Hello.
I have a Sexual question, is it safe by getting a handjob by one who got hepatitis b?
thanks
HI @nick0912
Presuming there is no crack in the skin on the hand that could lead to vaginal secretions or semen coming in contact with the blood of the person providing the handjob, then it would be safe. Similarly, the recipient of the handjob would be safe presuming there is no break in the skin of the person delivering the handjob. Regardless, washing the hand and genitals soon afterwards with antimicrobial soap is also likely a good idea.
Interpret this comment conservatively as even a very small cut or crack in the skin could be a potential entry site for the virus. This goes for HCV and HIV as well as for HBV.
John
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Okay, so for the women who give the HJ is at risk, not the man?
Or let me said it in other Words, the person who give the handjob is at ricks if the person who G’et it Got HBV.
Transmission could occur either way during a hand job. It just depends on which partner is infected and which partner may have a cut. To generalize: there is a chance of transmission anytime an HBV+ fluid (blood, semen, vaginal secretions….) comes into contact with a tear, cut, or abrasion in skin or mucous membranes (such as vaginal lining, oral cavity, colon, etc).
John.
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High titers of anti-HBs antibodies are protective.
John.
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Dear @Eric3108,
There are many people on this forum who have had children while one partner is HBV-positive, and not passing on the infection (to either their partner or the child). The main approach for protection is vaccination in these cases. Please see these threads for more information:
Hope this helps,
Thomas
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Hi John,
I came across this community and thread while googling to assess my risk. Can I confirm that there is still risk if the hands that are giving the hand job have vaginal fluid, as it could get into the urethra? Are there things being taken into consideration too like the amount of fluid on the hands and duration etc?
This cannot be parsed too carefully as each event will be slightly different.
Basically, you need a rupture in a mucous membrane or skin to come in contact with a contaminated fluid (blood, semen, vaginal fluids) in order to transfer the virus. Also, the amount of virus in the contaminated fluid matters a lot, with higher amounts leading to more efficient transmission. So yes, it is possible to get an HBV transmission (or HCV or HIV) by a hand job, but it would require an open lesion. That lesion can be quite small (a herpes virus sore, small cut or micro ruptures from over-stretched skin, a scratch in the vagina from a fingernail, stress on the urethra from passing a small stone, a bladder/urethra infection, etc). In short, risk needs to be assess for each encounter, but in general risk would be low unless there is a skin/membrane rupture. This is certainly not a major means of HBV transmission.
John.
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Hi John,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m assuming (confidently) that the risk is low for me as there is no lesions on my penis & there is considerably little fluid on her hands. I am also vaccinated as a child and although it has been 30 years since, I’ve read online that even if my titers are lower than optimal, it still provides protection (although not as effective). Therefore I believe the odds are in my favour. I am planning to get a booster shot but I’m not sure to do it after these 6 months.
Thank you once again.
I agree with your assessment. Getting a booster if your anti-HBs titers are low is a good idea. I had both my sons boosted when they were about 20.
John
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Hi John,
Apologies if this is the correct thread to follow-up on, but I require clarification as I am quite confused on this matter, and I hope you can advice on this.
Yesterday, I did a follow up full STD panel (week 12 after low risk exposure), and it all came back negative. Asked the doctor why he didn’t recommend doing the HBsAg test again (quoted the window frame from hepb.org), he said, “The hep b antigen is not hidden in the body for some time like for HIV etc. The test basically checks if you are infected, and if its negative, it means that you’re not infected at all.” (paraphrased) For context, I did a HBsAg and antibody test on week 3, it came back negative but my titers are below optimal levels.
Ultimately, he did still encourage me to test for peace of mind, which I did and the results will be out sometime this week. The doctor is confident that I will be negative. But I can’t wrap my head what he said vs what’s stated on the internet. I’m guessing that it might be lab testing’s that’s improved and much more effective in detecting antigens. Or that I’m originally vaccinated and the chances are extremely negligible. I’m confused. Are you able to advice on this?
I just want to thank you again, your replies have assured me a lot. Finding this community (& you) is a blessing.
Hi @tide
The physician was right about the qualitative HBs test giving a yes-no answer about being infected, but like all tests, it has a lower sensitivity limit, so the “no” is not absolute. HBs takes a while to reach detectable levels during an acute infection, and this can take up to 4-6 weeks after a primary exposure, so your week 3 test could conceivably have been a “false negative”. However, by 12 weeks HBs should be readily detectable if you were infected.
I hope this clarifies things, and I hope your result is negative!
John.
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