Condom Broke - Should I Take Anti Retrovirals? Antibiotics?

[ianbroad]

Hi

Last night i was with a sex worker. The condom broke. I am very worried about it. Tonight i must fly home to my wife!

What should I do? Should i get anti retrovirals? How to get them from the pharmacy and how much do they cost? I havent time to go to a doctor here.

Also should I get some emergency antibiotics? I know this is not the normal way to ask on a forum online but really i want to protect myself and my family.

I was thinking to get some Zithromax (azithromycin) if i can find it. This seems to be a cure for gonorea and claymidia

What about the emergency hiv protection treatment with a month of antivirals?

Thank you

[ianbroad]

a doctor here wants 15,000 baht for a PEP treatment

Cant i get this stuff at pharmacy im at the end of my trip i dont have 15,000 baht what should i buy at pharmacy thanks?

[Sheryl]

No, you cannot get this over the counter in a pharmacy.

The odds of having contacted HIV from a single exposure is low, lower tsill if there was partial protection from a condom. Most doctors would recommend against PEP in such a case unless it were known for sure that the woman was HIV positive or there is other high risk factor such as open sores on the penis.

There is certainly no need to preemptively treat for STIs as men are usually symptomatic, you'll know within a few days.

When you get back home, get an HIV PCR test when 14 days have passed since the exposure. Obviously, in the interim, you must use condoms with all partners or else avoid sex altogether. This will probably require telling your wife, which you should, and which will likely make the no sex a fait accompli for a while

[H2oDunc]

The chances of catching anything more than your standard STD are very low through normal heterosexual sex. A course of penicillin or amoxycillin should be fine and go get a check up when you get back home. That and stop worrying

Explaining to the missus why you don't want to jump her bones straight away is another matter

Good luck

[Groongthep]

Go see a real physician at a reputable hospital or clinic. The "doctors" here on Thaivisa generally have no idea what they're talking about.

[Groongthep]

H2oDunc is correct. His post wasn't up as I was posting mine. I still recommend seeing a actual doctor however.

[ianbroad]

Thanks for the info.

So i cant get this over the counter, and i havent got time or money to get them from the doctor.

I will get some antibiotics at the airport and hope for the best. I always use condoms with wife anyway.

Maybe i didnt have such a great exposure because i felt the condom break and immediately went to shower and had a pee maybe this should help. No cuts or sores visible on penis anyway.

thanks

[ianbroad]

Thanks Groong.. that is true. But the doctors here often try to give you as many pills as they can sell you. If someone here has HIV or works with HIV etc etc may be able to tell me where to get the antiretrovirals quickly and easily

thanks

[Phil Conners]

Go see a real physician at a reputable hospital or clinic. The "doctors" here on Thaivisa generally have no idea what they're talking about.

That is a bit harsh. There is a lot of good information available here but of course it is just a forum with people offering their advise.

[onnut]

Is your real name Ian Broad?

Your wife may see this?

Also did you do this girl up the bum? More chance to catch HIV that way.

[ianbroad]

no its not my real name lol thats why i post in different username ... i have no idea who ian broad is but i hope he wife isnt reading this

no i didnt do her up the bum

[Beechboy]

I believe that you are being over-anxious, although the dangers are relative to the sex worker's situation.

Was she a bar girl or off the street? If the former, you are very safe.

Even with the latter, it is difficult to get HIV through normal hetero sex, and you probably had a pee afterwards which would have washed out any slight danger.

STD's are more likely and from both girls.

Go to ANY pharmacy and get:

vibramycin (doxycycline) 100mg x2 daily for seven days.

lexinor (norfloxacin) 400mg x2 daily for seven days.

These are for FOR SYPH.

A single dose of azithromycin (zithromax) ... pharmacist will give doseage for CHLAM. or doxycycline 110mg @ 2x daily for seven days.

You will be well sealed. Double in fact.

Also: when you get home look into possibility of HPV. This mnight appear later, but can be dosed against. No danger for you apparently, but could be for wife.

Chance of HIV 1% IMHO.

Signed,

I. Broad

Edited March 24, 2011 by Beechboy

[onnut]

To be honest mate, I think you are flapping over nothing.

But to be safe, get a check up when you get home. Just have to tell your wife you have a headache until you are sure.

