Hi, The other night I had a sexual encounter with a man (I'm female). We were using condoms but then he claimed it to have fallen off. Therefore, we had unprotected sex but he did not ejaculate inside me. I do not know his status. I've read before that the jury is still out on if there is enough HIV in precum to transmit infection. Should I be worried about being infected if he didn't ejaculate inside me? Thank you.

Hello,

"The jury is still out on whether there is enough HIV in precum to transmit infection????" WHAT??? Where did you read that? Perhaps in a magazine in your doctor's waiting room dated circa 1987??? Honey, the jury on whether precum contains active HIV and is capable of transmitting the infection has been in longer than Mark Foley and Larry Craig have been out. (In fact, longer than Elton John as well!) The jury's verdict was a resounding yes it can!

Your decision to have unprotected sex with or without the big "O" places you at risk for STDs, including HIV. The jury is unanimous on two counts:

1. Your decision was unwise and obviously uninformed. It's time to learn about HIV risk and prevention. Check out the wealth of information on these and other HIV-related topics on this Web site.

2. You'll need an HIV-antibody test at the three-month mark.

Good luck.

Dr. Bob