Indirect transmission finger penetration

[SammW94]

Hello,

I recently had an iud placed, so I need to check the strings for positioning occasionally (deep inside, feeling near my cervix). Today I used a public restroom, placed a seat cover down and accidentally brushed my finger against the seat and then used the same finger to check my strings deep inside me. I didn't even think about possible risk until after I had done it. Is there any std risk at all, and if so what stds?

Thank you very much in advance.

[SammW94]

Thank you Howard. I greatly appreciate your help and knowledge and hope this helps someone else in the future as well. I know I benefit a lot from just reading these forums. For anyone else in a similar situation, I just discovered that you can search old posts by tags. Here is a useful search for those in similar situation:

http://www.medhelp.org/tags/show/146738/genital-to-hand-to-genital

Thanks again.

[HowardH]

Nobody can say such an exposure is zero risk; perhaps it is possible under the sort of scenario you ask about. But the chance is extremely low. The biological reasons aren't crucial -- although I would judge that it's more likely the low amount of fluids transmitted than exposure to air. Whatever the reasons, busy STD clinics don't see patients who haven't had more traditional exposures. Given the frequency heavy petting in some settings (think back on your teen years!), if fingering or hand-genital contact carried any appreciable risk, surely there would be occasional patients in STD clinics who only reported this kind of contact -- but there are none, in my experience.

Thanks for the thanks. I'm glad to have helped.

[SammW94]

Thank you for your quick and clear response. You are right, I believe my anxiety towards stds is irrational given my exposure. I just keep reading new things about indirect transmission being "possible in some cases"  which fuels the anxiety.

Just one last question, if you  do not mind. Is this sort of indirect transmission merely implausible, or impossible? Is there a what if scenario, say if the fluid was very recently placed, which then passed to my finger, and then placed deep near my cervix? Would all stds die from the air contact? Is there enough volume of virus or bacteria to infect? I realize this may be stretching, and a question fueled more by anxiety than anything, but at the very least I hope it can help others who may be in a similar situation/thought process.

Regardless of any further feedback, I very much appreciate your response.