Good luck

[onnut]

By the way. I feel sorry for Ian Broad! Lol

[mark45y]

I only post this for other posters who may be reading the thread because I imagine you don't have the time. 1. You could have the lady tested and find out if she has any STD's. 2. If you pay her for her time and trouble she won't give you much hassle about it. 3. You could also have done this before you had sex with the lady. 4. Condoms break all the time (especially if you mix oral and vaginal sex with the same condom. Change condoms when the lube wears off). 5. The treatment for chlamydia is a shot (IV drugs) and pills (in my experience). 6. Zithromax (azithromycin) may or may not cure depends on the person. It is not a sure thing 100% of the time. 7. Two condoms don't work better than one condom.

8. The drugs you get here may or may not be real depending on where you get them. 9. Wear white underwear and look for a stain. 10. Milk your penis a few times a day and check for a discharge from clear to white or yellow/green. 11. Also check for pimples, warts, sores on a daily basis. Good luck.

[pjclark1]

To have a significant chance of catching HIV, you need to have something stuck IN YOU.

Needle, etc, etc

Don't worry about it!

[mark45y]

To be honest mate, I think you are flapping over nothing.

But to be safe, get a check up when you get home. Just have to tell your wife you have a headache until you are sure.

Good luck

If you are really concerned you could try the zip your penis in your zipper ploy. While zipping up your pants with your wife present scream and pretend you have caught your penis in your zipper. Tell her it hurts too much to have sex for a while. Or the stomach ache and vomiting thing because of food poisoning picked up in Thailand. Wife will not ask you to have sex if your vomit before you go to bed. Make noises while over the toilet and keep a mouthful of water to spit up if she comes in to check on you.

[cardholder]

To be honest mate, I think you are flapping over nothing.

But to be safe, get a check up when you get home. Just have to tell your wife you have a headache until you are sure.

Good luck

If you are really concerned you could try the zip your penis in your zipper ploy. While zipping up your pants with your wife present scream and pretend you have caught your penis in your zipper. Tell her it hurts too much to have sex for a while. Or the stomach ache and vomiting thing because of food poisoning picked up in Thailand. Wife will not ask you to have sex if your vomit before you go to bed. Make noises while over the toilet and keep a mouthful of water to spit up if she comes in to check on you.

Sounds like the voice of experience.

[Sheryl]

The chances of catching anything more than your standard STD are very low through normal heterosexual sex. A course of penicillin or amoxycillin should be fine and go get a check up when you get back home. That and stop worrying

Explaining to the missus why you don't want to jump her bones straight away is another matter

Good luck

This post is dangerously misleading and inaccurate.

1.Most STIs in Thailand are resistant to penicillin and amoxycillin, please disregard that uninformed advice.

As I said, I do not recommend shot-gun prophylactic treatment of STIs (especially given partial protection from condom use). However IF you are going to do it, the drug of choice would be azithromycin 2 Gm single dose, assuming no allergies or other contraindications to these drugs.

Note that this will nto prevent all STIs, there is no single drug that does that. So even if you pre-treat, be alert to any signs of possible infection in the coming days/weeks.

2. The risk of HIV transmission is not invariably "very low" in heterosexual sex and indeed, the majority of new HIV infections in Asia and Africa occur through same.

In the case of this specific poster, who reports a single exposure which was at least partially protected by a condom with a sex worker of unknown HIV status and who had no sores, abrasions etc or other STI at the time, the risk is indeed very low.

There are certainly scenarios in which the risk would be much higher, e.g. multiple unprotected encounters, a partner known to be HIV positive, presence of an STI or cuts/abrasions etc etc.

[MegaRanter]

I believe the sex worker is fretting about you giving her something dreadful as we speak.

I hope you wife was not doing the mailman while you were paying for it here.

That said, eat lots of somtam pla ra, It will sweat all pathogens out.

[JimsKnight]

The chances of catching anything more than your standard STD are very low through normal heterosexual sex. A course of penicillin or amoxycillin should be fine and go get a check up when you get back home. That and stop worrying

Explaining to the missus why you don't want to jump her bones straight away is another matter

Good luck

+1

One 'trick' a friend of a friend did was to start a raging argument with his wife as soon as he got home.

That bought him some time to take care of his 'problem' that he had with his 'noodle' after some fun with the thai-cleaner...

[mark45y]

I believe the sex worker is fretting about you giving her something dreadful as we speak.

I hope you wife was not doing the mailman while you were paying for it here.

That said, eat lots of somtam pla ra, It will sweat all pathogens out.

