Expert: Terry B - 9/14/2008

Question
Hi Terry, Am a 26 yr old male. Yesterday i visited a massage parlour in thailand. The following happened :-

1. I entered the room and stripped and got into a soapy bathtub with the gurl.
2. She bathed with me, scrubbing me, and used her hands to scrub my penis.
3. After this i dried myself with a towel(not using the towel on my pubic area) and wore a condom.
4. she gave me a soapy massage with her body on mine and rubbing it over mine. I had the condom on all during this time.
5. she then gave me a handjob with the condom on.

is there any risk of having contracted HIV from her from
a) bathing in the same water as her
b) when she rubbed her soapy body on mine from the back.

Please help,

Matt

Answer
Dear Matt:

Peace and all good things.  Go to www.thebody.com or www.avert.org and read up a bit when finished with this response, it will answer a lot of questions that might arise in the future, and hopefully enlist you as a knowledgeable person in the ranks of informal HIV educators.

HIV is transmitted primarily by contact with the blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and in some cases, breast milk, of an infected person.  The risk increases with the amount of the fluid, the concentration of virus in the fluid, the duration of the exposure, and the health of the skin and mucous membranes of the person exposed.

In what you describe, I can't find a direct exposure to the fluids of your bath partner, so I would suggest that there isn't a significant exposure, so there's no risk of HIV transmission.

I hope this helps, and please go to the sites above for broader treatment of risk and how to reduce it.

Best to you and yours,

Terry