Expert: Terry B - 7/3/2008

Question
Hi Terry,
I’m a man, I went to do a massage, and I took a bottle of ethyl alcohol (70% concentration) with me just in case I might use it. I sterilized her hands by alcohol before she started doing massage; her HIV status was unknown to me. After she finished massage to me we agreed to masturbate each other using baby oil, she didn’t touch her vagina and touched my penis, and I didn’t touch my penis and touched her vagina. Our gentile organs didn’t touch each other.  
At the end after we finished masturbation I had a little vaginal secretions on my hand then
(1) I used alcohol in washing my hands and I completely dried my hands by tissue, (2) Immediately after 30 seconds I poured some alcohol again on my hand and washed (so I touched) my penis, For your knowledge I didn’t have any significant break, sore, lesion or wound on my penis because alcohol would pain me if I had.
Here are my questions
Is there any exposure risk to HIV transmission from her vaginal secretions (which was placed on my Hand) passed through my penis mucous membranes? or alcohol would kill HIV virus on my hand (on contact) before even I touch my penis.
Please Terry reply me in details because I’m very worry
Forgive me may be my English is not good enough


Answer
Dear John:

Peace and all good things to you.  I thank you for your question and your excellent English; I wish that I could speak as clearly in other languages.  

Part of the difficulty with HIV/AIDS education includes difficulty in translation, and specific messages about the penis or other parts being a target of HIV infection.  There is nothing magical about the penis or vagina or anus... that makes it especially vulnerable to HIV.   HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - can be transmitted by means of blood, vaginal secretions, or semen to another person by means of exposure to ANY part of the body, if the skin or mucous membrane is unable to prevent the transfer.

Another way to look at it is that HIV, found in various amounts in bodily fluids of a person infected, needs certain cells to make copies of itself - and the cells are found on the open wounds, sores, and in the bloodstream.  If the fluids (primarily blood, semen, and/or vaginal secretions) containing the virus from an infected person come in contact with a wound, torn skin or mucous membrane, or otherwise enter the bloodstream of another person, that person CAN become infected.  Because HIV is primarily transmitted through sexual contact, HIV prevention educators often focus on the body parts that are used for such contact.

Now let's talk probability -

ONE:  IF the person whose vaginal secretions you touched was infected with HIV, the amount of the virus in her fluids could vary from high (recently infected, untreated, late stage disease) to low (taking medications, body suppressing some of the virus replication).  If the amount (concentration) of virus in the fluids is high, greater risk.  

TWO: Since you describe being exposed to her vaginal secretions, the places of contact and the length of time you were exposed (duration) is a factor.  You describe some extended contact with those fluids on your fingers/hand - but you washed them off afterwards.  Assuming the skin on your hands was intact, your risk is low; if you had an open cut or exposure over a wider area of your skin or mucous membrane, your risk would be higher.

In conclusion, it sounds as though you had a potential exposure on your hands and maybe a slight amount off your fingers to your penis.  While I cannot reference strong data on mutual masturbation, the risk, while present, appears small from what I can tell.  Worry does you no good - for your peace of mind, what I would recommend is that you protect yourself from the fluids of others and others from your semen or blood, and talk with a counselor at an anonymous testing site, be tested, and learn your status.  I do not think it probable that you would be infected from what you describe, but knowing is better than any guess.   

Simply, what you describe is very low risk; the use of alcohol to wash is perhaps helpful on one hand as it is a disinfectant, but on the other, it does dry and crack skin and mucous membranes.

For the sake of clarity, you are at very low risk in what you describe, and whether the fluids touched your penis or just your hands is less important than the condition of the skin on either.

I know this is a long answer, but I hope this clarifies a little more about the way in which HIV is transmitted.  There are two excellent sites I recommend, www.thebody.com and www.avert.org which have a lot more information than I can share in this message.  www.avert.org has several language options, and if none meet your needs, please see also www.unaids.org which has options for many more languages.

Again, thank you for honoring me with your question, and be assured that your English is excellent - I hope I am clear enough in my response.

The best to you and yours,

Terry