In the interest of accuracy condom or no condom is an item negotiable by price. Frequency of condom usage is determined by location and nationality catered to in most cases.

[Sheryl]

Quite a few inaccuracies have been posted here with regard to HIV transmission. I certainly hope this is not indicative of the level of knowledge of most TV members....

1. A "bar girl" can certainly be HIV positive and it is highly irresponsible to suggest that unprotected sex with one is "very safe". For that matter, ordinary Thai women, who are neither street walkers nor bar girls, can also be HIV positive. A woman may have had only one prior partner and still be infected. in fact, the majority of Thai women with HIV are not sex workers but rather ordinary women infected by their husbands or boyfriends. (Of course the prevelance of HIV infection among sex workers is higher than the prevalance in the general female population).

2. A man most definitely CAN get HIV from hetersoexual intercourse, and most of the men in Asia who have HIV got it exactly that way. The "something has to be stuck into you" bit is dangerously inaccurate.

3. Peeing afterwards does not prevent infection with HIV.

:crazy:

The virus is present in semen and in vaginal fluids. Infection occurs when these fluids come into contact with the blood stream. In men this is thought to occur via abrasions in the skin, which can be very small and not visible to the naked eye (although obvious visible abrasions and sores certainly increase the risk).

Male to female transmission is more efficient than female to male but both occur.

The "broken condom" scenario is usually low risk for the male, although it carries full risk for the female (of both disease and, obviously, pregnancy). The reason is that the condom usually breaks at the end when the man is pulling out and is no longer erect. Hence his direct exposure to vaginal fluids will have been brief. This, together with the fact that it was a single exposure, is why the particular situation described by the OP is one of relatively low (but not zero) risk for HIV transmission.

[kibal]

Go see a real physician at a reputable hospital or clinic. The "doctors" here on Thaivisa generally have no idea what they're talking about.

That is a bit harsh. There is a lot of good information available here but of course it is just a forum with people offering their advise.

I was going to say something similar. I think a health forum and users like this can also be a source of help.

[mark45y]

No, you cannot get this over the counter in a pharmacy.

The odds of having contacted HIV from a single exposure is low, lower tsill if there was partial protection from a condom. Most doctors would recommend against PEP in such a case unless it were known for sure that the woman was HIV positive or there is other high risk factor such as open sores on the penis.

There is certainly no need to preemptively treat for STIs as men are usually symptomatic, you'll know within a few days.

When you get back home, get an HIV PCR test when 14 days have passed since the exposure. Obviously, in the interim, you must use condoms with all partners or else avoid sex altogether. This will probably require telling your wife, which you should, and which will likely make the no sex a fait accompli for a while

"This will probably require telling your wife"

Not entirely sure of the wisdom of this move.

I think this would make a fascinating topic don't know what forum would be appropriate though. I don't think I am the right person to start the thread. Maybe someone else will volunteer.

[Sheryl]

I think there is no one-size-fits-all answer here, will depend on the dynamics of the marriage, personality of the wife etc etc. For sure a man in this situation has a moral obligation not to subject his wife to a health risk -- even a small one -- without her knowledge and consent.

How he goes about ensuring that is up to him to decide.

[mommysboy]

I think there is no one-size-fits-all answer here, will depend on the dynamics of the marriage, personality of the wife etc etc. For sure a man in this situation has a moral obligation not to subject his wife to a health risk -- even a small one -- without her knowledge and consent.

How he goes about ensuring that is up to him to decide.

Perhaps we can go native and say a 'face saver' is required, eg, dodgy dentist, came in to contact with blood, etc,

OP can no doubt think of something, after all has shown no lack of duplicity so far.

[junkofdavid2]

Thank God this "broken condom" thing has never happened to me (yet) but this is an interesting thread nevertheless, and I found this online "assessment tool" to estimate the risk of HIV contraction for broken condom cases, and whether PEP would be helpful:

http://www.pep.chapsonline.org.uk/self_assessment.asp

[powderpuff]

Thanks Sheryl.

I'm pretty sure you don't treat for diseases you don't have.

Thanks for your informed response.

Me personally - I would do nothing & watch for symptoms. And protect partners till you're sure you are clean. Which 99% you are (clean).

Some great voodoo treatments in this thread. Without naming names.

[Tolley]

According to one of the doctors specialising in HIV at Bangkok Pattaya hospital the odds of catching the disease from a one off sexual encounter are about 1300-1.

More chance of being taken by a shark on land.

Next please.