Question: Hi there, I have a question about STD type risks. I had a back massage a week ago. The female masseur offered full sex. I did not have sex, oral, anal or vaginal. I kept my underpants on and lay on my front. I did not touch any genital areas, or allow my genital areas to come into contact with any genital areas. The massage was fairly short. Three days later I notice a small narrow line of about 3 very small scabs, on shoulder blade area of my back. The scabs were spread out X--X--X (with X being the scabs and -- being normal skin) evenly a cross I'd estimate about 1cm. Each scab was very small probably no more than 1mm. To me it looked like they cold be scabs from a healing scratch / graze. I don't know whether it was caused by the massage. I do remember feeling occasions during the massage where her fingernails pressed on my back during the massage, albeit I did not feel them causing a cut, or feel bleeding or notice that they were especially sharp. Nonetheless, I am worried though that she may have had fingernails that had dried blood on them, possibly from a previous client, which had got into my system. To counter this though, I'm also aware that my young daughter did scratch my back in the swimming pool 1 day before I noticed the scratch, and it made wince and was in the shoulder area. I think that may have been the more likely cause of the mark on my back, but I didn't check my back at the time . Anyway, now I'm very anxious as I feel I can't seem to eliminate in my mind that possibility that the scratch on my back was caused by the massage and that as a result I have picked up an STD, especially something like Hep C which I know can be transmitted through dry blood. Any advice which will help relieve my anxiety especially getting an idea of the probabilities I'm facing for an infection would be useful. I feel I will have to get tested but it's the wait and thinking about this until then and that is causing me anxiety.

Thank you Dr Basti, that is reassuring. And to confirm my understanding, the possibility of a transmission of HCV to me, from dried blood on the fingernails of the masseur (hers or other clients of hers) through her cutting / grazing my skin during the massage is remote?

Kind regards, XXXXXXX