history has proven that people don't get hiv in the way you are worried is a risk.
HIV is a fragile virus in air or saliva and is effectively instantly dead in either air or saliva so the WORST that could happen is dead virus rubbed you, and obviously anything which is dead cannot live again so you are good. Blood and cuts would not be relevant in your situation since the hiv has become effectively dead, so you don't have to worry about them to be sure that you are safe.
There is no reason for a person to test when they are safe. The advice took into consideration that the other person might be positive, so move on and enjoy life instead of thinking about this non-event. hiv prevention is straightforward since there are only 3 ways you can become infected, so next time you wonder if you had a risk, ask yourself this QUESTION. "Did I do any of the 3?" Then after you say "No, I didn't" you will know that it's time to move on back to your happy life.
No one got hiv from what you did during 40 years of hiv history and no one will get it in the next 40 years of your life either. You can do what you did any time and be safe.
You had NO risk which is quite different from the "low" risk advice that these docs are frightening you with. Of course he is right that hiv risk drops with PEP, however there is no hiv risk to drop so his advice is quite silly because the PEP he is encouraging you to look at will provide zero effect in your life, other than potential negative side effects.
HIV is a fragile virus in air or saliva and is effectively instantly dead in either air or saliva so the WORST that could happen is dead virus rubbed you, and obviously anything which is dead cannot live again so you are good. Blood and cuts would not be relevant in your situation since the hiv has become effectively dead, so you don't have to worry about them to be sure that you are safe.
There is no reason for a person to test when they are safe. The advice took into consideration that the other person might be positive, so move on and enjoy life instead of thinking about this non-event. hiv prevention is straightforward since there are only 3 ways you can become infected, so next time you wonder if you had a risk, ask yourself this QUESTION. "Did I do any of the 3?" Then after you say "No, I didn't" you will know that it's time to move on back to your happy life.
No one got hiv from what you did during 40 years of hiv history and no one will get it in the next 40 years of your life either. You can do what you did any time and be safe.
You had NO risk which is quite different from the "low" risk advice that these docs are frightening you with. Of course he is right that hiv risk drops with PEP, however there is no hiv risk to drop so his advice is quite silly because the PEP he is encouraging you to look at will provide zero effect in your life, other than potential negative side effects.
There is no guilt issue for you to deal with.
You were justified in worrying, after seeing 2 doctors give you such bad advice; one even going so far as to tell you to take PEP. The reality is no one got hiv from what you did in 40 years of hiv history as noted above and no one will get it this way in the next 40 years of your life.
You were justified in worrying, after seeing 2 doctors give you such bad advice; one even going so far as to tell you to take PEP. The reality is no one got hiv from what you did in 40 years of hiv history as noted above and no one will get it this way in the next 40 years of your life.
Thank you so much for advising me of having no risk. So just to confirm, one doctor who said if her finger inside had an open wound that was bleeding, that would be the potential risk but in reality that is not a risk because that is not how HIV is acquired. Second, can I just stop the PREP I just started or now that I started it, I have to finish it? I already feel like crap from one pill, about to take my second and I have a prescription for 30 days worth. And can there be long-term health risks from taking this PREP? I want to call the doctor and tell him my plans as he set up all these follow up appointments for additional bloodwork next month (perhaps to check/monitor liver, kidneys as well).
Long-term side effects are rare, but can happen. Since there is no reason for you to take PEP, it doesn't seem worth the risk. You're taking a medication to prevent a disease you weren't exposed to.
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