What Are The Chances Of Risk Of Transmission And Infection After Having Unprotected Sex With Stranger?

Posted on Mon, 2 Dec 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 2 Dec 2013 Answered on

Thu, 26 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : hey mate, im quite worried atm, last night I got quite drunk and haven't got a lot of recollection. I know that I ended up with a girl but im not sure wether we actually had sex??? I know we did have some foreplay but I don't remember anything else, she was gone in the morning and I couldn't ask her... thing is I don't usually do that stuff, as im happily married with a young child. Im worried, so what are my risks of hiv? im going to see a doc tomorrow and ask if he can treat me with antibiotics for the other stds. ive been working away for a month and will see my wife on sunday so I am running out of time I am circumcised, quite fit and healthy. ive never had any stds before, I was meaning that I will ask the doctor if he/she can treat me for stds like chlamydia, gonnorea etc without testing, I really don't want to have to confess this to my wife as I don't think it will do any good, but id hate myself if I passed something onto her

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: the risk is small Detailed Answer: Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic It is understandable to be concerned about yourself and the risk of transmission of any infection to your wife. The estimated risk of transmission of HIV per each act of insertive penile to vaginal intercourse is 0.05% to 0.1% according to different medical studies. This means that transmission occurs in 5 out of 10000 to 1 out of 1000 persons. This means your risk is small. There are different types for HIV, tests can look for the virus itself or for antibodies (formed when the body reacts to the virus). The window period of a test is the time it takes for a test to be able to determine if an infection is present. The window period for the tests looking for the virus is 2 to 3 weeks and window period for the test looking for the antibodies is 3 months. This means that you can do an test in 2 weeks to check for HIV even though the risk is small , it is better to do the test. There are antibiotics that can be used to treat for the other infections that you mentioned. Specific tests are available to confirm or rule out these infections. You may use a condom to reduce the risk of transmission to your wife. There are also antiviral medications that are used for medical staff who may have been stuck (with a contaminated needle etc) to reduce the chance of transmission. This may or may not be an option for you while you await your test result. Your doctor will let you know if that option is available. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj